Social media has influenced our lives in many ways. But the most noticeable influence which is seen today is the idea of beauty. Photo sharing sites have loads of pictures uploaded daily of people with great skin and beautiful features. This, in turn, has led to an increase in demand for beauty products by people who want to achieve those beauty goals.

The market today is flooded with various types and brands of beauty products, each claiming to be different and more effective than the other. From the outside, these beauty products might seem to be really enticing, but the reality is seldom so.

It is important to note that the average woman uses about a dozen products containing more than 150 different ingredients on a typical day. Many cosmetic chemicals are designed to penetrate the skin completely. Consequently, some cosmetic ingredients turn up inside the body.

Most of these beauty products contain added chemicals, fillers, binders, and preservatives including sodium laurel sulfate, parabens, plasticizers called phthalates, triclosan or microban, fragrance and sometimes carcinogens too. Many times, they are tested on animals and are hence not cruelty-free. While they can be effective in the short term, in the long run, they can produce various allergic reactions and side effects. Some ingredients have been linked to cancer or developmental problems. Many penetrate the skin. People often ingest those used on lips and hands and inhale sprays and powders. 

That’s why, it is wise to research beauty products that are natural or organic in nature. Many natural and organic products have a much lesser chance of inducing harmful side effects and can hence be safer to use. However, as with any product, it is important to do your homework and read the ingredients.

Some of the reasons why you should opt for natural and organic beauty products are:

1. Eco-friendly

Though this point is pretty obvious, it is often overlooked. The unnatural beauty products are made up of chemicals and fillers. Now, these chemical compounds are sometimes hard to break down. They don’t decompose easily and accumulate in our ecosystem. This can prove detrimental to the environment.

Also, the manufacturing of these products involves the use of chemicals and other harmful substances. These chemicals are mixed with water and then discharged into the lakes and rivers, thus polluting our water bodies.

Hence, we can do our bit to save our environment by buying natural beauty products. Since they are organic and don’t contain the hard to break down chemicals, they can prove to be environmentally-friendly and reduce chemical pollution.

2. Fewer side effects

The various types of chemicals, fillers, binders, and artificial colors used in beauty products can induce various types of side effects. These include redness, itching, skin irritation, pimple and acne breakout, etc. Also, they might degrade the quality of your skin in the long run while giving short term benefits.

In extreme cases, unnatural beauty products might prove to be carcinogenic and cause certain types of cancer such as skin and breast cancer and mess with other body systems. Most people don’t know about it, but the parabens and some alcohols present in these beauty products are extremely harmful to the skin. That is why it is recommended to use a natural product such as a natural eye cream instead of a chemical-laden eye product since it won’t affect the delicate under eye area.

Natural beauty products have the advantage of having very little to zero side effects. The natural makeup, skin and health care products tend to work along with your skin to make it better and not against it. The absence of harmful chemicals and fillers in substances such as lemon extracts ensure that not only your skin remains glowing but also free from any irritation or itchiness.

It is important to note that all organic or plant-based products are not better? According to the Environmental Working Group/EWG: 

“Even plant-based ingredients can be harmful — poison ivy, for example — and should meet the same safety standards as those derived from petroleum, mines or animals. It’s hard to tell which ingredients are truly “organic” or “natural” because truth-in-marketing rules for food don’t apply in the cosmetics world. An exception would be products bearing the USDA Certified Organic seal, which contain ingredients that come from plants grown without artificial pesticides and fertilizers.”

3. Easy on The Nose

Let me tell you a secret. The perfumes and deodorants which you use on a day to day basis don’t actually smell that good when they are made. The smell of chemicals is really very bad, and that’s why artificial fragrances are added to cover up the smell. This means these products contain one type of chemical over the other. Together they can give you headaches, nausea, and vomiting.

Note that artificial “fragrance” is usually a chemical cocktail, often containing individual chemicals associated with allergic reactions and hormone disruption. Many of these chemicals have not been assessed for safety.

Organic beauty products, on the other hand, don’t contain any such chemicals. Yes, you might not find any exotic smell in them, but that is primarily because they don’t use any artificial fragrance in the first place. Most of the time, organic beauty products use essential oils, which, apart from giving a wonderful smell, can also be used in aromatherapy.

4. Money Matters

Whenever we hear about a product being organic or natural, we automatically assume that it will be expensive. But that is not always the case. In fact, most of the well-known and renowned brands have the prices of natural products at par or lower than those of the unnatural ones. This is because the demand for natural products is increasing, and hence by making them more affordable, they can be made more accessible in the market.

Yes, many natural products are higher priced than the unnatural ones, but it can be better to use a more expensive natural and organic product with zero side effects than a cheaper beauty product, which might adversely affect you in the future.

The Bottom Line

To sum it up:  It might be time to restock and reorganize your beauty kit. Do you homework. Browse authoritative resources like EWG’s Skin Deep Database to find safe products that add value to your skin and are really beneficial to you. While you’re there, get your free copy of EWG’s Quick Tips for Choosing Safer Personal Care Products! Then throw out the unnatural and harmful products, and bring out your inner beauty by embracing the healthy, natural ones.

About the Author

Mariyam is a blogger and editor at The Beautyholic. Being a passionate writer, she’s blogging since 5+ years and still going strong. In her pastime, she loves cuddling her pets, watching movies and reading online articles about beauty, wellness and lifestyle.

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