Why this no-fuss makeup girl loves Beautycounter

I’m a no-fuss, despise-getting-ready, no-makeup-on-weekends kind of girl. I also pay for expensive beauty products. Here’s why:

If you’ve ever lived with a chronic health condition, you may resonate with feeling out of control of your body. Among the many unexplained and confusing symptoms I’ve experienced throughout the years, skin issues have been no exception. Throughout my journey with functional medicine, I saw dramatic improvements with my skin issues. However, this only took me so far. Enter Beautycounter.

In short, Beautycounter is a clean beauty company that became a saving grace on my healing journey with autoimmunity. It offers skincare, makeup, hair and body care for women, men and kids. Most importantly, Beautycounter makes and sells products in a safe, responsible way.

Isn’t most makeup and skincare safe, you ask? What about all that stuff that says “all natural” on it? No and no. In fact, not even close.

As I began my journey of gut healing and hormone balancing, I started to pay close attention to every product, food and fragrance that came in contact with my body. Through that process, I was shocked to discover that the U.S. has not passed a single major federal law regulating the safety of ingredients in personal care products since 1938. Read it again, everyone. 1-9-3-8.

Members of Congress began efforts to modernize these laws in the 1950s, but the cosmetics industry defeated all these attempts. The cosmetics industry, by the way, is a $60 billion/year business with the average woman using 12 products and 168 ingredients daily. So, in a nutshell, there are virtually no safety standards or regulations whatsoever on the products we Americans are lathering onto our bodies.

While the U.S. currently bans a whopping 30 harmful or questionable ingredients from our personal care products, Beautycounter bans over 1,800. The European Union bans around 1,400, by contrast. This means we could buy a makeup product in Europe, then buy what looks like the exact same product in the U.S. – only our version would be full of chemicals that are BANNED in Europe. None of us would know any different – except one of the products is significantly safer for us that the other. This lack of transparency and accountability is exactly the type of stuff that fuels my fire.

Fueled by a belief that “beauty should be good for you,” Beautycounter took on a role of spearheading change throughout the entire beauty industry by advocating for stricter guidelines and regulations.

Beautycounter is also a Certified B Corporation, an exclusive group of businesses dedicated to using their profits for positive change. For reference, getting B-Corp certified is very hard so it’s impressive when a brand earns that label. Other B-Corp brands you may know include Patagonia, Allbirds, TOMS and Athleta.

When the Beautycounter team first set out to make clean, high-performing products, sourcing safer ingredients was at the forefront of their minds. Over the years, the company has worked to build a responsible sourcing program to continually address high-risk ingredients including vanilla, mica and palm oil. As a social worker living with chronic illness I. am. into. it.

The journey of holistic healing and clean living is expensive. There’s no doubt about it. It costs more to eat organic, whole foods and to use products that are actually safe. I’ve spent a lot of money and time researching and living this process for the past four years. I know it’s a lot to take on.

In fact, a few times I tried to save money by defaulting back to my $7 face wash and “all-natural” high-end makeup – which, I later discovered was not natural at all. That didn’t last long. I experienced instant flare-ups and break-outs as a result. I’m never going back. My body clearly doesn’t want me to, and I don’t blame it.

Due to increased demand for using clean, chemical-free products in recent years, companies often market “natural” products to consumers. We often assume someone is regulating this term, but that’s usually not the case. In fact, a 2008 study by the Organic Consumers Association found an undisclosed carcinogenic petrochemical (ie. cancer-causing) ingredient in more than 40% of tests products that claimed to be “natural.” Again, there is no accountability for this in the U.S.

Unsure if the products you’re using are actually safe? I’d highly recommend getting to know the Environmental Working Group’s website. They have lots of good information about harmful ingredients. I’ll also be writing more about all this as I continue to get my blog back up and running.

This summer, I decided to partner with Beautycounter after spending years learning about the company’s mission and using its products. I had already been singing Beautycounter’s praises, so it only made sense to become part of the team.

Check out this Transparency video to learn more about Beautycounter’s mission to clean up the beauty industry and the ripple effect it’s making to prioritize the people and planet.

You can also check out my Shop page to see some of my favorite Beautycounter products.