Many makeup and beauty products have toxins in them, such as parabens, which is why it is important to not only read the ingredient labels in your food, but also in your makeup and beauty products.

An excellent site that I recommend to all of my friends and family is Skin Deep.  It is a cosmetic safety database website that allows you to plug in the names of your products and evaluate what ingredients may be harmful to you.  Skin Deep also rates your products on a scale of 0 to 10 (10 being the most toxic, and 0 being the least toxic).  After you evaluate your makeup and beauty products, you will probably decide to switch to organic and natural products because they pose little or no harm to your body and overall health.

I switched to organic and natural products two years ago, and until recently, I was only able to locate organic and natural makeup and beauty products at health food stores, Wegmans, and online.  Products such as lotions, soaps, face cleansers, and lip gloss being the easiest to find.  While products such as mascara, eye liner, lip liner and eye shadow being the hardest to find.  I usually bought all of my organic bath and beauty products at the stores, and ordered all of my natural and organic makeup online.  As you know, ordering makeup online can be a bit of hassle and costly.  If your lip liner breaks and you have a big date, what do you do?  Well, you were kind of stuck, because you had to go online, place an order, pay for shipping, and then wait at least a week for your lip liner to arrive. 

So, I was delighted and surprised the other day when I went into my local CVS, and realized the makeup companies are finally starting to put out organic makeup lines!  Finally, after two years of having to order all of my makeup online and pay shipping charges, etc., I can now go down the block and pick-up healthy and natural makeup with ease.

So, after you go to Skin Deep’s website and realize that your current makeup and beauty products are filled with harmful toxins and parabens, you may want to stop at your local CVS, Target, Ulta, or Wegmans to find healthy and natural alternatives to your current products.

If you read my last article and visited the Skin Deep website, you now know that your makeup, beauty, household, and even baby products probably contain harmful toxins and parabens.  So, now that you had a panic attack, and threw out all of your items, it’s time to go shopping.  The first time you go shopping for natural and organic products, it may be overwhelming to you.  Don’t let it be, to make things easier, a lot of products that don’t contain toxins and parabens state this right on the label.  So, to simplify your shopping, look for products that say free of parabens, etc.

Foundations, Blush, Eye Shadow and Eye Liner.  Physicians Formula now makes a great line of organic makeup called Organic Wear that is free of parabens, and can be found at an affordable price at CVS, Target, Ulta and Wegmans.  I recently bought eyeliner for about $7.99.  Other items I bought from the Organic Wear line are blush and an eye shadow duo.   The eye shadow and eyeliner wear great and stay on all day long.  This is important to me, because I have found that a lot of organic eye shadows and eye liners that I ordered through the internet, smudged easily and didn’t stay on well.  The blush from Organic Wear is ok.  I have really pale skin, so like a darker cheek to put in color in my face.  Therefore, I have to put on about 3 layers for the blush to stand out.  However, if you like a lighter cheek, this is the perfect blush for you.

As for foundation and concealer, I am still using a natural and organic loose powder product that I ordered online.  However, because I was so impressed with Physician Formula’s Organic Wear line, I will probably experiment with their concealer and loose foundation powders, once my current products run out.

Mascara.   Ah mascara, perhaps my favorite beauty product, except for lip gloss.  I use to layer on mascara by the truck loads, and my favorite weapon of choice was L’Oreal Voluminous Mascara.  Only to find out years later, that it really was a weapon of choice, and was loaded with toxins.  For the past two years, I have been wearing an organic mascara that I order from the internet; however, because it is one of the only organic mascaras that stays on, and gives a thick and dark lash, it is usually out of stock.  That is why I was delighted to see that L’Oreal now makes a natural mascara called Bare Naturale, which is free of parabens.  I just bought this mascara in black last week and I love it.  It gives me the same coverage as the Voluminous mascara, except it is healthier for me.

Lip Liner, Chapstick, Lip Stick and Lip Gloss.  I currently order my lip liner from an organic makeup site online and unfortunately, I haven’t come across an organic and natural lip liner in my local stores yet.  I am hoping that either Burt’s Bees or Physicians Formula will add an organic lip liner to their product lines in the near future.  However, I am happy to report, that I am able to find Burt’s Bees chapstick, lip gloss and lip shimmer at all of my favorite local stores, i.e., CVS, Target, Ulta and Wegmans.  I really like the lip products that Burt’s Bees has, as well as the variety of colors.  I am an avid fan of Burt’s Bees products, and use a lot of their bath and beauty products, in addition to their lip products.

Bath and Beauty Products.  When it comes to my face creams, soaps, face washes, lotions, shampoo and conditioner, I typically use Burt’s Bees line of products that I can easily find at Wegmans.  However, sometimes this can be costly, which is why I like shopping at Wegmans because it has entire aisle dedicated to just organic bath and beauty products at a range of prices.  If you are on a budget, Kiss My Face makes a great line of olive soaps that are natural and healthy.  If I am in a hurry and don’t have time to stop at Wegmans, I will stop at my local CVS and pick-up Burt’s Bees, because CVS carries a variety of Burt’s Bees lotions, soaps and hair products.   When selecting a face product, such as face wash or lotion, I try to select an item that has Vitamin C in it because it is a natural antioxidant.  I also like Burt’s Bees Naturally Ageless Skin Firming Night Cream and Line Smoothing Eye Cream, because both products contain Pomegranate Extract, which is also a natural antioxidant. 

