Fridays At 5:00: 5 CLEAN Products That I Use On My Skin

For many years I have been actively aware of what I put IN my body. Our family tries to eat clean, organic food as much as possible and we embrace a low sugar/ low carb diet. It is not always easy but we are committed to trying to be healthy – from the inside out.

Only in the last few years have I been aware of what I put ON my body. A while back, as I was researching food articles, I stumbled upon information concerning skin care products. After a little digging around, I learned that WHAT we put on our skin could expose us to potentially harmful/toxic ingredients. For so long I really had no idea that toxins could be hiding in the products that we use day to day.

Our skin is our largest organ and it absorbs 60% of what we put on it. With that in mind, it is important to know exactly WHAT ingredients are in the products that we are putting on our skin. With that in mind, I now actively scan my the labels of the products that I buy for our family. BUT – have you ever tried to read the back of a bottle of lotion or shampoo …. it is like reading a different language! How can we know what is safe and what isn’t?

I have spent a lot of time researching this for myself and my family. I have found a few online ‘healthy living’ groups that share product information in depth and and I have read A LOT of articles for myself. In addition, I discovered a makeup brand called Crunchi (this is the makeup that I use) that has an extensive list of what they call ‘banished ingredients.’ There they list each ingredient we should avoid and why. I reference that list when I am out shopping for new products. I just keep a screen shot on my phone! Just to give you an example, these are a few of the ingredients that I try to avoid at all times:

PEGS
Phenoxyethanol
Fragrance

I also discovered an app that I have on my phone that allows you to scan the barcode of a product and it will give you a ‘clean’ rating. It is called Think Dirty. This app doesn’t pull up info on all of the products out there because there are so many, but it has saved me from making a mistake many times.

I also feel it is important to note that I have found many products that claim to be “natural,” “green,” “clean” or “non-toxic” are actually NOT. I learned that there are no skincare industry standards for these terms. There is no regulation and companies use these words on their labels to attract and trick trusting customers . The term for this is called greenwashing. So, you can not just go by the front of labels. You have to be diligent and read the ingredient list.

Now, I must admit, we could not initially afford to replace all of our products as soon as I began learning and researching this. We started to incorporate more of these items into our home slowly over time – and we still are not 100% toxin free – but I feel good knowing that we are using products that are “clean-ER.”

5 skin care products laying on their backs

Below, I am sharing 5 of my favorite CLEAN products that I use on my skin!

1. Timeless Hyaluronic Acid

This is the only thing that I put on face each and every day. This product helps to naturally reduce aging and holds onto moisture which helps to reduce wrinkles and fine lines.

2. DR. Bronner’s Castile Soap

This is basically our ‘go-to’ soap and has been for years. It is pretty thin so I have to watch my kiddos when they use it to ensure that we aren’t wasting it.

TIP: You can transform Dr. Bronner’s into a foam soap. You can use a 3 to 1 ratio (water to soap) for hand soap. You can also use 5 to 1 for a “thinner” foam. Test it and see which you prefer. Just be sure you add the water to the container FIRST and then the soap. Otherwise you get some foaming in the container

3. Andalou Body Lotion

You all know how dry it can be this time of year. Our family goes through quite a few of these tubes. This stuff is basically like ‘food for your skin!”

4. Onesta Hair Care Products

This is by far the best “clean” shampoo that I have found. It really works well in my hair. Onesta is a sulfate free thickening shampoo made with organic kelp and algae to strengthen and thicken the hair fibers – and I need all the thickness I can get!

5. Chocolate Sun Tanner

I can not say enough good things about this. I have struggled for a long time to find a clean tanner – and here it is. It comes in three shades and bonus … it smells yummy too.