Beautycounter: Safer Products, Happier Skin.

Skincare hasn’t always been my strong suit – when I was a teenager I’d forget to wash my makeup off, would barely moisturize and rarely wore sunscreen. I know I know – what was I thinking? As I’ve gotten older though I’ve realized the importance of all three of these things – to the max.

Due to my lack of sunscreen, my skin today has revealed some unevenness/dark spots which I think I’ve tried almost everything under the sun to correct the damage. That was until I found a safer brand that truly has begun to show improvement and make my skin feel overall… better!

A childhood friend introduced me to Beautycounter a couple months ago in a casual conversation – I assumed it was another brand that I’d likely have to try and would soon fade out or I’d give up on – but it was worth a shot. That thought immediately left my mind as Dilara began describing Beautycounter’s mission and her reason behind starting to use their products. (If you’re interested in hearing her w h y then I’d urge you to head to her Instagram and read her very first post.)

Beautycounter’s mission is to ‘get safer products into the hands of everyone’. Founder Gregg Renfrew elaborates on how Beautycounter came about by saying, ‘…like many of you, I didn’t know what I didn’t know…’ which ultimately was that companies are allowed to use harmful ingredients and make their own judgements about safety when it comes to personal care products – scary right? She started Beautycounter with the thought that things need to change – regulations across the board need to change and beauty products should be held to a higher standard.

Gregg says, ‘Our vision is bold; real answers are never timid. Help us put truth back in beauty’.

All Beautycounter products adhere to these five guidelines in regards to their ingredient selection process to ensure safety:

Ban Intentionally – Beautycounter has a ‘never list’ which are ingredients they never use in any products. This list is made up of over 1,500 questionable or harmful chemicals. (Find it here).
Screen Rigorously – Beautycounter screens every potential ingredient for safety – they consult with scientists and industry leaders working to reduce exposure to toxic chemicals and to develop safer chemicals.
Learn Constantly – Beautycounter doesn’t assume because there is no data on a chemical that it’s safe. They are constantly researching and learning.
Source Responsibly – Beautycounter strives to choose the best available ingredient options.
Share Transparently – Beautycounter goes far beyond what is required by law to disclose on it’s labels for whats in their products – they identify every formula ingredient.

Now you have the facts about Beautycounter – here are some facts you, like Gregg and myself, don’t know about the personal care industry as it stands today (*below statements are from beautycounter.com):

The United States has not passed a major federal law to regulate the safety of ingredients used in personal care products since 1938.
Over the past two decades, the European Union has banned more than 1,300 chemicals in the product formulas of personal care products and restricted the levels of over 250 more in such products. The United States has only partially banned 30 to date.
There are more than 80,000 chemicals on the market today. Many don’t have any safety data. This is particularly true of those used in the skin care and beauty industry.
What’s worse is that the Food and Drug Administration (the agency that regulates cosmetics in the United States) allows companies to use chemicals known to be extremely harmful in the products we put on our bodies and on our kids’ bodies every single day, day after day, and to make their own judgments about safety.

So now that you know the facts, Are you ready to change your beauty care routine? If you’re like me you may be convinced but not ready to completely give up or throw out EVERYTHING in your makeup bag, shower caddy, etc. – so I’m here to say, that’s fine! BUT if you’re willing to give safer a try – here are my top picks to start you out 🙂 .

The CHARCOAL CLEANSING BAR

Price: $24

Why I love it: Charcoal is ‘so in’ right now – you really can’t look anywhere without seeing it in a face mask, wash, etc. And trust me, I’ve tried many of them! But this is my all time favorite. After the second use I was hooked. My pores felt tighter and my skin felt cleaner.