Like most people (it seems), my green beauty journey started with an illness. A few years ago I was dealing with a lot of stress in my life and not particularly taking care of myself and things kept going like that until I became quite severely physically ill, which landed me in the hospital on several occasions. My hair was falling out, I couldn’t eat or sleep properly, I was weak and tired and ached all over and my skin was a mess. I developed some serious internal issues (all better now, thankfully) which really made me wake up and realize that I was slowly killing myself.

I decided to take things into my own hands and started doing as much research as I could. Until I was sick, I never realized how many synthetic chemicals we put into our bodies every day through the things we eat and the products we use. It was scary to learn about but educating myself felt so good and empowering. I gradually got well as time went on and I am happy to say I am more than back to normal, I am better than I was before thanks to the things I learned. The first thing I did was change my eating habits. I wanted to rid my body of the synthetic additives and preservatives found in food and eat organically. Next was bath and body products, after that I moved on to cleaning products and lastly, skincare.

For me, getting started in green beauty wasn’t easy. Not all green brands are readily available in local drugstores or at Sephora and they can be quite expensive, so to shop for products online without trying them first can be overwhelming. Thanks to Content Beauty & Wellbeing, Tata Harper was one of the first brands I tried and immediately fell in love with and after that there was no looking back for me. Next, after doing more research, I decided I wanted to try was Ren and I loved it. The range was extensive and the products were affordable and easily accessible. They were also very generous with samples which made it so easy to find what worked for me. Next, I tried NUDE because I was looking for a facial and cleanser oil and at the time Ren did not have one. Back then the NUDE range was very limited but every product was well made with excellent, thoughtful ingredients.  Everything sounded amazing and that type of luxury, plant-based skincare was exactly what I was looking for. Not only that, they had trial kits and samples so taking the plunge was a no-brainer. Thanks to Content I quickly added a lot of great green beauty brands to my skincare cabinet and could not have been happier with everything I got.

From using a mix of these three brands my skin got better very quickly and at the time, with the illness I was dealing with, not having to worry about my skin anymore was a massive blessing. It helped me feel more positive and optimistic and I really felt like I was healing myself and obviously, when you think like that, that’s exactly what will happen and it did. If you are starting your green beauty journey I cannot recommend these three brands enough. They have so many amazing products (reviews coming) and there is something for every skin type and concern and I can personally attest to how effective they are.

I now try to stick to a 90/10 ratio with this “lifestyle” and that’s because it is not realistic to attempt (and probably fail) to do it 100%. I don’t eat 100% healthy every single day, I don’t exercise every time I “should” and being a lover of skincare it’s not possible for me to exclude every non-plant based brand out there, so I don’t and this balance works for me. Of course, there are some synthetic ingredients I especially try to avoid – preservatives, mineral oil, silicones, alcohol and synthetic fragrances/dyes. My 10% products have to be something special for me to use them and even though they don’t have to be plant based they need to be as “free from” as possible. So far I only have a few brands in this category (more on that later).

Over the years my love of green beauty has grown with every great product I have tried and every health conscious brand I discover. It has been amazing to still indulge my passion for beauty without having to worry about how the ingredients may be negatively affecting my health and wellbeing. The green beauty community is expanding all the time and there are so many incredible brands and products out there and I am going to do my best to try them all! I’m so excited to start this blog and I can’t wait to share my experiences with you so thank you for joining me!

I would love to hear about your experiences with green beauty/living, what made you switch (if you did) and any brands you love. There are so many products out there that I have yet to try so your input and recommendations are very much welcomed!

Arly

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