Deodorant and Tooth Paste.  There has always been a big debate over deodorant and how harmful it can be; however, if you don’t use deodorant, you will find that you are quickly losing friends, because they find it hard to be around you, especially after a work-out.  Unfortunately, there aren’t too many organic deodorants that work well.  I have tried several brands that had lavender, lemon or tea tree oil in them, only to find out by the end of the day, that the product didn’t work too well.  That is why I was delighted to find a clear and odorless natural deodorant that is healthier for your body, and free of parabens.  This deodorant is called Crystal and comes in the form of a rock, roll-on, and spray.  I have tried all three forms of Crystal, and prefer either the roll-on or spray.  All three work great and last all day long.  Crystal is even strong enough for a man.  For tooth paste, I prefer Tom’s of Maine Natural Care toothpaste line.  Both Crystal Deodorant and Tom’s of Main Natural Care toothpaste can be found at your local convenience store, such as CVS, or your local grocery store, such as ShopRite or Wegmans.

Millions of people suffer from acne, both teenagers and adults. Yes, even adults. I always thought when I became an adult my acne would disappear, but instead it became worse. If you’re battling acne like so many other people, don’t worry because there is hope. With so many products available today, you may not be able to prevent acne entirely, but you can help keep it under control.

First, let’s talk about your options: dermatologist remedies, over-the-counter remedies, and home remedies. If you have health insurance or can afford a visit to a dermatologist, I would recommend you go this route. A dermatologist is a professional doctor that is trained to diagnose and treat your acne.

However, if you are on a budget or don’t have health insurance, which is common in today’s society, there are over-the-counter options which are also effective. Some of these include Oxy acne products, Clean and Clear, Clearasil, Neutrogena and Noxzema. I personally break out in an allergic reaction whenever I use Neutrogena products, but my sister and many other people really like the products that Neutrogena offers.

Additionally, if you have a little more in your budget to spare, many people like the Proactiv product line; which is endorsed by several celebrities, including Jessica Simpson. I have two friends that tried Proactiv. They both thought it dried out their skin too much and made it “flake.” However, my one friend said, if she just uses one of Proactiv’s products, like maybe the face-wash, but not the toner too, that her skin doesn’t dry out as much and it does help keep her acne under control.

Now, if you only use organic products like I do, there are several different products that contain natural and organic ingredients, like Burt’s Bees, which can be ordered online and can also be found at Wegmans, Target and CVS. Burt’s Bees makes an herbal blemish stick that contains Tea Tree Oil. While I have never used Burt’s Bees blemish stick, I have used pure Tea Tree Oil for acne, and I was disappointed in the results. I felt the Tea Tree Oil was too greasy and didn’t really help my acne at all. However, everyone is different, and many people use Tea Tree Oil for their acne and it works great for them because Tea Tree Oil helps fight bacteria and calms inflammation.

Also, I know from personal experience, that trying to find organic and natural health and beauty products in stores can challenging; which is why I frequently go to Wegmans for these products. The Wegmans that I shop at has an entire section dedicated to natural and organic beauty products, where you can purchase many different varieties of natural acne products, face-washes and lotions, etc…

Finally, if you are stuck at home and don’t have time to run to the store or visit a dermatologist, there is an old myth that applying toothpaste on your acne will help clear it up.

So, now that you’ve learned about products to help your treat your acne, I am going to share with you a few tips to help prevent acne. Some of these measures include:

1. Washing your face before going to bed, especially if you have makeup on;

2. Believe it or not, moisturize, even if you have oily skin. When skin is denied moisture, it over compensates by creating even more oil and clogging your pores;

3. As tempting as it is, don’t touch your face and acne. If you notice a blemish, place a warm compress on it, and then apply acne medicine. Hopefully within a few days, the blemish will clear up;

4. Wash your makeup brushes and pillow cases regularly. A lot of unhealthy dirt, oil and bacteria can build up on your makeup brushes and pillow cases;

5. Stay out of the sun. At first it will appear the sun is clearing up your skin, but the sun actually dries out and damages your skin; so your skin will once again over compensate for the loss of moisture and will create more oil causing acne flare-ups;

6. Don’t over cleanse and scrub your skin. While is it is important to cleanse your skin at night before bed and in the morning, don’t over-scrub your skin with harsh cleansers, this will only irritate your skin and possibly cause even more acne flare-ups.

7. Additionally, it hasn’t been proven, but I think eating a lot of unhealthy and fast foods contribute to acne. These types of food are filled with grease and fat, and it is hard for your body to process all of those unhealthy ingredients. I personally notice that when I don’t eat well, my acne flares up.

8. Also, taking Vitamin C has positive effects on your overall health, so I am sure it can help minimize the effects of acne as well.

By following all of these steps, I am not able to prevent my acne by 100%, but I am able to keep it under control a little bit; which is a lot better than doing nothing at all. I just keeping hoping that one day, someone will come up with a magic cream that prevents acne and wrinkles in one small and simple step.