Many of us want clearer skin, shinier hair, and softer lips, but is the price worth it? With a walk down a drugstore aisle or a cosmetic boutique, shoppers will discover thousands of products from all over the world, ensuring that longer lashes and rosier cheeks are just a credit card swipe away. However, most products contain harmful toxins and preservatives that penetrate the skin and cosmetics aren’t regulated by The Food and Drug Administration. However, does this mean that every woman should give up using lipstick, foundation, or perfume?
Julie Gabriel, a London-based nutrition specialist and former Associate Beauty Editor for Harper’s Bazaar, is all too familiar with this dilemma. As a writer who has written more than 500 articles on beauty, she has analyzed some of the top products preferred by Hollywood’s elite. After some research, she realized the many dangers everyday products contain, encouraging her to discover more beneficial ways to get beautiful with ease. In her book The Green Beauty Guide, she discusses which ingredients to avoid and how Mother Nature can be any girl’s best friend. She took some time from writing her next upcoming book on beauty recipes to quickly discuss the benefits of green beauty, and how being a more radiant you can also save some green.
nocheLatina: What is green beauty?
Julie Gabriel: It’s about making a difference in the environment through your health. Green beauty is both good for your overall lifestyle, but also beneficial for your skin. Earth-friendly cosmetics are ideally made with organic extracts and packaged in recyclable cases. You have to take a careful look at the ingredients used in your cosmetics because it’s the key to finding out what you’re really putting on your skin. For example, using olive oil works better than massage oil. Green beauty saves money, your health, and the planet.
nocheLatina: How can we make our skin regimens a little greener?
Julie Gabriel: Great skin begins with moisturizer, especially during winter when icy conditions can cause dryness. The easiest way to green up your beauty routine is applying mild oils to remove makeup and to moisturize! You can also mix oils with some sugar to exfoliate. I recommend grape seed, olive, pomegranate, or almond oils. A few drops of oil will do wonders to your skin. They also soothe fine lines and wrinkles, making them less visible without botox. Unlike what most people think, oils do not clog pores. What really clogs pores is mineral oil, silicone, and other synthetic products that skin shouldn’t be absorbing. Even if you have oily, acne prone skin, natural oils can still be applied. If you use toners, skip the burning alcohol and switch to floral waters.
nocheLatina: One of the surprising things about green beauty is how fast it works. For example, honey can make a pesky pimple go away literally overnight.
Julie Gabriel: Honey is one of my favorite natural products to use for acne. It’s cheap, available in your kitchen, and won’t cause dryness or make the pimple worse. Honey is rich in antibacterial elements and can be mixed with onion or garlic. Secure it with a band aid and overnight, a breakout will be gone. You can also take raw onions, place them in a food processor until it becomes gooey, and place it on the skin. Yes it’s smelly, but onions contain sulfur, which heals pimples fast. Tea tree oil is also great for acne and smells much better.
nocheLatina: What advice can you give to someone who is ready to go green in their beauty regimen, but doesn’t know where to start?
Julie Gabriel: First of all, just because you buy one non-toxic nail polish, it doesn’t mean that you’re green. It’s so much more than that. If you’re only going to own one organic product, make sure it’s moisturizer. Anything that is meant to stay longer than five minutes should be organic. The product should be purely natural and not contain any chemicals, preservatives, silicones, or mineral oil. What’s great about green beauty is that you can make nearly any product at home and all the ingredients can be found at your local market or online for cheap. Green beauty is all about being creative, while fighting back against ingredients that can affect the water you drink, the air you breathe, and the grass you walk on.
If you haven’t had the chance to check out The Green Beauty Guide, we selected an easy to make, oil-based treatment from her book just for you. This Soothing Face Oil recipe comforts irritated, red skin, an ideal choice that even old man winter would approve.
Soothing Face Oil
Ingredients
1 tablespoon organic rose hip oil
1 tablespoon organic virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon organic aloe vera juice
2 drops calendula essential oil
1 drop chamomile oil
1 drop comfrey essential oil
Preparation
Combine oils and shake vigorously.
