It was May 2015. As a TV journalist, I was used to wearing makeup and lots of it. I wore it everyday and then went through a rigorous regiment to remove it and clean my skin. But then (and this actually happened overnight) I developed an allergy to ingredients in my makeup and skin care products. At the time, my eyes and face were completely swollen and blistered (check out the photos below). It was painful. Multiple hospital and dermatologist visits over a six-month period revealed I was allergic to formaldehyde, nickel and bleach. Apparently, they were all in my makeup. Who knew? Recovering on antibiotics and steroids, I began to pay attention – reading about makeup and skin care ingredients, and studying product labels. As hard as it was for me to believe, yes those were some of the ingredients in my cosmetics. At the time I thought, what now? Continuing with my research, I soon realized I wasn’t alone. This story is much more common than I first realized.
The skin is the largest organ on the body, it absorbs everything. For 20 years I had been willingly putting these chemicals and toxins on my face and body. Fortunately, making the switch to the clean beauty movement was easier than I expected.
While I had heard the terms: “green” “clean” and “natural beauty” it was a new world for me. The movement to clean cosmetics and natural skin care products is booming. Women are becoming aware and intentional about what they are putting on their skin and into their systems. Green is becoming mainstream.
Toxin-free, cruelty-free, gluten-free, vegan, is just some of the list of new alternatives in cosmetics. Things in the green beauty industry have changed, grown and evolved, even in the last two years that I have been learning about it. At first I couldn’t find a lip gloss, mascara or moisturizer that could top my traditional picks. Now I have new faves and I feel good about them. It has been a journey. A green journey. The best part is I can feel GLAM while at the same time green and clean.
Click to read our 8-page feature on organic and natural products is inside NICHE magazine’s Spring 2017 issue, which includes a few of Dana’s picks. Watch for her new column, #NICHEnatural – debuting in Summer 2017.
