There may come a day (today perhaps?) when inspiration and information come together and you find yourself wanting to clean up your beauty game. Out with the toxic products! No thank you companies with murky methods! Buh bye skin irritation! In with organic! Bring on the good feelings! Hello glow! And then your shopping cart total makes you feel queasy instead of healthy and radiant. Perk up! While it is true, clean beauty products can have higher price tags than their questionable counterparts (often due to differences in ingredient quality and production processes), but don’t let that get you down. There are many ways to keep your wallet full while lightening your toxic load. Here are a few tricks to make detoxing easy and affordable: ** **
Start Small. It’s so disheartening when you invest in a product only to find yourself disappointed by it in the end. I have a clean deodorant graveyard in my bathroom drawer, each container is like a tombstone for the cash it cost. Now, I always opt for a travel or trial size first. For example, Mabrook & Co., Primally Pure, Unshelled Naturals, and many other companies offer a small option so you can see how their deodorant works for you prior to springing for the full size.
Go Big. If you know what look for, there are plenty of clean alternatives hanging around big name stores with their dirty cousins. Many budget-friendly mainstream stores now offer “natural beauty” sections that are a logical place to start. But beware! Inclusion in one of these displays or a label touting “natural” ingredients, doesn’t guarantee a product is clean. Use the Think Dirty App to make sense of the options or use the same approach you would when shopping for healthy food: look for short ingredient lists with words you can pronounce. You are sure to find some gems.
**Buy in Bulk. **If you use a lot of a product or use it often, it might be a key place to opt for clean beauty. Buying in bulk sometimes comes with a discount over purchasing individually. Plus doing so can cut down on shipping costs. Lip balms (check out Kiss Me Honey lip balms, rated 0 and available in an 8-pack at a significant discount over purchasing individually) and hand-sanitizers (Kosmatology is rated 0) are things I like to buy in bulk, since I use them throughout the day and keep in multiple locations.
Shop Local. Another way to save on shipping is to skip shopping online all together. Go to a local makers fair and look for the skincare options. There’s sure to be at least one brand, and if you’re lucky the person at the table will be the owner/maker. If your budget allows, investing in locally made products can get you more for your money and can lead to savings in the end. When you buy direct from a local company, you get access to personalized advice and often times invites to sales and events.
Multitask. Cutting down on the total number of products you use is a sure way to save money. I’m a big fan of multipurpose balms – I use them for protecting the delicate skin around my eyes from the drying effects of water while washing my face, on my feet before slipping on socks, on bug bites, on my lips in a pinch, and for locking in moisture on my kids’ dry patches right after they step out of the bath. A perfect product to tackle a ton of tasks is the rated 0 Egyptian Magic. It is cheap, easy to find, and serves all these purposes and more.
**DIY. **Pick up a quality almond, coconut, or apricot oil and some sea salt and you can whip up a super affordable shower scrub that softens, plumps, and eliminates the need for lotion plus turn your standard shampoo into an exfoliating treatment that removes buildup, increases shine, and soothes an itchy scalp.
**Take it Easy. Have a look at your makeup bag, shower stash, and medicine cabinet. Are there any products you buy regularly but don’t love? Swap just those items for healthier alternatives (and maybe you’ll be thrilled with the purchase!). Are you almost out of something? Try something cleaner when you restock. You can use the Think Dirty App to create a personalized shelf, uncover your dirtiest products, and then browse choices with better ratings. If you begin by targeting products you’d be in the market for anyway or only the most toxic in your routine, you can keep the initial investment to a minimum. Going clean isn’t an all-or-nothing thing. Every informed, conscious choice you make is a step in the right direction. And you are already well on your way. ** Written By Melissa MacCalla, Freelance Writer