Most modern skincare products are filled with unnecessary and harmful chemicals. And what we put on our skin is absorbed into our body (think about how some medications are applied directly onto the skin). Here’s a comprehensive guide to transitioning to non-toxic skincare products. Keep in mind: it’s important to make changes at your own pace, in a way that isn’t stressful. You don’t have to change everything at once. Every effort will make a difference!
The good news is there are a lot of great natural skincare product options. And they’re often much affordable than “high-end” conventional skincare. You can even make your own skincare products if you’re up for the challenge! (There are lots of great YouTube tutorials)
Looking at ingredient lists for skincare products can be very overwhelming. As a rule of thumb, I try not to put anything on my skin that has unfamiliar ingredients. Most of the skincare products I use have 4-5 ingredients or less. That’s the way it should be!
Modern marketing tactics make it seem like you need a different skincare product for every area of the body, when in reality, that usually isn’t necessary. For example, I typically use the same kind of soap for my hands, face, shaving, hair, etc. So you’re likely to actually simplify your skincare routine by switching to non-toxic options.
Something else to keep in mind is that diet very much impacts skin health. Many people find that when they cut out seed oils and focus on nourishing, animal-based foods their skin health greatly improves (ex. acne, eczema, or psoriasis). Drinking bone broth is excellent for the skin.
Here are some skincare alternatives I have used & would recommend:
- Lotion
- Grass-fed beef tallow lotion
- Beef tallow is very nourishing for the skin and is actually antibacterial and antimicrobial. It’s been used on the skin for generations and is known for helping heal minor cuts, rashes, burns, eczema, etc.
- Keep in mind that when rendered properly, beef tallow DOES NOT have a beefy smell!
- You can make your own beef tallow lotion, or there are lots of great companies to brands to choose from. What I love about these companies is most of them are very small and often make their tallow lotions in their own kitchen.
- Clara & Fritz (code: RACH) is, in my opinion, the best brand for tallow lotion, and I’ve tried a lot of brands. It’s actually much more affordable than most other brands without any sacrifice in quality or ingredients. My favorite scent for the whipped tallow lotion is “pemberly”. The tallow is whipped perfectly and rubs in very well. A little bit goes a long way, and it makes my skin so soft!
- Toups & Co (code: RACH) has tallow lotion. Personally I haven’t tried their lotion, but I love their deodorant.
- Perma Earth has lots of tallow lotion options. They are more expensive, but they do have a great variety of options and scents!
- Goat milk lotion
- Some brands will have vegetable glycerin (which is typically a form of seed oil/PUFA), so just look out for that
- Unrefined coconut oil (you can literally just use it as lotion)
- Can be found at most grocery stores or amazon
- Grass-fed beef tallow lotion
- Bath
- Epsom salts make for a great, relaxing detox bath and can help with sore muscles (can be found at costco or on amazon, I typically buy the plain Dr. Teal brand).
- Ancient Minerals has great magnesium flakes (code: RIBEYERACH) for the bath! The magnesium is actually absorbed through the skin and can be very relaxing and helpful for sleep and digestion. I love using them in combo with epsom salt!
- Bend Soap Co has goat milk bath flakes (code: RACH) that have clean, simple ingredients. They always leave my skin feeling soft and smooth!
- Redmond life has bentonite clay (code: RACH) that’s great for detox baths.
- Chapstick & Lip Gloss
- There are lots of clean options for chapstick and lip gloss, with ingredients like beef tallow, bison tallow, beeswax, lard, and lanolin. Here are some of our favorite non-toxic brands!
- Chapstick
- Clara & Fritz has grass-fed beef tallow chapstick (code: RACH) that I love! This is my favorite non-toxic chapstick I’ve tried, as it works so well and helps so much with dry lips.
- White Oak Pastures also has grass-fed beef tallow lip balm (code: RIBEYERACH)! We love the lemon and peppermint. Fun fact: I’ve actually visited the White Oak tallow kitchen where they make their skincare products. It was such a cool experience. White Oak is such a great farm to support with very high quality products.
