A greener toiletry bag

Do you feel concerned about ecology? Bring a touch of green to your toilet bag and let yourself be guided by the new trend, Green Beauty. Find out here, among other things, how to sort your beauty products and keep only the best for your skin and for the planet.

What is Green Beauty?

Appeared a short time ago, there are many definitions of Green Beauty (green beauty). Everyone has their own interpretation:"natural", "organic", "clean", "green" beauty, etc. However, what defines it above all is the desire of its aficionados to consume differently and to favor products that are healthy for the skin and for the environment. And there are more and more of them. As proof, while the traditional cosmetics market loses between 1 and 2% of its sales each year, Green Beauty gains between 15 and 20% over the same periods ^* .

A 100% healthy and responsible toiletry bag

If you succumb to this new trend, challenge yourself by sorting your products! To do this, you need to study them with a magnifying glass and keep only the healthiest, most economical and most responsible cosmetics. You will easily recognize them, they:

• Have packaging made from recycled or fully recyclable materials:PET or plastic made from corn or glass;
• Do not contain decried molecules such as parabens, sulphates, phthalates…;
• Are made from as many plants as possible (organic if possible);
• Do not contain, if they are cosmetics, "derived" molecules. The latter come from natural ingredients that have then been modified by synthesis. Opt instead for natural, unprocessed ingredients;
• Do not contain plastics or petroleum derivatives (some exfoliating treatments, for example, are made from polyethylene beads).

Where the ingredients come from is also important!

Favor products for which the brand offers precise sourcing of raw materials. This lets you know the country or region where the ingredients needed for manufacturing come from.

How to properly read the composition of products?

Consumers are increasingly attentive to the composition of the cosmetics they use. To find out more about what they contain, you have to study the labels, like when shopping for food. The presence of certain ingredients should give you a hint:

• Artificial dyes (resorcinol, paraphenylenediamine, etc.) are for example accused of causing hypersensitivity of the skin.
• Just like mineral oils (petroleum, petrolatum, paraffinum) which clog pores and encourage the appearance of pimples or imbalances in sebum production.
• Silicones (dimethicone, Cethyl dimethicone, Phenyl trimethicone, etc.) tend to asphyxiate the skin and hair.
• Just like sulfates (sodium lauryl sulfate) which dehydrate.
• Emulsifiers such as phthalates (diethyl phthalates, dibutyl phthalates, etc.), present in synthetic perfumes or nail polishes, are easily absorbed by the skin and are suspected of being endocrine disruptors.
• This is also the case for parabens (butylparaben, propylparaben, potassium propylparaben etc.).

To help you take stock of the composition of the products, a few applications exist such as Yuka, QuelCosmetic or INCI beauty. All you have to do is scan the barcode of these to find out the list of ingredients of which they are composed. An overall score is assigned to them, allowing you to better understand the benefits and composition of the cosmetic.

Did you know?

EU regulations currently ban more than 1,300 now controversial substances, and also require brands to label all substances that exceed 1% of the product's composition, ranking them from most important to the least important in percentage. Below 1%, molecules are listed in any order.

In practice, how do we do it?

• Shower gel:For a healthy shower gel, check the label and avoid sulphates and parabens at all costs.
• Shampoo:When it comes to shampoo, it's silicones you need to be wary of.
• Face and body cream:Day and body creams may contain mineral oils, parabens and synthetic dyes. Beware.
• Toothpaste:In direct contact with your mucous membranes, avoid choosing toothpaste that contains a potentially harmful dye or whitener.
• Deodorant/antiperspirant:finally, on the deodorant side, watch out for parabens.

The good health of the body does not only go through the plate. Cosmetics must also be healthy to ensure beautiful, toned and luminous skin. A good reason to sort out your bathroom.

^* According to a Cosmébio study.