3 Easy Ways to Make Your Skin Care Routine Less Toxic

Non-toxic Skin Care Tips

I am on a journey to make my skin care, hair care, and body care less toxic, more organic, and overall better for myself and my body. 


There's many new products becoming available that claim to be "natural" and "made with certified organic ingredients". It can be difficult to tell what products really are less toxic and better for for you. If you're ever in need of a guide to tell you the toxicity of a product, check out the Environmental Working Guide Skin Deep Page  and get the Think Dirty App, available for iPhones! 


Going non-toxic is long journey, and many of us have our absolute favorite creams and moisturizers that we just are not ready to give up just yet!


So here are 3 easy ways for you guys to start incorporating less toxic products into your skin care and beauty routine!




Replace your generic cotton rounds with organic/no pesticides cotton rounds

Cotton is the most pesticide doused crop in the United States. I won't go too in-depth, but some of the ingredients in these pesticides are cyanide, dicofol, and naled, all of which are known cancer-causing chemicals. 


By using organic cotton ball or cotton rounds to take off your makeup or put on your beauty products with, your body does not absorb those very harmful ingredients and keeps your body healthy!


For those that wash our faces twice a day, this is more opportunities to keep harmful chemicals out of our bloodstream. My favorite are the Target Up & Up



Swap your traditional face toner out for alcohol-free witch hazel

As someone with very acne prone and oily skin, I have been using toners for quite a while. Toners can help even out your skins' pH levels, tighten pores, and help reduce acne. 


That being said, most toners contain high levels of alcohol and other harmful ingredients such as synthetic dyes, fragrances, and parabens. The best solution I have found, that can be used for all skin types, is witch hazel! But not just ordinary witch hazel, alcohol-free witch hazel.


Alcohol-free witch hazel is formulated without alcohol, parabens, synthetic dyes, and other harmful ingredients. And you can find these at your local health food stores, GNC locations, and Walmart and Walgreens online for under $10!


Ordinary witch hazel, such as the Up & Up Witch Hazel from Target, can contain up to 14% alcohol by volume. So be sure to look for the "Alocohol-free" in the name!


Despite what some companies have claimed, alcohols with low molecular weights can be drying to the skin. Try to avoid alcohols including; ethanol, alcohol denat, ethyl alcohol, methanol, isopropyl alcohol, SD alcohol and benzyl alcohol.


My favorite is the Thayer's Alcohol-Free Rose Petal Witch Hazel Toner, $8.99 (12 fl oz). You can find this at GNC, the Thayer's Website, and select Walmart locations. They also have a fragrance free version if you're sensitive to fragrance. 



Use coconut oil to remove your makeup

Many people have become aware of the endless uses for coconut oil. This product is no longer just used for cooking, there are so many amazing away to add this into your beauty routine!


My favorite way to use it is to remove makeup. I have used many makeup remover wipes, cleansers, and oils to remove my makeup over the years. Many of which do contain alcohol, dyes, parabens, and other harmful ingredients which are ultimately not healthy for your body.


Coconut oil, which is a solid at room temperature, turns to a liquid oil when it heats up to the touch of your skin. It is very hydrating, antibacterial, and has antioxidant properties to help your body, not harm.


I rub a dime sized amount into my hands and rub the oil over my eyelids to dissolve my waterproof eye makeup, and yes, this does remove waterproof mascara very easily. You can also use this to remove your face makeup using the same steps.


I will have a DIY makeup remover using coconut oil very soon!


Make sure to purchase the unrefined coconut oil, refined coconut oil is bleached and heated and loses some of its helpful properties! I highly recommend the Spectrum Essentials Organic Unrefined Coconut Oil, $10 (15 oz), available at Walgreens.





I hope you guys enjoyed these tips and let me know if you have any other non-toxic tips and tricks to share with us!