Are you looking for a way to make your beauty regimen more eco-friendly? Here are some tips for greening up your beauty routine.
1. Read the ingredients. Look closely at the ingredients in your cleanser, shampoo, hair gel, make-up, and so forth. If you find a lot of suspicious chemical names, look for alternatives. All sorts of toxic substances have been identified in conventional makeup and other beauty aids.
2. Keep it simple. It’s amazing what you can accomplish with just lemon juice, for example. You don’t need a plethora of elaborate, complex beauty aids.
3. Use natural products, such as lemons and yogurt, on your hair and skin.
4. Use baking soda instead of shampoo. It makes a wonderful cleanser for your hair. Mix about a teaspoon of baking soda per cup of warm water, and pour over your head while in the shower. Work it in to your scalp and rinse.
5. Use an apple cider vinegar (ACV) solution as a rinse following the baking soda wash. Mix a tablespoon of ACV into 2 cups of warm water and pour over your head and hair. Rinse with as cool a water temperature as you can handle.
6. Look for natural, mineral make-up. Many top cosmetic manufacturers specialize in natural make-up, from base to lipstick to eye shadow.
7. Make a hair gel by mixing a tablespoon of flax seeds into a cup of water. Microwave on high for 1 and a half minutes; let steep for 20-30 minutes. Strain and use the thick liquid (reminiscent of egg whites) as a hair gel.
8. Cut out beauty products with petroleum-based ingredients. Read carefully – petrolatum and other names are sometimes given to petroleum-based substances.
9. Look for the “not tested on animals” label to assure you are not supporting the harmful and cruel practice of animal cosmetic testing.
10. Use reusable products rather than disposable ones in your beauty routine. Examples of common disposable beauty items are: razors, pre-packaged, single-use hair treatments, and cotton balls.
Kermit the Frog once said it’s not easy being green – but it is beautiful!