5 Tips For Transitioning to Organic or Natural Skin Care

 Would you put mercury on your skin? If not, then, it is time to transition to safer and cleaner beauty! We all have a story behind why we switch to natural skincare products. For me, it was the result of my quest to find effective products to deal with my acne and my dry and sensitive skin on my body. I used a lot of conventional skin care products, so I researched the ingredients in my favorite skin care products and discovered that most of the ingredients were skin irritants or possibly dangerous for our health. (read our Why Natural Beauty? Toxins To Avoid in Your Skin Care Products ).

First, anything with parabens and SLES had to go. I found myself spending hours reading labels, studying ingredients, and identifying the best product for each skin types. I learned so much and I’m still learning to this day.   It was difficult to give up my old skincare products though; I used some of these products for a long time, and they became a part of me and my identity, so it was quite overwhelming to decide to throw them away.

Transitioning to natural and organic skincare can be an overwhelming experience. Here, I give you five tips I wish I knew before starting to transition to clean safe beauty.  

1.       Transitioning to natural skincare is not a race, it’s marathon. It’s all about finding what products work for you. Trying to switch all our products at once can quickly become a very overwhelming experience. Actually, we don’t see results right away when we switch to natural and organic skincare products; there is a detoxifying period. Natural and organic skincare products work with the skin instead of forcing it into becoming different like regular commercial products. It takes two weeks for the toxins that were accumulated in our skin to be released. I would say that it takes four weeks to see actual change in the skin when using natural and organic skincare. So, changing all our products at once would be a big mistake. Start small with one product at a time; we created the CFB's swap it out section to help you switch to natural/organic products. There, we gave you natural alternatives to different products.

2.       Find out about ingredients. You’re going to need to familiarize yourself with potentially toxic ingredients used in the skincare industry. Did you that there are 75,000 industrial chemicals and at least 5,000 of these chemicals are used in the cosmetic industry? Yes, 5000 and several of these chemicals have been classified as harmful to our health. It is essential to know about ingredients in our products. You probably already know that we need to avoid parabens (Isobutylparaben, Butylparaben, Methylparaben, Propylparaben); they are the most common preservatives used in skin care. Many scientific studies have confirmed that parabens have the potential to cause cancer because of their estrogenic activity. We created a dirty 10 list to give you quick access to the most commonly used potentially harmful ingredients. Check it here to get our dirty 10 list.
 
Did you transition to natural beauty? What was your experience?

3.       Read your labels. This is a new habit to develop. I no longer just read the front of product bottle; always the whole bottle and the list of ingredients from top to bottom. That new habit actually saved me a lot of money. Lots of brands claim to be natural and organic, but put a few natural/organic ingredients at the top of their ingredient labels and then write the potentially toxic ingredients the bottom of the labels. The front of the bottle might lie but the ingredient list does not. Reading your labels is a must.
 
4.     Find out what natural/organic ingredients will work for your skin type. It is essential to know the natural ingredients to look for when shopping for the best skincare products. In our blog post What Are the Best Natural Ingredients for Your Skin?, we describe the best natural ingredients for each skin type. For sensitive skin, calendula and aloe vera reduce inflammation, soothe the skin, and support burn healing processes. For dry skin, look for hemp oil, shea butter, and lavender essential oils in your natural and organic skin care products. These ingredients deeply moisturize skin and quench dry skin. For acne-prone skin and oily skin, thyme and tea tree oil have antiseptic and antibacterial properties to help clear pimples and help manage sebum production. Once you have a clear idea of what ingredients might work for you, it becomes easier to shop for the right products. Wondering how a natural or organic skin care product might work? Check out the CFB-Beauty Section for product reviews.
 
5.       Shop smart. There are a lot of natural and organic skincare products on the market, but buying really good quality natural products can be very expensive. Don’t waste $80 on a product that might not work for your skin. Test first before committing to do full-size products. Many companies have samples with a $10 starting price (Check out our sample section).  I didn’t want to spend too much at first, so I focused on discounts and sales. In our deals of the month you can find sales on organic and natural products. I also found out that it was really cheaper for me to find websites that had more than 100 brands and save on shipping costs. Here are a few of them. Safe and Chic – Save 10% OFF with code Chic. Credo beauty – 10% OFF code is CREDOLOVESYOU.

Transitioning to natural and organic skincare might feel like an overwhelming process, but there are ways to make it easier and less expensive. Don’t be too discouraged; take one step at a time; replace one product at a time. This is more than caring for your skin, it’s about using the best way to love your skin and loving yourself