How to Switch to Organic Beauty Products

Being natural doesn’t mean you have to be haggardly!

Sorry for shouting guys but seriously — I have struggled with this feeling for a long time and finally realized: you can have an organic beauty routine that makes you feel girly/beautiful/put together, you really can!

Organic and natural products definitely work differently than conventional ones and there will be an adjustment period, but I love my low toxin approach to health and beauty.

I’m pretty simple when it comes to beauty but these tips work for those of you who are more cosmetically inclined than I am too.

You don’t have to be a hermit when you decide to stop wearing junk on your body, really!

How to Quit Your Conventional Products (and switch to an organic beauty routine)

It feels overwhelming at first but it doesn’t have to be. An organic beauty routine is possible on any budget.

Be Patient

Deciding that you don’t want to use conventional products anymore is not an overnight thing so tossing them (and moving onto natural options) won’t be either.

Give yourself a break. Know that each step you take towards a safer and healthier beauty routine is one step away from the junk.

Have a Plan

Which product is you top priority for replacing? Many folks start with the children’s things first: soap, diapers, etc. Maybe you want to start with makeup since it sits on your face all day and leave shampoo for another day.

Or maybe you want to go with something easy like soap and work your way up to tossing your favorite (yet toxic) brand of mascara. Whatever works best for you, the important thing is that you do it!

Go One by One

Now that you know where to start, just get going! Toss your old soap and pick up an organic one and see how you like it. Once you find one or two you like, move onto another category of personal care or beauty products.

Don’t Waste Your Time or Money with ‘Greenwashed’ Products

Do some research beforehand and find some decent brands that are safe, work, and aren’t too expensive. Of course, natural and organic beauty products are going to be more expensive, there’s no getting around that, but there are some ways to still save (more on that later).

Wait Out the Transition

Our skin produces a natural oil (sebum) that keeps our skin from drying out. Conventional shampoos strip the sebum so clean that our skin goes into overdrive trying to replenish the oil. That’s why you have to wash your hair every day so it’s not greasy.

Once you stop stripping that sebum away, your scalp still thinks it needs to keep producing so much oil and your hair is greasy. It takes a while for your scalp to chill out. So for a while it may seem like your new products aren’t working but you have to be patient and let your body regulate.

Natural and Organic Products I Use and Love

I’m pretty simple. Here are the basics of what I use regularly.

Natural Shampoo & Conditioner

Interestingly, shampoo was one of the last things I switched from conventional to natural. As anyone who has stopped using conventional shampoo knows, your hair gets really greasy, really fast and who really wants to deal with gross looking hair if they have to work or go out in public.

Another reason is that I hadn’t found a natural shampoo that actually cleaned my hair, even after waiting for the overactive sebum to normalize. That being said, I finally found a natural shampoo that works for me (and smells amazing). I use this one, and the matching conditioner. This is my favorite brand because they are affordable and the ingredients are safe. I also make my own leave-in conditioner and rosemary hair rinse.

Natural Soap

I sometimes use the same brand’s basic liquid soap as a body wash (and for my oldest’s hair). Though I like liquid soap, I tend to stick with bar soap to save some money (I like this one). I used to make bar soap into liquid but I realized bar soap works just fine.

Natural Face Wash

I used to spend so much time dealing with my face. It seemed like I always had some sort of pimples or bumps, but now that I use oil cleansing (and eat a real food diet) I don’t have any blemishes. The basic concept is that like attracts like, so cleaning the skin with oil pulls oil out of the pores but it doesn’t over dry. I can (and do) skip days without any problems with greasy skin.

Natural Foundation and Powder

As you probably know, I love Pronounce Skincare‘s Foundation and Powder. It smells great, feels great, looks great, and is made with, basically food! (Read my review here). I have no problem putting a little on OG when she wants to be like mommy. It’s also great that Pronounce is a small mama-owned business!

Other Natural Makeup

I also like this eyeliner and this mascara, both of which work really well and have a low rating on the EWG’s cosmetics database (which tells you how toxic or not each product is). The only thing is the mascara isn’t waterproof. I’m not sure if there is such a thing as waterproof natural mascara though.

As far as eyeshadow, I’m currently using Physicians Formula which is pretty low on EWG’s but I’m still looking for something better.

I don’t use lipstick usually (and I don’t think I even own any right now!). Usually, I stick with tinted lip balm if I want color (just add some beetroot or hibiscus powder).

Saving Money on Natural and Organic Beauty Products

There’s no question that conventional stuff is cheaper, but I believe we can all be healthier, not just those of us who have lots of money. Here’s how I do it:

Use Less Product

I don’t shower every day and I definitely don’t wash my hair every day. When we aren’t stripping all of the natural oils from our skin it’s less likely to overcompensate, which means we actually don’t have to bathe daily. In fact, a new study shows that we only really need to bathe 1-2 times a week. Less bathing, less product…pretty simple!

Simplify the Routine

I don’t have multiple shades of eyeshadow (or multiples of anything) at a time. One eyeshadow palette with 3 or 4 colors usually does it for me. I keep a minimalists makeup bag and don’t buy into all the extra products a lot of people feel they can’t live without.

Find Deals

Often I can find products locally at a better price than anywhere online but that’s probably not true for those of you living closer to cities. However, with some planning and determination, you can find good deals on just about anything. Between my local grocery store, Amazon, vitacost, and thrive market I find a good deal when I need to restock, and I try to buy a few extra bottles or bars of soap if I can.

Realize You are Bound to Spend More

Not a saving money tip I know, but the truth is, healthy and safe products just cost more. I’d rather allocate more of our budget to important things like safe products than buying stuff I don’t really need. I actually feel like buying cheap (toxic) products and food is a crutch for living above our means. Back before chemical personal care products (and credit cards!) people just had to figure out how to pay for things. It turned out soap and food were pretty important! If you take the one at a time approach I talked about earlier you can make the budgetary changes less stressful. That being said, it’s ok to buy a lower quality product when times are tough so that you can make ends meet. We all need to sometimes.

It’s Your Turn!

How are you switching to natural or organic beauty products? Tell us in the comments below!