Product Love - Skincare

This post took me a while to write. I feel quite private about my decision to use mainly vegan health care products. In the past I've received a lot of eye rolls and blank expressions when people have asked me to explain my choice, so I tend to keep it to myself and not mention it anymore and just live the way I feel comfortable doing so. First I will tell you about these amazing products I am in love with. And if you are interested in why I use natural cosmetics you can read about it at the end of this post after the cut.

Cleansing

Green People - gentle cleanse and make-up remover
A while ago the lovely Green People team sent me some of their products to try and I was so impressed with the quality (you can see the review here). Since then I have become a dedicated customer. This cleanser is like magic in a bottle. When they say it removes (all) makeup as well as cleansing deeply at the same time they really mean it. There is nothing better than having one product to do lots of jobs in one - no more separate bottles of eye make-up remover. This product is for all skin types, and is vegan, which means no harsh man made chemicals in sight.

Toning

Weleda - one-step cleanser and toner
This cleanser/toner is amazing. This removes that last stubborn bit of makeup that likes to make a home in your pores. I don't use this as my main cleanser because a) I don't feel clean unless I've cleansed with water, and b) it lasts a whole lot longer if used sparingly. While this particular product is not vegan, Weleda's toning OR cleansing solution (not the 2-in-1) are vegan so there is a vegan option, and this 2-in-1 is produced to their high standards. (This is for nomal to combination skin so you may need to look at a gentler range if you have dry/sensitive skin).

Moisturising

Green People - vita min fix 24-hour cream
This is the most balancing cream I have ever used, and it's for all skin types so is really versatile. I have combination skin (very oily in parts, sometimes dry in others) and this cream is the only one I've ever used that stops the oily areas of my face from shining half way through the day. For the first time in my life my skin feels "normal". And once again this wonderful product does as it says on the package leaving your skin moisturised and balanced for 24 hours. Another wonderful, natural, vegan product (and it smells so good too). It lasts for ages, my little tester bottle lasted me 3 months and I was using it every day twice a day. You need only the tiniest amount to get the job done.

Intenive Moisturising

Liz Earle - superskin concentrate
I've always preferred using oil on my skin to cream, which I do for night time moisturising, and this beauty of a product is my favourite by far. The oils smells divine and when you are applying it you just know that this is good stuff.  This product is vegan as are most of the products in their range  (however I should mention that Liz Earle is now owned by Avon who are not a cruelty free company) (if anyone is interested to know exactly which Liz Earle products are/aren't vegan feel free to email me so I can forward you the email they sent me as it doesn't mention specifically on their website),

I'm aware these products are not in the lower price bracket, but after over 10 years of problem skin I have finally discovered four amazing products that my skin loves and I feel really great about recommending them to people. I will say one thing for all of these products, and that is a little goes a long way, and when you're paying top price that is really essential for me.

If you are interested in trying out some vegan products here is a website that lists many companies who stock them. And also, if you have any recommendations for vegan products I'd love for you to share them with me personally or in comments below.



If you would like to read about my personal choice to use mainly vegan and natural cosmetics you can read about it after the cut below.

’Products we put on our bodies should not contain chemicals that could damage our health.’ (Sarantis et al, 2010, p.17)

Being a university student I have access to thousands of medical journals which are not available to the general public (as you need special licensing to view them). It's one thing reading an online/magazine article about harmful chemicals in products, it's another thing reading peer reviewed medical papers with test results showing the actual depth of the major flaws and dishonesty within the cosmetics industry.

One thing I see over and over is companies putting profit before ethical responsibility. And that makes me disappointed as a consumer, and really really sad as an ethical individual.

It is somewhat similar to the current 'horse meat' situation in the UK.  (In case you have not heard about it already hundreds of 'beef' products have been tested and have been found to contain high quanitites of pork and horse meat and possibly the animal drug 'bute'). The reason I compare these situations is because in both cases products are being sold to the public with hidden ingredients and are being mis-advertised. By doing this we, the public, are not able to make an informed decision about the products we buy. If cosmetic companies were honest about what goes into our products I'm sure many people would not be so quick to pick them up off the shelves.

Unfortunately I can't link to any medical journals (due to the licensing issues) but what I will do is share some extracts with you, citing the relevant sources.

• Cosmetics are one of the least-regulated consumer products on the market today. (Schakowsky, 2011, 28/11/2012)
• Due to loopholes in the law it is legal for cosmetics and personal care products to contain sensitizers, hormone disruptors, reproductive toxicants, carcinogens and other toxic chemicals linked to harmful health effects. (Sarantis et al, 2010, p.4)
• The average fragrance product tested contained 14 secret chemicals not listed on the label. Among them are chemicals associated with hormone disruption and allergic reactions (Sarantis et al, 2010, p.3)
• Major loopholes in U.S. federal law allow the $50 billion cosmetics industry to put unlimited amounts of chemicals into personal care products with no required testing, no monitoring of health effects and inadequate labeling requirements. (http://safecosmetics.org/)  

Below are a few links to some interesting and informative online articles:

• some interesting facts here
• brazilian keratin hair straightener articles here and here
• like to paint your nails pretty colours? article here
• think your 'organic' product is really organic? article here 
• ever wondered what 'fragrance' means on your ingredients list? article here

The two websites I have linked to above are The Campaign For Safe Cosmetics and Skin Deep which I think have some great articles. As I mentioned before it's hard to believe everything you read, but after reading through lots of medical journals and seeing test results to back them up I personally choose to use vegan "clean" products.