***UPDATED: We have a winner! Congratulations Chel, commenter number 23! Thanks to everyone for playing along! ***
Be sure to check out the super-fantastic giveaway at the end!
When I was first offered an opportunity to review The Green Beauty Guide, I’ve got to admit, I was initially skeptical.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for healthful eating (I don’t do high fructose corn syrup or trans fats, and I buy organic when I can), but when it comes to “green” beauty products my knee-jerk reaction was something along the lines of, “C’mon. That is such a ploy to get you to spend more money. Does it really matter if my moisturizer is ‘certified organic’?”
Well turns out, it actually may.
Author, journalist and holistic nutritionist Julie Gabriel, points out that what you put on your body can be just as important as what you put in it. Skin, after all, is your body’s largest organ and it tends to absorb like a sponge.
“Cosmetic products are food for our skin,” writes Gabriel. “And each chemical ends up in thousands of hungry mouths covering our skin — pores that is.” She continues, “When you use beauty products loaded with chemical ingredients, you are feeding your skin highly processed, artificial junk food. If you try eating healthfully, why use junk beauty products?”
And that’s when the lightbulb clicked on for me.
The products I apply to my body eventually do get absorbed by my body. If I care enough to eat right, I can’t overlook the “food” I choose to feed my skin.
Now, lest you think “green beauty” is going to require you to stop coloring your hair or shaving your underarms, fear not. Gabriel shares easy and realistic suggestions for adopting an all-natural beauty routine, while highlighting which toxic ingredients to avoid. She also spends time exposing common “organic gimmicks.” (After all, just because you buy a product at Whole Foods does NOT make it the most “natural” choice. There are plenty of chemicals to be found in organic and non-organic products, alike. You’ve got to know what to look for.) There’s even an entire section on baby care — with a listing of the best green products for your baby’s ultra-sensitive skin.
Now.
Stay with me here — because I know what some of you are thinking (exactly what I thought), “Going green is going to cost me more money.”
That is not necessarily true.
Gabriel does a great job of offering up product suggestions to suit every budget — from drugstore brands to higher-end lines. She then goes a step further by sharing 50 recipes for green beauty products that you can make easily — for pennies — at home.
The Green Beauty Guide has become my new beauty bible. It opened my eyes to the potential dangers of certain products I was using and offered realistic and affordable alternatives. I cannot recommend it enough.
And…here’s the great news! One lucky Chic Critique reader will receive her very own copy of The Green Beauty Guide, as well as a personalized Green Beauty Makeover by Julie herself. Julie was kind enough to do a Green Beauty Makeover on me — and her suggestions have been instrumental in helping me “green up” my beauty routine. For example, here’s how Julie modified my cleansing routine: remove makeup with pure olive oil (“free” from my kitchen) and follow up with oatmeal soap (available for about $3.50). See? How easy (and affordable) is that?
So, here’s how to enter:
1) Leave a comment giving one reason why you want to green up your beauty routine.
2) OPTIONAL: Get a second entry for twittering the contest. Just be sure to leave a 2nd comment so you get your second entry.
3) OPTIONAL: If you aren’t yet subscribed, you can get a 3rd entry for subscribing to Chic Critique. Again, just leave a separate comment telling us you did so.
This giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. Eastern (8:59 p.m. Pacific) on Wednesday, January 14th, 2009. Winner will be determined by the good ol’ random number generator.
So, get commenting already. It’s a brand-new year and that makes it the perfect time to turn over a brand-new (greener) beauty leaf.
About Melissa
Green beauty products are #1 on my list! I have such sensitive skin and am allergic to a preservative that is common in beauty products; that green beauty products are really a lifesaver for me!
Thanks
I subscribe via email!
Thanks
My daughter is a special needs child who has some endocrine issues. Endocrine issues can really be affected by what we put on & in our bodies so I’m very careful about what I put on her. I don’t want to give up wearing makeup but she touches me when I am wearing it so I need to be careful. Also if I have a firm grasp on the green makeup thing I can teach her when she’s old enough!
I want to green up because its safer and alot better for the skin! Thanks for entering me.
Greening up my beauty regiment is important because it’s safe, earth friendly and cheaper.
Go green because it’s good for the environment and it’s safe! I have a new baby and I don’t want to put his health in any harm.
I’d like to win this because I have super sensitive skin and harsh chemicals irritate it. I would like to know which products are safe.
I tweeted the giveaway…my name is mysticconn
I subscribe.
