It’s officially the middle of the year, which means you’re probably revisiting some of those ambitious new years resolutions you made in January. If your goal to get visible abs or a perkier booty have fallen by the wayside—don’t worry, you’re only human.
But if there’s one goal that’s actually worth sticking to, it’s detoxing your beauty collection. Your makeup, skincare, and toiletries could be hidden nasties that may potentially disrupt your hormones and even cause illness. So in the interest of facilitating a full mid-year beauty detox, we’ve outlined three key steps to get you started.
Look for paraben and phthalate-free toiletries and makeup
Research shows that the more toiletries people use, the more phthalates and parabens are traceable in their bodies, and lotions, cosmetics, hair gels and perfumes are the biggest culprits. Why should you care? Well, some critics say that these chemicals can disrupt the body’s hormones—including your reproductive hormones such as estrogen and testosterone. Health risks, while not certain, might include cancers, chronic diseases, and a bunch of fertility and developmental issues. An easy way to reduce your exposure is to simply look for paraben and phthalate-free products, and swapping your moisturiser and body lotion for an organic, all natural oil like jojoba or argan.
Find a natural fragrance
Fragrance brands are subject to serious media attention right now, with some health experts raising concerns about the rampant use of petroleum derivatives like phthalates that could possibly mess with your hormones, exaggerate the symptoms of PMS, and have even been linked with cancer.
If any of your beauty products contain an ingredient that simply says “fragrance,” you basically can’t be sure whether these potentially hormone-disrupting chemicals are actually present. This is because while the TGA requires an ingredient declaration on cosmetic products sold in stores across Australia, the law doesn’t apply to anything deemed “fragrance.” Essentially, to fend off potential copycats, the TGA can’t force brands to release the exact materials that make up their signature scent. To be safe, it’s probably worth switching to fragrance-free beauty products and swapping over to an all-natural perfume, like Strange Invisible Perfumes.
Switch to sulfate-free shampoo
You know those women lathering super-foamy shampoo on haircare ads? Well, these ultra-soapy products might actually be damaging your locks, not helping them! Sulfates, the ingredient responsible for all those soapy suds (often listed as sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate on the ingredients list) don’t nourish the hair but can be quite drying and damaging, particularly if you heat style your hair.
Sulfates are known to strip your hair of its natural oils from your strands, and can even irritate the scalp and create unwanted frizz. Thankfully, there are plenty of effective shampoos that don’t contain sulfates, which you can shop here and here.
