14-steps to a clean beauty routine

When I decided to start incorporating cleaner beauty and personal products into my routines, I felt overwhelmed. I didn't know where to start. Should I throw out all my old products? Do I need to buy all the new products right now? How am I going to afford that? How do I know which products are the right ones? And on and on.

I had just moved from NYC to Florida to live with my parents while I figured out my life. I was starting over. I was becoming a different person: learning, healing, and taking my self-care very seriously. I decided I wanted to get healthy: mind, body, and soul. As someone who gets very overwhelmed with big, all-encompassing changes, I need digestible, small right actions to make new habits and routines stick. So right from the beginning, I decided I would start slow, changing out the worst (toxicity-wise) and give myself a month to get comfortable with each change. I feel like it worked really well because I’ve converted almost all (no one’s perfect, right?!) my beauty products and have never looked back.

I hope this can be a guide for you, or at least an example of a way to do it if you’ve been thinking about going clean. To make the most impact, I’ve put together a list of products to start with, the ones that have the most potential to be harmful because of where they are applied, how they’re used, and/or the ingredients. I also considered my attachment to each product and how hard I thought it might be to replace. So this is the list I use, but I don’t think there is a wrong way. If you know a certain order will be better for your lifestyle, I say do it.

Factors I thought about and read up on when deciding on this order are below:

How much of your body is exposed to a product
If the product can get directly into your body/bloodstream via mouth, eyes, underarms
How often you use the product

1) Deodorant

I honestly felt like this was the hardest one because I’m used to not sweating or smelling at all. When you think about it, stopping your underarms from sweating is probably dangerous, but I had been testing out deodorants for a while. I made it a #1 priority to stick to it since antiperspirants and deodorants can get directly into your bloodstream after you shave. And I use it every.damn.day.

My Pick: Schmidt’s Charcoal + Magnesium

2) Toothpaste

The frequency I use toothpaste and the fact I’m swallowing some of it every day made me move this to the top of my list.

My Pick: Auromere Ayurvedic Herbal Toothpaste

3) Body lotion/oil

Our skin is our largest organ. Lotion or oil all over it every day really made me think about exactly what was in my lotion. I switched to oil and have never looked back.

My Pick: SheaMoisture Coconut Oil

4) Body wash

Same idea as body lotion/oil.

My Pick: Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap

5) Shampoo and conditioner

The frequency in which it’s used and I felt it would be an easy switch for me, as I wasn't attached to any brand.

My Pick: Acure Wave & Curl Color Wellness Shampoo

6) Perfume

I’ve seen perfume listed at the top of a lot of “most toxic” beauty products. I started to look for a cleaner version, but I actually just stopped wearing perfume. I found I didn't miss it.

7) Foundation

Did this next with the idea that I use it almost every day and put it all over my face, a larger surface area than other makeup.

My Pick: RMS Uncover-up

8) Mascara, eyeliner, eye shadow, etc.

My eyes are sensitive and I wanted to make sure the products I’m using around them are as clean as possible. I’ve also heard that bacteria love to live in mascara because of how the product is used, pumping the wand and the dark damp nature of the tube.

9) Lipstick, gloss, etc.

I picked this one because I'm actually ingesting a lot of it since it’s on my lips.

My Pick: Cocokind MyMatcha Stick

10) Feminine products/tampons

Well, I think this one is easy to see. I'm actually putting it into my body.

11) Nail polish

The smell alone reminds me that it's most likely very toxic, but nail polish has gotten a bad rap over the past decade as being a big carrier of toxic baddies.

12) Blush and bronzer

Its rank here is based on the fact I don't use a lot of it, but I know I should be looking for a clean version.

13) Brows

Same as above.

14) Hair dye

Hair dye is more toxic than most of the things on this list but because I use it once every 10-12 weeks, I put it down towards the bottom.

So that's my list. I am always adding new clean categories to my repertoire. I am not perfect by any means. I still have things I need to clean up, but I'm getting cleaner every day. I would love to know what category you had the hardest time switching up or are worried about finding a replacement you love.

jodi xx