Skincare Spotlight: Charcoal Cleansing Bar

One of my favorite Beautycounter products- the charcoal cleansing bar. I bought mine back in May 2018 and it's still going strong with at least 1/3 of a bar left. This is easily one of Beautycounter’s most beloved staples, and a fan favorite.  What do you do with it? It's a facial cleansing bar, but it has so many other uses, just the other day I made a lather and used it to rinse my makeup brushes.  I keep my charcoal bar in the shower, and when I’m feeling lazy and the whole nightly face washing routine feels like too much, I lather up with this and feel refreshed and clean.

Made with charcoal powder, green tea extract, coconut oil, and witch hazel, it washes away impurities and clears pores without leaving skin feeling tight afterward. And fun fact- did you know, Jackie O swore by a charcoal bar - it was her #1 beauty secret. 

Bath Bombs: Do or Don't?

Do you use bath bombs?  The bath bomb trend kind of exploded a few years ago with brick and mortar store fronts like Lush toting their brightly colored bath bombs available in all the colors of the rainbow.  While I don't take baths often, I do enjoy a leisurely soak after a hard workout or a long, exhausting day.  But then I wondered...what's actually in a bath bomb?  

Typically, it's a mix of fizzy ingredients, colorants, salts, sometimes essential oils, or surprises like bits of rose petals or glitter.  The reason it breaks down in water is the sodium bicarbonate in the bath bomb reacts with citric acid releasing carbon dioxide gas.  Very similar to what happens when you drop an Alka-Seltzer tablet in water.  Though it does make sense to be wary of bath bombs with colors you don't see in nature, or foreign items like glitter, sprinkles, or shimmer.  Colorants and these "surprises" can serve as skin irritants, especially if your skin is sensitive.

My go-to bath products are usually Dr. Teal's foaming bath with epsom salts in lavender or Young Living bath bombs in stress away (an essential oil blend that's a pleasing scent of lime, vanilla, and copaiba).  These products are both clean, fragrance-free, and straightforward with their ingredient lists - no additives, colorants, or artificial fragrances allowed.

Happy soaking!

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Stink Documentary

Check your labels.  If you see the word "fragrance" listed as an ingredient on your shampoo, conditioner, lotion, detergent, and cleaning product labels - beware!  This is the loophole that companies can use to hide chemicals in your products.  "Fragrance" could mean 5 chemicals, it could mean 10.  It could mean 100.  And often, it really is 100.  People think there's a safety net, an FDA or similar unit to prevent this from happening.  The truth - there are currently NO rules or regulations to prevent this from happening.  Beautycounter is trying to change that.

For more information, check out this 2015 documentary, Stink, by Jon Whelan, a single dad who made it his mission to expose this fragrance loophole after purchasing pajamas for his young daughters online, that when opened, reeked of chemicals.  This prompted him to investigate what chemicals companies would put on children's pajamas and what he found is rather frightening.  You deserve to know what you're putting in and on your body.

Dryer Balls

Dryer sheets are designed to make your clothes feel soft.  But what you may not know is those chemical, whose sole function is to soften your clothes - those are called "asthmagens."  Ever heard of that word?  Yeah, I hadn't either.  Well, an asthmagen = a chemical that can cause asthma in otherwise healthy people... Let that sink in.  Asthma from dryer sheets.  Worth it?  Um...no.

Many of the chemicals in products like dryer sheets also have antibacterial properties (translation: not good) and many popular brands contain synthetic fragrances and/or cleaning agents called quats (quaternary ammonium compounds) - which have been linked to impacted fertility in mice (think longer time getting pregnant, fewer pups, and more miscarriages).  Super overwhelming and scary, right?  

Well - here's a relatively inexpensive solution - dryer balls!  Dryer balls are eco-friendly, typically crafted from felt or wool and improve tumble drying.  They help soften your clothes, reduce drying time, static, and wrinkling.  All without the harsh, questionable chemicals. I use these wool ones, they come in a pack of 6, and aside from getting temporarily lost in a fitted sheet, they've held up since I ordered them back in December 2016. Also, if you're replacing dryer sheets but missing that extra boost of fragrance in your clean laundry, try adding a drop or two of an essential oil right on the dryer balls (would recommend lavender or purification) for a clean, fresh scent. 

The more you know...

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