Green living is really important to me, but my beauty regimen (or lack of it) is one area that hasn’t been as easy to convert. I hate the idea of spending $15 for a bottle of lotion when I can buy a traditional brand for $3. I know why it’s worth it and I know the dangers of the chemicals in a lot of traditional products. But it’s still hard for me to justify the added expense when we’re on a tight budget. I’d love to learn ways to green my routine without spending a pretty penny.
I have very sensitive and dry skin and would love to find products to use.
I subscribed via RSS.
I want to use green products for my skin because it is better.
Why do I want to green up my beauty routine??? Because as I’m reading some of the ingredients on my makeup, I think I’m reading a foreign language. Yikes!! Help!
I feel cleaner when using green products on my skin. I have really sensitive skin and I trust the green products more.
Because I am TTC! Anything that goes on me could get to my baby too!
kayceewilliams @ gmail.com
Because we should care…and do what we can in all walks of life to take care of the planet that takes care of us!
I try to use greener beauty products because I really dislike putting so many chemicals into my body. I also have sensitive skin, so I have to be careful anyways!
I subscribed via email, also!
I have resolved to cut as many chemicals as I can out of our diet this year, largely because I keep hearing about so many people we know getting cancer. If there is something I can do to help prevent cancer in our family, I’m there! That includes what we put on our skin.
as i am getting older, i really want to take care of my skin… this going green idea is quite good. i have always wanted to try but never knew how to. this book and the makeover will definitely help!
Greening up my beauty regiment is important because it’s safe, earth friendly and cheaper.
Thanks
Jesselli Couture
So, of course I’m concerned about all the stuff that I put on my skin — makeup, cleansers, lotions. Your skin soaks in so much stuff so all those chemicals in the make up and such are getting soaked right into my body. That can’t be good!
The fact is I use a lot of wonderful products in my beauty routine, most likely few of them green. And as I try to green up the rest of our lives, I’m still a little hesitant to go green in this area. I mean, come on, good skin isn’t something to play with… don’t fix what ain’t broke, if you know what I mean. A resource to help me figure out how to go green without giving up good skin or quality cosmetics would be great.
I find the green life easy with food as I am a food scientist and understand what each of the components are. However I am baffled when it comes to cosmetics and other items. I strieve to have the “good ingredients” for my body – whether that is my skin or through my mouth. Would love to have this and clarify all my questions.
i have 3 year old twins and i’d love to have less crap washing down the drain into the water systems for them. and i eat so healthy that the idea of using a bunch of chemicals on my skin just creeps me out!
just subscribed via google reader.
It just feels like the right thing. Take care of the world. Put more natural things on my face. Everyone wins!
I want to do all I can to get my body healthy from the outside to the inside.
I am a new email subscriber. 🙂
Not entering the contest but wanted to pass along a cool ‘trick’ to show how quickly the stuff you put on your skin gets into your body. Take a garlic clove skinned and cut in 1/2 and put it between your big toe and the one next to it. In under a minute your breath will taste of garlic. Creepy and weird, but shows how quickly your body absorbs what you put on your skin.
I would love to learn about green skin care! I am slowly going green in other spects of my life and skin care is one area I know nothing about when It comes to going green.
I think it would be more healthy for me to choose items that aren’t full of nasty questionable chemicals!
I tweeted: http://twitter.com/wastebasket/statuses/1114886225
Username: wastebasket
I am a subscriber via google reader!
green is better for me and better for the earth 🙂
tweet
http://twitter.com/valerie2350/status/1114923585
email subscriber
I would love to learn green tips for a number of reasons! Especially becuase I have sensitive skin and alot of the conventional products seem to irritate it! I’d love to know more, the olive oil tip for removing makeup sounds so cool! I had no idea you could use that! How do you do that?
I subscribed via google reader!
I twittered! cornellian2001
Great review. I would love to learn more about organic and natural beauty care products. Our family has been working on it but we need help!
I just subscribed via My Yahoo.
I’m so interested in this book! I already use ‘mineral makeup’ and organic moisturizer…but I’m sure there’s chemicals in shampoos/body wash that I would like to know more about!
I just had a baby and my skin has never been so dry. I think some new ideas would be very helpful and I’m trying to “green up” my whole life so this is perfect.
Thanks
Well I’m in need of new make-up so why not go green? I am about to throw away a bunch of containers that won’t be used again and if I go gree they will! Thanks.