- Northstar Bison has grass-fed bison tallow chapstick (code: RIBEYERACH)! This is another excellent option with very clean ingredients.
- Bend Soap Co has beeswax lip butter (code: RACH) chapstick.
- Lip gloss
- Araza has beautiful coconut lip gloss (code: RIBEYERACH) with very clean ingredients. I use this every week for church and love it! They also have lip color, which is long lasting and lovely!
- Toups & Co (code: RACH) has lip gloss, lip stick, and more
- White Oak Pastures has lard lip gloss (code: RIBEYERACH).
- Lanolips has lanolin lip gloss (the plain version is only lanolin and is great for very dry/cracked lips)
- Soap
- There are lots of great options for non-toxic soap. Beef tallow, bison tallow, lard, and goat milk all make for great natural soap. Here are some of our favorite brands (all with very clean ingredients).
- White Oak Pastures has grass-fed beef tallow soap & body wash (code: RIBEYERACH)
- Northstar Bison has grass-fed bison tallow soap (code: RIBEYERACH)
- Toups & Co has grass-fed beef tallow soap (code: RACH)
- Bend Soap Co has goat milk soap (code: RACH)
- Here’s a link to a recipe to make your own
- Perma Earth has pork lard soap
- Sunscreen
- Many people find that when they stop eating processed foods and seed oils, their skin is less prone to burning. Sunlight is actually great medicine and isn’t something to be feared. But it is important to do graded sun exposure (the “d-minder” app is great for this). Morning and evening sunlight are great, as the UV index is much lower. Those that are fare-skinned often take longer to adjust to higher levels of sun exposure.
- If you need to be out in the sun for long periods of time and you aren’t well adjusted, wear a hat and long sleeves (or a rash guard if swimming). There are also some great options for non-toxic sunscreen made with beef tallow.
- Clara & Fritz (code: RACH) has beef tallow sunscreen lotion available seasonally. They often a lotion version and a “sun stick”. The ingredients are very simple and clean. We used this on our family vacation to the beach and it worked really well for us!
- Toups & Co (code: RACH) also makes grass-fed beef tallow sunscreen. We haven’t tried their sunscreen yet, but have enjoyed many of their other products!
- Here’s a link to a recipe to make your own
- Deodorant
- Many people find that their natural body odor greatly decreases when they cut out processed foods and eat a truly nourishing diet. That being said, there are quite a few non-toxic options for deodorant! Watch out for baking soda, as some will be sensitive to this (I was).
- Grass-fed beef tallow deodorant is excellent!
- The only brand I’ve found without baking soda is Toups & Co (code: RACH)
- Clara & Fritz (code: RACH) is coming out with a baking soda & aluminum free deodorant very soon. It may be released by the time you find this guide!
- There are several tallow deodorant options on etsy and from Perma Earth
- Here’s a link to a recipe to make your own
- Makeup
- Personally, I don’t wear makeup other than lip gloss, so I actually haven’t used most of these products. But I have done research to find the best quality makeup sources in terms of ingredients. According to reviews and what I have heard from friends, these are some of the best low-tox makeup options.
- Araza Beauty (code: RIBEYERACH) has non-toxic foundation, eye color, concealer, eyeliner, cheek color / blush, bronzer, lip color, beauty oil, and more. I love their lips products and have heard great things about their other makeup products!
- Toups & Co (code: RACH) has non-toxic foundation, mineral makeup, face primer, lipstick, long lash mascara, eyeliner, blush, lip gloss, eye shadow, concealer, cheek tint. Personally I have used their deodorant and lip color and would recommend them! Their makeup options look excellent.
In Summary
Of course, it’s not necessary to have or use all of these types of products. Personally, I don’t use much on my skin other than beef tallow or goat milk products as needed. I usually don’t even wash my face with anything but water!
Remember to transition to non-toxic products at your own pace. Stressing about toxins is often worse than the toxins themselves!
Always make sure to do your own research on products, as companies can changing their practices, ingredients, etc at any time. If you see anything on our website that needs to be updated, please let us know! We’d love to hear from you.
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