How to switch to clean, green beauty products without being overwhelm
The green beauty industry is increasing at a faster rate than fashion- at a CAGR (compound anuual growth rate) of 9.4% between 2019-2025 to be exact! From beauty stores like The Detox Market specializing solely on “cleaner” products to Sephora’s recent addition of Clean at Sephora, the options of green beauty products are abundant. If you’ve been successful at cutting through the industry noise and switched over to green products, you’re ahead of most consumers. For many, making the switch is mind-boggling because of the overwhelming number of products available and marketing ploys of various brands. So, how do you switch to green beauty without the overwhelm? Here are 3 steps to help you on your venture to cleaner, greener products.
1) Why are you making the switch?
Why not? Everyone seems to be doing it! However, knowing the reasons behind why you want to make the switch will help guide your purchasing decisions. Most consumers want to switch to cleaner products with non-toxic ingredients for health reasons. This is the biggest “why” because really who wants to rub harmful ingredients into their skin or their children’s skin?
As a consumer you’re more educated on ingredients today than ever before. You take the time to read ingredient labels and look up ingredients on EWG’s database. You want to know what you’re putting on our skin, period. However, besides the “clean” ingredients, you may also be a conscious consumer eager to reduce packaging in your household and your local landfill. Beauty products whether green or conventional come in containers and sadly, many of these containers are not recyclable. Airless pumps, for example, contain a mixture of materials and taking them apart is a hassle. Trust me. I’ve tried. Plastic containers that display the recycling symbols are often not recycled because they’re not the “right” type of plastic. So, ask yourself this question: What’s important to me about making the switch to green beauty? If you can answer this, I promise that you’ll gravitate towards products that align with your values.
2) How do you make the switch?
Part of the overwhelm that you might be feeling as a consumer is that there are too many products out there. It’s mind-boggling just trying to sort through the greenwashing, the products that work well and the products that you actually need! You can be spending a lot of money just trying to figure all this out meanwhile your purchases are collecting in your bathroom cabinets. The best way to switch over without feeling overwhelmed is by bringing in new products ONLY when you’ve finished what you have on hand. You need to create space and appreciation for new, cleaner products – your focus should be on quality and not quantity.
First, swap out products that are running out. If your facial cleanser is running low, look for a cleaner product to purchase next. Second, check the expiration dates on your old products because those might need to be replaced, too. You might have a forgotten SPF lotion in your cabinet that you haven’t used in months. Open and smell your products and if they’ve turned, dispose of them. Lastly, pass on any products that don’t serve you. You might have made an impulsive purchase of a product your skin wasn’t happy with. Pass it on to a friend who would be happy to use it up. Sort all this out first, so you can notice and appreciate how wonderful cleaner products feel on your skin.
3) What do I switch out first?
An excellent question! The easiest way to make the switch to green beauty products is by starting out with a product that’s easy to switch to like soap. Soap is an everyday product that is easily accessible, and you can wrap your head around. Even your local bulk foods retailer is likely to have a natural soap option like castile soap. Buy a product without SLS or synthetic parfum, fill up the pumps around the house and see how it goes. If all goes well, do the same for your body soap. Switching out the bigger “real estate” items – those that are used on the larger areas of your body – ensures that toxic ingredients from conventional products are limited to smaller areas of your body. So yes, it’s OK to keep your favorite conventional eye shadow…for now. Products that go on your face where the skin is thinner are absorbed faster. Aim to change your face cream, foundation, and anything else in your beauty bag which covers your entire face as you get more comfortable with initial green product purchases.
The OVERWHELM is REAL
When trying to switch to clean, green beauty, natural products, the overwhelm is real. You need to keep the reasons of why you’re making the switch at heart and make the best possible choices for you. What is important to you? Price? Recyclable containers? Clean ingredients? Vegan? Refillable? It’s a lot to think about and it can feel overwhelming. If you ever want to have a chat to sort any of this out and get some product recommendations, feel free to reach out to our ENB team. We love to help you work through some of these questions, so you can get your hands on products that you will be happy with but also align with your values. If you are ready to switch some of your products to something cleaner, essential natural brands website offer clean options for skincare that won’t break the bank. All products have been selected and curated for ingredients and where possible for packaging as well.
The information in this article is for educational use, and not intended to substitute professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and should not be used as such.