Is your skin care routinE actually healthy?

Photography by Juwan Saunders | IG: @soloflicks_

My friends and family know that I am literally a crazy person when it comes to what chemicals are going onto my body! I even stopped using body lotion a few months ago and decided to use olive oil instead because at least I know exactly what’s going on my skin. There’s so many man-made chemicals out there that are being used in products we use everyday. I’ve been researching toxic chemicals vs. natural/organic ingredients for years (when I was in college, this is what I would do instead of doing my homework!). So, today I’m going to share a little bit of what I’ve learned!
Keep reading if you want to know the top three chemicals I stay away from, how I differentiate between which chemicals are safe and which ones aren’t, and what I’m planning to remove next!


Question: Do you know what you put on your skin on a daily basis? I mean, do you really know? We live in a time where convenience and speed surpasses quality and it’s evident in the skin care business. Products we use everyday such as soap, facial cleanser, and lotion contain toxic chemicals that could cause adverse effects to our skin externally or even contribute to internal infections. For me, the top three chemicals I absolutely stay away from are Parabens, Phthalates, and Petrolatum. It has been found in scientific studies that when these ingredients are used in topical skin care products, they are able to be absorbed into the skin and sometimes become associated with cancerous tumors. There are many other ingredients out there that can be toxic to our bodies and some of them can cause long-term illnesses; I’m not willing to knowingly use just because they’re convenient or cost-effective.


Currently, I am looking for a natural/organic deodorant. In almost every deodorant you’d find in Walmart, aluminum (which is the ingredient that keeps perspiration to a minimum) is present. Aluminum has been linked to breast cancer and Alzheimer’s so I’m trying to find a deodorant without it. So far I’ve tried one by Schmidt’s Naturals and because it didn’t have aluminum in it, it didn’t combat wetness very well. So, I need to find one that uses an alternative ingredient to aluminum.


I know that educating yourself on this subject can be stressful and time-consuming so, if you’re ever overwhelmed when looking for healthier products or trying to figure out if an ingredient is safe or not, you can always head over to ewg.org and check out their Skin Deep cosmetics database which gives products and ingredients a safety rating. I’ve been using this website for years to become more informed about the safety hazards associated with the products I use everyday.


I’m still working on removing products with harmful chemicals from my beauty routine so I’m on this website a lot. Replacing products with more natural ones that gets the job done is definitely a process that takes time. I prefer a safety rating of 5 or lower, anything above that is just too risky for me. However, I do judge on a case by case situation, considering some of the rating categories may not be as important to me as others.


I prefer to focus simplicity and purity when it comes to skincare, which means using lots of natural oils like olive oil and coconut oil. I’ll be posting a follow-up blog post with some natural skin care products I use and also how I plan to start making my own body lotion!


Thanks for reading!
- Janay