What beauty products do you currently use? Are you sure they’re good for you? How do you know?
Making healthy choices when shopping for beauty products can be as simple as reading the ingredients label.
For more insight, Beauty Academy spoke with Ms. Toi, the creator of Ms. Toi: The Healthy Beauty Source.
How do you define “healthy and safe” beauty products?
I define a healthy beauty product as any personal care product that does not contain ingredients that may adversely affect your health. Keep in mind that personal care products include not only makeup, but also your deodorant, toothpaste, mouthwash, soap, etc.
When shopping for healthy and safe products, what are some things that you might look for to make sure the product fits your criteria?
“Less is best” is my golden rule when shopping for healthy and safe personal care products. “Less is best” applies to choosing products that can be multi-tasked. For example, Castile soap is one of my favorite beauty products. It is an olive oil-derived soap that makes an excellent body wash, shampoo, and base for making a variety of do-it-yourself beauty recipes. Using one item for several functions decreases the chances of being overexposed to synthetic ingredients that may be questionable for our overall health and beauty.
“Less is best” also applies to how many ingredients a product contains. When given a choice between brands, I always take a look at the ingredient list and choose the brand with the least amount of ingredients. In my experience, fewer ingredients can help decrease the chance of allergic reactions and skin sensitivity.
The “less is best” rule also means choosing products that do not contain potentially toxic ingredients such as fragrances. When you see the word “fragrance” listed as an ingredient, it is code for a proprietary blend of up to 100 different chemical compounds.
Why is this so important to the user?
According to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, most Americans use an average of 10 different products for daily grooming. Using the “less is best” rule is important because it can help decrease the chances of overexposure to questionable ingredients.
Your website includes beauty recipes and do-it-yourself solutions. Do you encourage users to make products for themselves when possible, rather than buy them off the shelves?
I encourage people to learn how to make their own beauty products. I think it is important because you are always assured of the quality of ingredients you are using. Do-it-yourself products also allow you to customize recipes to meet your specific needs. Many times when you buy store-bought products, you are paying for marketing and fancy packaging. More often than not, you can easily make your own effective, high- quality products for a fraction of the cost. Plus, making your own beauty products is just a lot of fun!
If your blog were to inspire someone to pursue a career in beauty/cosmetics, what is something you would want them to take away and keep with them?
The one thing I would want anyone who chooses a career in beauty to keep with them is that everybody is beautiful. A career in the beauty industry is all about assisting people in finding their own unique beauty inside and out.