October is breast cancer awareness week. I worked with the Warriors In Pink for 2 years and got to know many survivors of breast cancer. These women were my age, they were my mother’s age and each story was encouraging as they survived but no less shocking.
How could a nurse under the age of 30 who was “healthy” get breast cancer!? It was frightening. It still is. Did you know that 12.4% of women will develop breast cancer during their lifetime?
According to the research, only 5-10% of breast cancers are a result of high-risk inherited genes and that around 80% of women diagnosed with breast cancer are the first in their family to develop the disease. This shows that there are other significant risks OTHER than just genetics!
We know alcohol and tobacco use increase our risk of developing breast cancer but chemicals found in the environment as well as in our cleaning products, plastics, cosmetics, and skin care are also hormone disruptors that may also increase your risk.
“Reducing chemical exposures could save many, many women’s lives. When you talk to people about breast cancer prevention, chemical exposure often isn’t even on their radar. Studies that address toxic chemical exposure account for just a drop in the bucket of money spent on breast cancer.”
While exposure to environmental toxins is the biggest risk, like gasoline or chemicals we use on our lawns, your skin is the largest organ on your body and we directly apply lotions and make up that contain the toxic chemicals which are then readily absorbed into our blood stream. Many are fat soluble and go and take up residence right in our bodies and we are unable to detox or get them out of our system. Over time as they accumulate we get hormone disruption. These disruptions can cause cancerous tumors, birth defects, and other developmental disorders. Any system in the body controlled by hormones can be derailed by hormone disruptors.
This is not meant to be a scary Halloween post. It’s meant to be a wake up call and to encourage you to avoid these chemicals when you can. DITCH THE CHEMICALS.
This is why I try to buy 100% organic food now at the grocery store. I have also committed to switching my skin care products to be 100% clean as well. Even the cream I use for anal bleaching is completely natural. If you happen to want one, you can click here to redirect to the source page where I have mine.
I’ve been shopping at Follain for the past year to slowly change over all my products. They are a simple one stop shop of all things clean beauty.
Many of you kept recommending Beautycounter to me while I was in search of a melasma solution. In case you are unfamiliar, Beautycounter creates clean beauty products whose mission is to get safer products into the hands of everyone!
The Overnight Resurfacing Peel seemed to be a favorite among my followers (and my sister!) in treating discoloration. My friend Emily also raves about their baby products.
During my Stonyfield trip, I met Cassy from Fed and Fit who is like the QUEEN of Beauty Counter. She gave me a bottle of the overnight resurfacing peel to try and I quickly fell in love in two weeks. I then tried a few of the baby products including this Daily Protective Balm and was shocked at how quickly a little patch of dry skin cleared up on Connor.
Was I converted? Had I been ignoring all the Beautycounter DM’s for years for nothing!?
In short, Cassy and Lexi convinced me to be a part of their team at Beautycounter to help get more clean beauty products into the hands of those that follow me for their own health’s sake.
Beautycounter is a B Corp which says a lot about an organization. All my favorite companies are B Corps, it’s a very hard status to achieve but basically B Corp is to business what USDA Organic certification is to milk. It looks at social and environmental performance and shows that a brand puts an emphasis on their employees, customers and planet over their shareholders’ profits.
I believe that there isn’t one product that works best for everyone. Have you ever read reviews on any organic deodorant?! lol. No one agrees on what works and what doesn’t. That’s because we are all different!
Follain is an amazing store because they really gets this. I have purchased many products from their stores that I love. They too are in the business that they want clean products in as many hands as possible! If the government won’t regulate or help us navigate what’s safe, we must spread the word. If a products at Follain or Beautycounter doesn’t work for you, don’t give up! Find one that does without the chemicals. I want to help you find something that fits your budget and your needs.
I want you to make the switch for your health and if me joining Beautycounter helps make that happen then good whether you buy products from Follain, Credo or Beautycounter. Clean beauty is the future.
Some of my favorite products so far:
I am loving the Baby Daily Protective Balm. I got a lot of messages from my followers on Instagram that it is also great for adults as a moisturizer in the winter for dry spots!
I also recently switched my shampoo and conditioner to use Beauty Counter’s after realizing most traditional washes have cancer causing chemicals. Here is a link to the shampoo and here is a link to the conditioner. They leave my hair feeling clean and light. I can go several days without washing which has been my biggest concern with previous “clean” hair care products. They never left my hair feeling clean and/or quickly became greasy! I have a lot of straight hair that is color treated as a reference point. I do have serious baby hairs.
“Tests ordered by an environmental watchdog group revealed the presence of a cancer-causing chemical in dozens of personal care products that lack a warning label required by California law. The compound, a chemically modified form of coconut oil—cocamide diethanolamine (cocamide DEA)—is used as a foaming agent or thickener in soaps, shampoos, conditioners, and similar products.”
source
I’m loving the Tint Skin Hydrating Foundation as well. It goes on light and doesn’t clog my pores. It blends well using my makeup sponge and matches my skin color perfectly. I use the sand. I actually bought the flawless in five make up package. The brilliant brow gel and lip gloss are also my current obsessions. I got the volume mascara and I think next time I would try the lengthening but it works. I do really like the Honest beauty mascara which I assume is clean but haven’t done my research as sometime Honest isn’t totally honest about their ingredients.
The overnight resurfacing peel though seems to be a cult favorite. I love it. My sister loves it and there are currently 1732 reviews with an average star rating of 4.8 on the website! “Goodnight, dullness. Good morning, radiance. Featuring a proprietary multi-acid complex, this leave-on AHA/BHA peel improves skin texture and boosts clarity without irritation or over-drying. With glycolic, malic, and botanically derived lactic acid, the formula clears away dull surface cells, while arginine and essential fatty acids help soothe and nourish to reveal a brighter complexion.” It’s not really a peel at all as you just wash it off in the morning with your cleanser.
People also LOVEEEEE the sunscreen. It’s not really the season of sunscreen but I do wear it on my face EVERY. SINGLE. DAY!
How to get discounts
Another thing to consider is signing up for Band of Beauty (our membership program — think Amazon Prime) at the same time you order. Right now, the free enrollment gift with a $50+ order is a full-sized Charcoal Bar – a fan favorite. Enrollment costs $29 and the bar is worth $26, and you’ll also get 10% product credit on every order to apply to future purchases. (And free shipping on orders over $100.) It’s a really good deal and it’s 100% worth it if you plan to make more than one Beautycounter purchase.
So in honor of October being breast cancer awareness month, I encourage you to make ONE switch. Maybe it’s your deodorant, your foundation or your shampoo but swap out at least ONE product that you use daily with something that does not include harmful chemicals, I decided to do it with my foundation and now I’m using the best foundation for mature skin. This holiday season, you can even gift products to friends and family to encourage them to make the switch so they can experience how great clean products can be without being preachy.
I don’t know why I was so nervous to share this with all of you. I guess I worried about the backlash behind a company that may come off as a pyramid but I’m not planning on building a team right now. I just want to get people to use more clean products and this is one small way I can make impact. I’m sad that it took breast cancer awareness month to make me want to share this with you guys but I’m happy that I finally did!
