I’m a woman. Duh. Most of you knew that. And I really love being a woman.

I love getting dressed up and putting a little extra makeup on to “wow” the hubs.

I love that I got to house our baby girl, labor and birth her into this world (at home, natural...it’s was incredible and yo can read our birth story here).

And I love that my choices as a woman and as a mama have the power to really make a difference in this world.

One of the areas of healthy living that I have really focused on in recent years is creating a less toxic environment for myself and my family. What we are exposed to in our environment and what we use on our skin, our largest organ, can affect our health in a pretty profound way. Both negatively and positively.

You see, I grew up using many of the same products I’m sure many of you also used - Oil of Olay face lotion, Coppertone sunscreen, Maybelline eyeshadow and mascara and all those shiny, colorful products that spoke to the girly-girl in me. And that my mom modeled to me. I didn’t have a clue that what I was using on my skin made any sort of impact or difference in my health because no one was talking about this in my life.

Taking us back about 8 years, shortly after becoming a Dietitian, I was introduced to a brand new world of nutrition and healthy living by my best friend and again when I studied to be a holistic Nutritionist in 2011. It really opened my eyes to the fact that there is so much more to a healthy lifestyle than just what you put in your mouth.

What you put ON your body and what you’re exposed to in your environment has the ability to make a huge impact on your health.

I began researching more and more about this topic and how our current beauty and skincare routines, using toxic chemical laden ingredients, can be such a damper on our health. I became totally obsessed because I knew this could be a game changer for my family, my friends and my amazing clients who were entrusting me to teach them all that I knew about creating and maintaining a healthy life.

Episode 8 | Safe Skincare - More Than Just a Movement with Kate Criswell

Did you know that the United States hasn’t passed a federal law to regulate the ingredients in personal care products since 1938!? And that there are more than 80,000 chemicals on the market today, most of which have no safety data. Most alarming, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the governing body that regulates what is and isn’t allowed in our products, food and supplements, allows companies to use chemicals that are know to be extremely harmful in beauty and skincare products for adults as well as kids!?

I. Can’t. Even.

I have to be super honest with you though. At first, all I saw was dollar signs. Are you serious!? That lotion cost you what!? That mascara was how much!? You seriously spent what I would spend on a nice, organic dinner out (with a glass of wine, mind you) on that eye cream!?

So, the struggle was real my friend and I slowly made the transition over to cleaner products, probably over a year or so.

What surprised me most about this change, was how incredible these products made me feel. Not only on the outside, but I began to see a change in my internal environment and how much more effective my real food efforts were once I did a little clean up in my external environment.

It was worth every penny.

Plus, from asking around, I quickly began to realize that lots of women were spending way more money on toxic, department store brands that were definitely not delivering the nourishment I was getting from my new beauty and skincare routine.

I was sold and totally hooked on this new non-toxic world and the beauty that was coming from it. Both inside and out.

Since then, I have tried countless brands and have loved some and hated others.

The biggest thing for me, and I’m sure you can relate, is performance. I don’t want to buy something just for the sake of saying I bought an organic this or that!

I want it to work. I want to be able to see a difference and feel it doing its job.

You feel me?

I've got a few tried and true brands up my sleeve that I want to share with you. I can really stand behind these products and their company's missions.

I take my beauty and skincare routine very seriously...just like my diet. Because it matters.

Hopefully taking a little peak into my day of beauty will help give you some ideas, products that you may like to try and hopefully, encourage you to take the leap into the world of clean beauty!

To be quite honest, my routine varies from day to day. Maybe it isn’t a routine at all then!!? I always want to keep my skin guessing, while making sure that the products I use are pure and nourishing, always. I even allow my skin to rest 2 or 3 days a week.

So, here is a little taste of what my current beauty routine looks like and some of my very favorite, non-toxic products.

My (current) Beauty Routine:

Morning:

My morning routine is pretty simple and usually involves a shower and makeup time! Here is what I use:

Shampoo + Conditioner
Dew Skin Tinted Moisturizer and Mattifying Powder
Color Shade Eye Duo in Shell/Malt
Lip Sheer in Rose and Scarlet (I wear them together or separate, depending on how sassy I feel)
Primally Pure Sensitive Skin Deodorant

Afternoon:

Throughout the day, I love using mists to freshen up my makeup and give me a little boost of beauty. Here are a few of my faves:

Bedtime:

My favorite routine of the day because I feel this time really gets me relaxed and ready to climb into bed and sleep like a baby. After a long day being mama, working at nap time, making food for the family, running errands and all the other fun that comes with my days, this time is so needed and really helps me to feel rejuvenated and beautiful!

I have gotten in the habit of dry brushing before I shower at night. This helps to stimulate the lymphatic system, which gets rid of waste, encourages detox, improves circulation and even boosts the immune system. Not to mention exfoliates your skin and even reduces cellulite. Um, yes please! We talk more about it on episode 27 of the Colorful Eats podcast (check it out here!).

After I dry brush, I wash my face and usually just use Dr. Bronner’s soap. Next I use a serum, face cream and one of two eye creams. I have been using Beautycounter’s Rejuvenating line, which is their anti-aging line, for about two weeks and have been loving the results!

Here are my nighttime current faves:

Rejuvenating Radiance Serum or Fancy Face Serum
Rejuvenating Night Cream or Beauty Cream
Rejuvenating Eye Cream
Primally Pure Lip Balm
Lavender Eucalyptus Body Butter for all over hydration

How can you get involved?

I believe that cleaning up your beauty and skincare routine is right up there with cleaning up your diet. As you’ve read today, our environment, specifically the products we use on and around our skin within our cleaning and beauty regimen, can be all kind of toxic. Taking action steps toward a healthier routine is huge for improving how you feel and perform day to day.

I've got a few ideas for how you can take a stand for your health and clean up your environment...

Take a look at the products you're using, what are the ingredients? You can go to Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep website to plug in your current beauty and skincare products and see how they rank on the "purity" scale. This can be incredibly eye opening.
Supporting clean beauty companies like Primally Pure and Beautycounter by purchasing their products is a great way to begin to improve your environment as well as spread the word about these amazing company’s missions to get safer products into our homes. When you support these companies, it allows them to thrive and continue to produce clean products and spread the word on the importance of choosing non-toxic products on your health.
Becoming a Band of Beauty member with Beautycounter is another great way to get involved and gives you some lovely perks, like free shipping on orders over $100, a fabulous welcome gift, 15% back toward free product and monthly specials. To learn more, click here.
If this mission strikes a chord with you or you’ve got a story to tell that can inspire other women and families to make more mindful decisions in their beauty and skincare routine, you might consider joining Beautycounter’s movement as a Consultant. Our team is packed full of amazing women, nutrition and wellness bloggers and passionate entrepreneurs. I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have!

PS…for a LIMITED time only, Beautycounter’s Band of Beauty member welcome gift is a Rejuvenating Eye Cream ($58 value), so if you have ever wanted to take the plunge into safe skincare, there is no better time than NOW! Note: Only valid with a minimum $50 purchase during sign up!