Natural Beauty - Skin Deep

I know it's pretty early in my blogging career  to start a 'series', but I did say that I would devote this to all the things I make so I feel obligated to identify it as slightly different from the original theme.
Well I happen to be really into not putting chemicals in and on my body and I want you to be the same.
This is sort of an introductory post to what I'm planning on doing, so check back in often to see what I am plotting.


Like a lot of people, I never really thought about what was in my beauty products.
Lotion is lotion right? In America there are regulations on that kind of stuff... right?
Wrong.
It all started when I realized that a lot of cosmetic companies test their products on animals, at first I thought I was to make sure that their products wouldn't hurt other animals if they got a hold of it or something; I thought it was done humanly and in a way that would assure the animal was not harmed. Wrong again, a lot of the products tested are done on little rabbits who often become blind from eye cancers caused by shoving chemicals repeatedly into and around their eyes... But that's a discussion for another time.
At first I was heart broken, why would they do this? Then I started to get mad. WHAT in the world are they putting in these products that would require testing? Why are some of these chemicals causing cancer? Aren't there things that come from nature that can do the same thing?
So when I was about ten or twelve I stopped using products tested on animals, I refused to pay companies that would give bunnies cancer.
Thought that was the end of it but alas, wrong.
When I was fourteen I got pretty curious about what all those ingredients I couldn't pronounce really meant and to my horror I found out that just because a company didn't test their products on animals didn't mean that they didn't USE animals in their products, in other words sodium tallowate isn't as harmless as one my think (Hint.: it has tallow in the name). Many people make this mistake because for one, it is really freaking hard to read ALL of the ingredients that are written in tiny print while you are standing in a florescent lit supermarket isle while people are shoving past trying to hurry up and get what they need (all of that is done on purpose, don't let anyone fool you).

Knowing some Greek and Latin can usually help someone figure out if something is plant derived or animal derived (hydrolyzed collagen and hydrolized elastin... you don't need greek and latin to figure that one out) Usually something ending in Acid should be looked into before purchasing (fatty acids can be obtained from animals and plants). But still, it's so hard to research every single ingredient, especially when there are 20+.
That can be very easily solved though, don't use things that have more ingredients than you are willing to look up. Use only homemade products, that way you really know what's in it. Then again, not everyone has the time and resources for that.
Or keep a journal of chemicals and ingredients  that you research; that way you don't have to dig around for the same ingredient and you'll be well informed of what is natural or what is far too refined for use.
I do this by sitting down with a product and listing off all the ingredients that I don't know or am not sure how they work; then I go to the computer and research away. Pro tip, use more than one source when you are looking these thing up, then write it out in your journal when you truly understand how it works. You'll be amazed how many ingredients are just fancy names for natural things and how many are possible carcinogens and irritants.

If you are interested in this topic I highly recommend reading Drop-Dead Gorgeous by Kim Erickson; guys and girls. I learned so much just by lightly scanning it a few times, I can't imagine what it will be like when I finally sit down and read it cover to cover.