I invited one of my favorite new green skincare companies Splurge Skincare to give us the lowdown on why green beauty is so important for our holistic health and how we can take small steps to incorporate clean skincare and beauty into our regimes…
Green Your Skincare Routine by Kara Kivi, Splurge Skincare

When most people think about health, nutrition and fitness are the first things that come to mind, but have you ever stopped to think that the personal care products you put on your body may be just as important to your health as the nutrition that you put into it?

There are estimates that your skin, which is the largest organ in your body, can absorb up to 60% of what is put on it. For all you skeptics out there, consider the now common method of administering drugs such as birth control, hormone replacement, and nicotine via trans-dermal patches. Trans-dermal application works because your skin is able to absorb the treated patches, and instead of having to go through your digestive system like orally ingested medication, the chemicals are able to penetrate directly into your bloodstream and tissues. However, this means your skin may also be absorbing chemicals contained in the conventional skincare products that you use every day! While there are a variety of factors that contribute to the types of substances your skin can absorb, such as the size of the molecules and the integrity of your skin barrier, it’s safe to say that given the sheer number of personal care products we use on a daily basis, we are taking in far more chemicals than we are aware of.
So how do you avoid overloading your body with potentially harmful substances? Your first and best defense is becoming an educated consumer and choosing skincare products that use natural and safe ingredients. In other words, read your labels! If you’re unfamiliar with what ingredients to avoid, a great place to start is the EWG Skin Deep database, which rates the safety level of products. You can search Skin Deep by individual ingredients, product type, or brand. However, when searching for brands, keep in mind that smaller, independent skincare companies, such as our own Splurge Skincare, may not yet be included in their brand database. Some tips to remember when reading labels are: ingredients are listed in descending order (you want the good stuff to be near the top of the list)! If you recognize the common name of the ingredient as plant-based (shea butter, for example) it is generally safe, provided there are no known allergies.
It can be overwhelming to replace every single personal care product with a “green” alternative all at once, so we recommend starting with the items that cover large areas of skin and are meant to penetrate, such as moisturizers for both the body and face. There are numerous green beauty options for moisturizers in the form of lotions, butters, and oils.  Our original product, The Rub body scrub is a product that can do double duty as both an exfoliant and a body moisturizer.  Containing a combination of butters and oils with sugar as the exfoliant, The Rub will leave your skin smooth and moisturized using only natural ingredients.  If you’re looking for additional moisture, pure coconut oil is a great and inexpensive way to nourish your skin.
href=”http://static1.squarespace.com/static/57bb3e0e2994ca59edc6ff78/57cd8ad8e39aa4d5bd43c184/57cd8b24e39aa4d5bd43cb08/1473088460103/IMG_8969-e1453418844184.jpg” rel=”attachment wp-att-1321″>Another category of products you should consider replacing with safe alternatives are lip products.  Not only is the skin on your lips sensitive, but you also end up ingesting at least some of the lip products you apply, so it’s important to make safe choices.  Splurge Skincare makes a variety of lip products, from our Lip Buttah that provides long lasting moisture, to our Tinted Buttah, for when you want a sheer wash of color, and finally our Melted Buttah, for when your lips (or other spots!) need serious repair.  If you’re looking for more color in the form of a lipstick, Axiology and Hush+Dotti are two brands we recommend checking out for great non-toxic lipstick choices.
Consumer demand for both safe AND effective skincare products means that the availability of choices for clean, “green” products is growing at a rapid pace.  From online retailers who specialize in selling only all natural products (The Choosy Chic and Bergamot Beauty are two of our faves!), to natural product choices now available at major retailers such as Sephora, green beauty is indeed here to stay.

You can use my exclusive code ‘newyear20’ to receive a 20% discount off all of Splurge Skincare’s wonderful products (I cant live without my Melted Buttah)!
Check out their gorgeous new website at www.splurgeskincare.com and happy shopping!