The term Green Beauty or Clean Beauty is definitely a hot topic right now, as it’s gaining more and more popularity. But what does it mean exactly and why is better for you and your skin?
So why is green non-toxic beauty better?
1- Better for your health
60% of what we put on our skin and hair is absorbed into the body, so I personally believe that it is important to only use products with ingredients that will make you look great inside and out!
2- Better for the environment
In addition to natural products that do no harm to the body, natural products also won’t do harm to the environment. With added chemicals, beauty product waste can contaminate water and the surrounding environments and become toxic.
3- Better for animals
Normally Green beauty brands don’t test on animals and most of times don’t use animal products as well. They also tend to source their ingredients in a more ethical way, either by choosing organic or fair-trade sources. Lots of brands also use more sustainable packaging like glass/metal or bamboo instead of plastic.
So, what shall we look out for and avoid when buying a product? This is quite and extensive list of ingredients which I try to avoid as much as possible. I know it might look a bit overwhelming but once you get familiar with certain brands that avoid all of these you won’t need to check every single bottle as you will probably just trust the brand and what they stand for.
- Aluminum chlorhydrate and aluminum zirconium
- Cocamide DEA
- Contaminated Lanolin
- Disodium EDTA
- DMDM hydantoin
- Butylated Hydroxyanisole
- Butylated hydroxytoluene
- Ethylene Glycol
- Formaldehyde
- Iodopropynyl butylcarbamate
- Lauramide DEA
- Methyldibromoglutaronitrile
- Methylchloroisothiazolinone
- Methylisothiazolinone
- Ozokerite
- Parabens
- Paraffin Wax
- Petroleum derivatives
- Phthalates
- Polyethylene Glycol (PEG)
- Propylene Glycol
- Polyoxymethylene urea
- PVC
- Quaternium-15
- Silicones
- Sodium hydroxymethylglycinate
- Sodium lauryl sulphate
- Sodium laureth sulphate
- Synthetic colourants
- Synthetic fragrance
- Synthetic SPF’s – Oxybenzone, Octinoxate, Octocrylene and Homosalate
- TEA / abv. tiethanolamine
- Tetrahydrozoline Hydrochloride
- Tetrasodium EDTA
- Toluene
- Triclosal
All Pure products are 100% natural and cruelty free.
I also believe that looking after your skin from the outside is equally important as feeding your skin from the inside, so I have decided to share my favourite Green Smoothie recipe. . I call it my Green Goddess Smoothie Bowl as I literally feel so vibrant and alive after eating it!
The smoothie is packed with skin loving ingredients, like kale, oranges and lime juice, all really high in vitamin C, essential for the production of skin collagen.
I also like to add avocado not just to make the smoothie super creamy but also because it adds healthy fats, again really important for plumped and glowy skin. I love adding a bit of fresh ginger for that extra zing which goes so well with all the other ingredients.
Green Beauty Recipe – Makes 1 large smoothie
Ingredients:
1-2 frozen bananas
A generous handful of kale
The juice and pulp of 1-2 oranges
The juice of 1 lime
A thumb size piece of ginger
1/2 avocado
Enough water to blend
Optional adds on:
1 tsp of baobab powder
1 tsp of wheatgrass powder
Toppings:
Coconut chips
Quinoa pops
Sliced kiwi
Berries
Cacao nibs
Or whatever you fancy!
Simply place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Add the water gradually as you don’t want to have your smoothie too runny.
Pour the smoothie into a bow and top with your favorite toppings. Enjoy!
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