Pretty Is As Pretty Does

Being an eco-evangelist is not for the faint of heart, especially in the beauty industry. Part of the challenge is understanding that your simple $4 lip gloss that most would categorize as unnecessary fluff in the scope of eco-consciousness, bolsters a billion dollar industry that leverages a lot of power. Everybody wants your dollar, of course... but I think we would all agree we feel much better when we as individuals decide to buy something, as opposed to having been persuaded to buy something. I have developed a simple rule when trying to sift out a good cosmetics company: Pretty Is As Pretty Does.

So how do you know what is worth your eco-beauty dollar? To be honest, it is so hard. Like anything else you need to learn and trust and dive below the hype. Last week I walked through the drug store and saw a major cosmetic brand with a new "green" leafy icon on their product line. After picking it up and dissecting the packaging, that is what was "green". The packaging. But of course the clever language at first pass would lead you to think that the product itself was clean and eco. And what it all boils down to is trust.

Do you really think you can trust the major beauty industry? Do you care? Well, here is the problem. People assume that because of federal regulations, etc... there is some governing body that would not allow a product to be sold if it was harmful. This is half true. The half that isn't true is the part that requires close attention, and it just isn't the kind of conclusion that people naturally have an awareness of when they are trying to decide between a Midnight Navy eye pencil or Dark Chestnut. The beauty industry is unregulated. Let me say that again. The beauty industry is unregulated. For me, that notion started to haunt me and is part of what inspired my quest for pure, natural products and I was amazed at the incredible products that I found. The good is out there, you just really need to look beyond what is skin deep.

I often do private consultations where I completely makeover a clients home and beauty products. We start in the bathroom and line up shampoo's, conditioners, lotions, etc. This isn't about sales, it is about education. After you do this enough, you realize how many ingredients are common between a lotion, a hair conditioner, a foot cream. That isn't bad, a good moisturizer base is a good moisturizer base... you just have to figure out what is not good for you. A lot of the chemical names speak for themselves, but what I find most useful is focusing on what is good so my clients know what to find... because the list of what to avoid is just too long and nearly all products that you will find readily on the shelves contain little to no good. So I try not to focus on the negative... after all focusing on the positive is far more beautiful.

So rather than go on about how much lead is in lipstick or how much coal tar is in your shampoo, I want to tell you about a type of product that is out there. You don't find it by googling "organic" or "eco" in front of whatever beauty product you are searching for... you search by ingredient, and often by concept. Sounds complicated but after a few tries you get the hang of it. Remember, Pretty Is As Pretty Does.

Imagine a tribe of women in a remote part of the world. They gather a nut from an indigenous tree that is part of a biosphere reserve. Through a labor-intensive hand driven process they grind the kernel of this nut into a paste, where it is sent to a nearby cooperative where oil is extracted by a press. This oil, rich in Vitamin E and unique emollients that provide your skin a rich natural glow, add a gorgeous sheen to hair and give lips and delicate skin an enriched softness with anti-aging properties. Imagine that the sales of this unique, natural and pure product go back to this tribe, to sustain their culture, oil production and families. Sound perfect? Lucky for us, it is. The Berber Tribe in Morocco has been producing Argan Oil for centuries, and it is as luxurious and as perfect a beauty product if there ever was one. Although I knew of Argan Oil, my friend and well known celebrity hair dresser Eric Sebbag came into my store one day to show me his orange blossom infused Argan Oil, which his family has imported and developed for generations. A drop of this is liquid gold. I love putting it on my shoulders before I go out in the summer. It gives your skin a healthy, dewey, gorgeous look. It enriches your hair, it is truly amazing. It is pure. It comes from a single incredible part of the world that is protected by Unesco and is produced by a sustainable cooperative. I can barely keep it on the shelf and it has a beauty to it that is beyond the cleverest marketing spin or the most alluring advertising tag-line. It is truly a product that is as it does: completely beautiful, and so good.

So the moral of the story: the fewer the ingredients the better. Find an amazing pure, natural core ingredient like Argan Oil, or Aloe Vera, Sugar or Tumeric and seek out products with that as a base. The good, natural ingredients are no secret, and in good products they aren't hidden amongst a bevy of chemicals. The beauty industry has a very ugly side. Very ugly. What is amazing is that there are natural solutions to almost every beauty remedy we need, and they typically work better than those which come out of an unregulated lab, chemically formulated to be easy and cheap to mass produce. The handful of great companies that have perfected these great products keep their packaging eco-friendly too. That part is so easy, they don't need to advertise it. Pretty just does.

To see how your cosmetics rank for purity and harmfulness visit the Environmental Working Group's Cosmetic Safety Database.

Follow Renata Helfman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/VertLosAngeles

Comments

[gorgeousdigital]

It would be fantastic if the EWG would create an icon or label system that would easily identify products as having x% of natural ingredients, organic ingredients or synthetic chemicals. I grabbed the hand lotion off my desk after reading this and looked at the ingredients, and threw it away.

[lbrty 2112]

I know, let's do away with all 'beauty' products. I mean, let's face it, you're either pretty or you're not.

Right??

Right??!!

[LMPE]

I can hear the right wing saying "The market will solve everything."