This is a simplified explanation of a very important subject. For a deeper deep-dive on toxicity in general, I highly recommend The Dose Makes the Poison by Patricia Frank and M. Alice Ottoboni.
Shampoo was my gateway drug into green beauty. Nearly ten (?!) years ago now, I was struggling with hair loss and breakage and began looking into everything and anything that could be contributing to my tress plight. I stumbled upon the hair-damaging effects of sodium lauryl sulfate, and away we went.
I still have my grandmother's words ringing in my ears: "The sun is not your friend." It's true – too much sun certainly is not your friend (but the vitamin D you get from it is). We're used to hearing that too much sun will give us cancer and cause premature aging, and we've been taught to wear sunscreen every day – if not to protect our health, at least for the sake of vanity.
A brief aside before we get started: I'm not here to freak you out. I only want to help others avoid the anguish I went through of assuming something was safe, and finding out later that this assumption was not entirely true.
Acne. What a sinister word. As if dealing with active breakouts weren't enough, there's the scarring, and the more traumatizing the breakout, the worse the scarring. Sure, that makes sense, but it's still cruel.
I was talking to a lady boss friend recently (shout-out to Adrienne Krieger of Everling Jewelry– seriously, go check her out) about the pervasive presence of aloe vera in makeup products.
It's no longer a secret that oil is an excellent moisturizer, but it can be overwhelming to choose the best facial oil for your skin when there are so many options. Let's take a look at components to consider, and explore some favorite oils.