It’s that time of year! While Naughty and Nice Lists might be made by a big man in a red suit, we felt the need to make our own list.
This holiday season, we want to help you to clean up your gift-giving, get safe + effective skincare into the hands of those you care about and reclaim your health by swapping out dangerous, hormone-disrupting products for ones that won’t compromise your wellness, but will powerfully support it.
Because the consequences of this Naughty List are a bit more serious than simply getting coal in your stocking.
Research shows that the average woman uses 12 different products with 168 ingredients every single day (that’s a LOT of ingredients). When our skin is given what it needs to be nourished, it’s able to recognize + receive the nutrients and become self-healing, strong, and oh-so beautiful. BUT when the opposite is true, when we feed our skin with ingredients that are artificial and harmful to our cells, it puts a serious strain on our body and creates a toxic burden that can lead to inflammation and serious illnesses.
So we’ve made our “Naughty List” (and checked it twice) to help you simplify what to look for on the back of your beauty bottles and give you easy tips to shop for safe, effective skincare for everyone on your shopping list.
NAUGHTY vs NON-TOXIC
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of our Naughty List along with some technical terms + toxins to avoid, here are a few guidelines to help you navigate the product shelves and decide for yourself if they’re naughty or non-toxic.
- Just because there’s a green leaf or the word “organic” on the front of the product package, be wary of what’s actually inside. This is where you have to get curious, do some digging and become your own skincare detective! Sadly, greenwashing is much more common in the skincare industry and is deceiving consumers that the products they’re purchasing are pure, natural, or organic – when in reality the ingredients list reveals otherwise.
- Marketing messages may claim “NO” this and “NO” that – but rather than focusing on what’s NOT in the product, look at the ingredient label to see which ingredients are really being used instead. The natural beauty market has become highly saturated and unfortunately, product quality has become consistently compromised – so it’s up to you to discover the ingredients beauty brands have actually chosen to say “YES” to.
- Ingredients are listed in descending order of concentration, so the first 5 are what make up the majority of the product. These first 5 create the foundation of the formula. (Only 5 ingredients in your skincare label? That’s a good sign!). If you come across an unrecognizable word among the first 5 listed, more times than not, you’ll want to opt for another product. And as other ingredients are added to the list, the amount used decreases. For example: if a beauty balm is advertising its healing benefits from calendula flowers, yet calendula is listed after several other unpronounceable ingredients, its benefit to the skin will be minimal.
THE NAUGHTY LIST
We know it can be a lot to take in, so we’ll try to simplify what to look for on your ingredient lists. The following are 8 specific chemicals you want to avoid in your skincare products – and keep on the Naughty List for good.
FRAGRANCE or PARFUM: Known as the new second-hand smoke, this is one of the most toxic ingredients you’ll find on any label (even on many “natural” products!). These engineered scents contain any combination of 3,000+ chemicals and are linked to SO many health conditions – including hormone disruption, kidney damage and skin sensitivities. Look for products made with ONLY pure essential oils so you don’t have to sacrifice your favorite scents! And check out this video where we dive even deeper into artificial fragrances. Read more
