Makeup that Won’t Bring You Down

The Story of Cosmetics, describes the interrelationship between life style, 

product manufacturing, our health, and the environment’s health. 

     Knowing that whenever we use a personal care product the principle: "toxins in, toxins out" applies, I can easily forgo using makeup and hair dye.  Yet, I continue to use soap, shampoo, conditioner, hand cream, sun screen, toothpaste, and deodorant, and my teenage daughter, although knowledgeable about the sustainability issues, still wishes to wear makeup.  We do two things to minimize the negative impacts:  I am careful to purchase basic bath products from a companies that are dedicated to creating natural products (either from local stores or ordered from a food co-op) whenever possible; and we research alternative choices for my daughter’s makeup.  We have discovered some healthier, more sustainable options.  Our research began with the following two sources:

·        The Cosmetic Data Base gives green ratings for cosmetics, http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com. 

·        The Sierra Club had good resources if you search for “cosmetics” at their green life link, www.Sierraclub.org/greenlife.

     To address the larger issue of insuring that cosmetics sold in the United States are free of cancer causing chemicals, I support a non-profit organization that fights to impact legislation: safecosmetics.org. They e-mail me when important legislation is pending and I add my name to their petitions. 
     Looking good should not have to impact our ability to "tip toe".