Do you ever think about what’s in your beauty products? Do you gulp at the price when they all decide to run out at the same time? What if there was a better way? A cheaper, better and safer way to do your beauty routine? Let me share with you some of the changes I’ve made to my routine to make it cheaper, better and safer.
Face Wash
My old routine: I’ve been fortunate to have pretty easy going skin on my face, my sister is not so lucky. She was telling me her struggle with trying to find a cleanser that didn’t irritate her face. Finally, she just stopped washing her face and her face was much happier. I had to think about that one for a bit.
What I tried: I’m a lazy face washer- I hate to wash my face at night- and I don’t wear any concealer or the like that needs to be washed off at night. I was just washing my face in the shower in the morning. After talking to my sister I decided to stop. Do you know what happened? Nothing!
The results: My face didn’t break out, it wasn’t greasy, if anything, it felt soft and properly moisturized. Huh, well that was an easy step to make cheaper, better and safer- just skip it all together!
Face Moisturizer
My old routine: For my face moisturizer I was using Clean and Clear Dual Action Moisturizer. I’ve been using it since middle school and never thought much about it. My face did fine with it and it contained salicylic acid to prevent breakouts. The rest of the ingredient list left a lot to be desired.
What I tried: I decided to try making my own. My boss is a huge fan of coconut oil as a moisturizer, so I gave that a go. The secret she taught me was to splash your face with water first, then put on the coconut oil and allow it to sit for a few minutes, then dab off any excess. I decided to mix in some argan oil since it’s also good for your skin.
The results: My face stayed pretty much the same. No breakouts, no dry patches and not greasy. It’s soft and moisturized, my face loved it!
DIY face moisturizer
¼ cup coconut oil
1 Tb pure argan oil
Body Lotion
My old routine: I’ve never been very good about using lotion on my body, but Cetaphil was my product of choice. It seemed pretty safe since it’s gentle and recommended by dermatologists. It’s pretty good as far as mainstream lotions go but still left a lot to be desired.
What I tried: I used my face moisturizer on my body for a while and it worked well, but I hated waiting for it to absorb in. I wanted an actual lotion I could just slap on and be good to go. Once again, my boss had the answer: Everyday Shea Body Lotion by Alaffia.
The results: My boss had a bottle at work and once I found myself using more than was probably polite, I decided to bite the bullet and buy myself a bottle. Seriously, this lotion is amazing. It’s the only lotion I’ve found that keeps my hands from turning red and scaly during the winter and it absorbs in quickly without a greasy residue. I know, it sounds too good to be true, but it is!
I headed to my local Natural Grocers and was preparing myself for an astronomical price tag. I was pleasantly surprised to find that a 32 oz bottle was only $10! Not only that but Alaffia is an awesome company that uses fair trade ingredients and does a lot of charitable work– like a lot.
Awesome product, great price and an awesome company that I love supporting. Yes, please!
I’ve only been able to find it for $14 online, which is still a great price, but I’d check around town with your health stores first, before grabbing it online.
Deodorant
My old routine: I am a sweater. Not like the article of clothing, like I sweat a lot. It’s always been a problem. It’s gotten better as I’ve moved further away from puberty, but still, you’ll never catch me without deodorant. The only products I found that worked for me were Secret Clinical Strength and Certain Dri, sometimes I even used them both together.
It wasn’t pretty, but it worked. I just assumed I’d get lymph node cancer at some point in time. Pit stains vs. potential cancer, middle school Jo picked potential cancer and didn’t think about it again.
What I tried: It seems like a lot of natural deodorants have popped onto the market over the last couple years. I tried making my own- no good. I tried a few natural brands- no good. Finally, my mom sent me an article with the top natural deodorant brands. As I was researching each one, there was a positive review on one of the sites from a lady who also used to use Secret Clinical. That caught my attention!
The brand? Native Deodorant.
The results: It works great! Native recommends giving your body 2 weeks to adjust, but it worked great for me right away. I’ve never looked back. Now, I won’t claim that it’s the cheapest deodorant, because it isn’t, but it’s about the same price I was paying for my chemical ridden Secret Clinical, so I don’t mind. They do have a subscription option that reduces the price some.
They also come out with 3 limited edition scents every season. I ended up falling in love with one of these scents, so I emailed to ask if they had a discount for buying in bulk. They did! They sent me a coupon code and I bought a case of 10 deodorants to get me through the year. Cheaper, better and safer.
Shampoo and Conditioner
I’m still working on my shampoo and conditioner routine. The “no-poo” route doesn’t work for me, and neither does the apple cider vinegar rinse. I’ve tried DIYing a few others, but still no luck.
I recently discovered that Alaffia, that lotion brand I love, also makes hair products! I’m playing around with them currently to find what works for my hair. I found a helpful chart on their site that tells you which product to use depending on your hair type. Click on “Skin and Hair Types” under the Product Information Heading and scroll down a bit to get to the chart.
Hair Products
My old routine: I have really fine hair that needs product in it after I shower to keep it soft, detangled and prevent static. I tried to find more natural products and I seemed to gravitate towards products with argan oil.
What I tried: I decided to cut out the middleman and just buy straight argan oil.
The results: With my hair, there is a fine line between enough product to prevent frizz and too much product causing greasy hair. I tried putting a few drops of argan oil in my palm and spreading it through my wet hair. Greasy. I tried putting it in a mister bottle and spraying it on my wet hair. Greasy. Finally, I diluted it with water and put it in the mister bottle, then sprayed it on my wet hair. Success!
I tend to just eyeball my dilution, but it’s somewhere between 1:5 or 1:6 argan oil to water. Since it’s oil and water it does separate, but I just keep shaking it between sprays and it stays mixed up well enough.
I now have soft, shiny, tangle-free hair for a fraction of the price! And I know exactly what’s in my product. Cheaper, better and safer.
I hope that sharing the changes I’ve made to my beauty routine will help you find ways to make your routine cheaper, better and safer. I realize that everyone’s body is different so not all the products that work for me will work for you, but know it’s worth the effort to experiment and find what does work. I pay a fraction of what I was paying before, I feel perfectly comfortable with all the products I’m using and I’m so happy with the way they’re working for me. Win-win-win!