If you’re like many women, you probably pick up makeup products based on their appearance. Reading over the ingredients or conducting research on the items may not play large roles in your shopping routine. However, you may be horrified to learn that “[out of 33 brands tested, about 60 percent of lipsticks were found to contain lead” according to Style Caster. While Style Caster notes that the amount of lead isn’t harmful, this fact can help you to look at makeup in a new light.
Know Your Allergies
As your browsing through new products to purchase, such as lip glosses featured on Nu Skin‘s Flickr page, you’re likely checking out the shades that go with your favorite outfits or an eye shadow that you just purchased. While you’re finding the best fit for your fashion trends, take a look at the list of ingredients before purchasing any new products. You may be allergic to one or more of the ingredients used to make the products. A minor irritation might not concern you, but a small problem in a sensitive part of your body, such as your eye, could turn into a major problem.
Define Your Safety Standards
You’ve likely heard it said that if you can’t pronounce the ingredients on a food product, then you probably should not ingest it. If you live by that rule for the food that you eat, then consider applying it to your makeup purchases. You have to feel good about the standard of safety that you define for yourself. You may want to use only products that are made with all natural or all organic ingredients. Learn how to read the labels properly to ensure that you’re meeting your standards. For example, the word “organic” on a label does not mean that the product is 100 percent organic.
Stay Alert to Toxins
Considering your makeup as filled with toxins is quite possibly a thought that has never crossed your mind before. However, the Huffington Post notes that some items, specifically foundation, lipstick and mascara, can contain toxins. Some of these toxins have been found to interrupt certain systems in the body, and others may be carcinogens. Reading the full list of ingredients and looking for them when you purchase makeup is important. If you have specific medical concerns, you should articulate them to your doctors. They can likely provide recommendations about what ingredients to avoid and what the risks to your body are.
Animal Testing
In addition to worrying about your own safety, you may also have concerns about how safe these makeup products are for your animal friends. While some companies do still use animal testing, plenty do not. When you want to show great concern and care for the safety of animals, you can choose only those products from companies that do not engage in animal testing. Conducting research on People for the Ethical Treatment of Animal’s website can help you to determine which companies have entirely eliminated animal testing. Keep in mind that one product from a brand may not have been tested on an animal, but that doesn’t mean the entire company avoids the practice. As humans become more aware of the concerns associated with animal testing, information about safe products becomes more readily available.
Choosing new makeup certainly has to do with style preferences, but it is also connected to safety. In the past, you may not have known that the safety of makeup was a topic that you should make a priority. Now, you can take steps to ensure that the products you place on your face are actually good for it.