Glow up. Why I cleaned up my beauty routine.
I spent every day of 2017 fighting for my life. Asking questions like “Why me? Why now? What did I do to deserve this?” Questions that have no answer. Sometimes life is just unfair. Sometimes it takes young souls too soon. Once I accepted that the only guarantee I had in life was that one day I would die, I decided to get on with living.
“the only guarantee I had in life was that one day I would die”
When my breast cancer treatment was done, and I was left picking up the pieces, I decided to spend every day of 2019 and every year that follows… living. Living well. Living loudly and unapologetically. Living and loving and laughing and ensuring I was doing everything I could to live as long and as well as possible.
I changed my diet. I left my job. I started doing yoga and meditation. I learned to say no, especially to the people that didn’t make me feel good. I started looking at the chemicals in my food and my environment that could be potentially carcinogenic.
That’s when a friend sent me a New York Times article with the headline “Do You Know What’s In Your Cosmetics?” My immediate reaction was – No, and as long as they continue to make me feel like a better, shinier, more beautiful version of myself – I’m almost certain I don’t want to know.
“I love makeup, potions, lotions and serums that promise to make me look like my 15-year-old self forever and ever”
I love makeup, potions, lotions and serums that promise to make me look like my 15-year-old self forever and ever but a glance over the first few paragraphs, and sadly I couldn’t unread what I had just read. You can read it for yourself here.
The article mentions asbestos found in eyeshadow, lead in lipstick, formaldehyde, parabens, phthalates linked to decreased fertility, cancer and respiratory toxicity in big brand products marketed to women and young girls — products I had in my bathroom cabinet and had been slathering on my face for years.
Armed with my newfound commitment to healthful living and longevity, I decided to count the chemicals in my beauty products for one whole day. Every chemical I exposed my skin to in 24 hours. It couldn’t be that bad... Could it?
What I discovered was terrifying. Before 10am, I had lathered, smoothed and powdered 384 different chemicals on my face. By the time I went to sleep, I had lost count because that number had grown exponentially from the reapplication of sunscreen, lipstick, cleanser, moisturiser and eye cream. I was shocked but mostly afraid of what I had absorbed through my skin directly into my bloodstream.
“I was shocked but mostly afraid of what I had absorbed through my skin directly into my bloodstream.”
Despite being covered from head to toe in it, I was a little unsure about what my skin actually does besides keeping my insides from being on the outside. It turns out our body's largest organ does quite a lot. It regulates our temperature through sweat. It manufactures vitamin D from sunlight but also protects us against damaging UV rays. Through a massive network of nerves it sends signals to the brain that keep us safe and help us navigate the world. It also is a waterproof barrier that protects us from bacteria and external toxins.
This is where it gets complicated. It turns out our skin does keep some dangerous chemicals out, but it also absorbs a lot of what we put on it. Think about how effective nicotine patches are. It is true that some chemicals are structurally too large to enter the bloodstream through the skin, but I was curious and concerned about anything that could be entering my bloodstream without my knowledge or informed consent.
I should note here that 86 of the ingredients I found in my daily morning skincare are documented on the *Environmental Working Group (EWG) Skin Deep Database as known to be toxic to humans and cause a range of complaints including; endocrine disruption; reproductive toxicity; organ toxicity; neurotoxicity; skin and lung, eye irritation; and, cancer.
“I have been unknowingly slathering carcinogenic chemicals on my face for all of my adult life.”
I am terrified that I have unknowingly slathered carcinogenic chemicals on my face all my adult life. How is this okay? Why are there no safety requirements or regulations for beauty products?
I don’t have all the answers. I do know that I am determined to create a future where the products we put on our skin are safe and their ingredients are transparently labelled. I’m going to slowly and gently clean up my beauty cabinet. An essential part of that is accepting that I can never be perfect. Perfect is boring, and sometimes life is messy, but that keeps it interesting.
I started this site as a place to share what I learn as I clean up my daily routines in the hopes of sparing you from the hours, days and weeks of incredibly boring research I have done to understand how to live a long and beautiful life. Let’s create a safer, more beautiful world one human at a time.
“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” Mahatma Gandhi
*EWG is a non-profit, non-partisan organisation dedicated to protecting human health and the environment. Using research, science and education, they analyse ingredients in our food, products and atmosphere to create a safer world and drive consumer choice and civic action.