For the longest time I never thought twice about the products I was buying and putting on my skin. When I started becoming more aware of what I was eating and putting into my body, I decided it was time to look into what I was putting on my face everyday. So many beauty, skin and hair care products have unnecessary chemicals in them that can be harming and irritating your skin without you even knowing. I'm someone who has sensitive skin. I have rosacea and always struggled with getting my redness under control. When I finally started reading into my products that's when I started to understand why my skin could be irritated or why I could be suffering from occasional breakouts. After changing over to clean, plant-based products, my skin has never looked better and I never have to feel guilty about what I'm using.
I started small. I looked into one product at a time and would see what I would replace it with next. Don't feel like you need to throw out everything right away. You paid for it, you might as well finish using it before buying something new. I started by looking into things that had the Clean at Sephora stamp, meaning no parabens, sulfates, formaldehyde, etc. Then I started looking into what brands were testing on animals. For years I used Estée Lauder's Double Wear Foundation, but once I saw the company tested on animals and had animal products in their foundation, that was it for me. Most Cruelty Free products have the cute little bunny logo on them, but if you don't see it on the product you're looking for, Sephora usually includes that information online for whatever product you're looking at. If you're not sure why you should be using Cruelty Free products, go look up what happens to animals when they're in testing labs. It's truly heartbreaking and is something more people should be aware of.
Last but not least, checking that your products are vegan. This is easier than you think if you shop at Sephora. The company recently added a filter allowing users to search specifically for vegan beauty, hair and makeup products. There are so many plant-based products that are available that leave animals happy and unharmed. This isn't something you need to change overnight, but slowing making the change will help make a difference not only in your skin, but in the environment! Look out for an upcoming post highlighting what skin, beauty and hair care products I use!