Natural Beauty Update

It's been about three months now since I set out on my journey into changing over to more natural beauty products and it's been a very interesting journey so far, that's for sure.  I love the feeling as I rid my bathroom or makeup bag of another product from a non-natural brand or range and can replace it with something a bit kinder to the earth and our skin.

It is a slow process as some products seem to hang around for a while and as I don't wear much makeup, it often takes a while to use it up.  I don't really like throwing things out on a whim, as it seems a bit wasteful, but the odd product I particularly haven't liked has hit the bin, before it has been completely empty.

I find that the more I look into products and the ingredients they contain, the more purist I become and seem to favour those products with the fewest listed ingredients. What I do like about most natural beauty websites where I tend to buy products, is that they do at least try to be transparent about ingredients and most supply lists of all the ingredients in the products they have on their sites.

I've discovered several websites over the last few months, that sell natural beauty and I am sometimes quite overwhelmed by the choices available today, compared to 10 or so years ago when I last looked toward using more natural products. Here's a list of a few that I have used or will possibly use in the near future. Some also offer free postage on all orders which is very useful.

naturisimo.com
mypure.co.uk
lovelula.com
faithinnature.co.uk

Please note the above are NOT affiliate links and I do not receive any payment should you go to one of these sites via my links.

I do find that it does help to know what certain ingredients actually are and whether they are synthetic, natural, detrimental or not.  I have recently found an interesting glossary of technical beauty terms in Neal's Yard Remedies book 'Recipes for Natural Beauty' by Romy Fraser, which I borrowed from my local library.  At least now I have a reference point for finding out about ingredients, although of course, in this day and age there is always the option of Googling to get more information about these things.

This month I am hoping to start properly trying to make some products of my own.  Armed with some very useful YouTube videos, a few books with recipes and having a bit of room in the budget to buy a few basic ingredients, I am going to try my hand at a few recipes for various products.  I'm sure I will get mixed results and there may be some serious disasters, but the whole process sounds like fun and will make an interesting and educational activity for Little Bird and I to engage in during the forthcoming summer holidays.

Whilst I realise that making your own products doesn't always have the same appeal as breaking into a brand new sealed and packaged product you can buy elsewhere, I do find that there is an amazing amount of satisfaction to be gleaned from knowing exactly what you are putting on your face and body.  My recent skin breakouts and reactions whilst using some quite famous brands of more natural beauty products have made me even more wary, as even many of the more natural products you can buy can have a detrimental effect on your skin or no effect at all for a reasonably large outlay.

This month, my main focus apart from making some simple products, will be to procure a more natural sunscreen for use during our holidays.  I have encountered a few brands and realised that we have been using a non-organic product from one of these brands for a while, so I am tempted to buy their organic and more natural version, but it is quite pricey at £16 per bottle. I am still thinking about it and looking for cheaper alternatives. With sun care, however, I think it is just one of those areas that it is just not worth skimping on.  I'm not sure there is any chemical free sunscreen out there and as we have already tried and tested this particular brand's products, it might be worth sticking with them for now. I'll let you know what I finally settle on.