Accidentally Green

Making Healthy Decisions That Honor God and Happen to Help the Environment

Avoiding Toxic Lipsticks

Last month I explained why choosing safe lipsticks is so important: because lipsticks are applied to your lips, you ingest their ingredients – when you eat, drink, and happen to lick your lips. Even trace amounts of heavy metals found in lipsticks can be quite dangerous since they accumulate in your body. Safe lipsticks definitely are a worthy goal for consumers – but are there many of them on the market? The Environmental Working Group tested 1.381 lipsticks and ranked 291 as low ... Read more

Trying Cosmetics Naturally Colored with Fruit Pigments

Disclosure: Products purchased through this post will result in a modest commission for Accidentally Green. But to be clear, I’m an affiliate only because I truly love 100% Pure’s products. Sometimes, I wish I could be an inventor. When I see all the toxic merchandise sold to consumers today, I wish there was a way I could intelligently create safer alternatives. (But since I’m much better at researching than inventing, I’ll stick to searching for safer solutions.) A few years ago when I ... Read more

The Reduce, Reuse & Recycle Cosmetic Challenge

Throughout this week I’ve shared a lot of information about the safety of eye shadows, blushes, and facial powders – typically I think of all of these products as powders, but there are plenty of varieties, including creams, loose powders, and pressed powders. Many products are safe. Many products also are dangerous. You can expect to find both safe and toxic cosmetics stocked together on store shelves. So how in the world can you find something that won’t harm your health? Enter this week’s ... Read more

Avoiding Hazardous Facial Powders

Could your facial powder aggravate your allergies? It’s very possible that it does – depending on what product you’re using. The Environmental Working Group rated the safety of 470 different facial powders, and only 97 received low hazard ratings. The other powders – 324 moderate hazards and 47 high hazards include ingredients that aggravate allergies. The highly hazardous facial powders include a variety of the following toxic ingredients: Benzyl Salicylate: Known to aggravate ... Read more

Adding a Healthy Glow with Blush

Are your cheeks naturally ruddy? Or do you try to add a little boost of color sometimes? Blush – whether cream, gel, or powder – is helpful as long as it’s healthy. (Who wants to add a healthy glow if the glow is truly unhealthy?) The Environmental Working Group rated 637 blushes – and the good news is there are 190 safe varieties (rated as low hazards) on the market. (There also are 421 blushes ranked as moderate hazards.) A total of 24 blushes are ranked as high hazards all because ... Read more

All in Favor, Say Aye to Safe Eye Shadows

Eye shadows may be one of the most fun types of cosmetics a woman can choose, just because the wide variety of colors can dramatically change a look. Shocking lime green eyelids look a LOT different than smoky gray ones. The good news is that, for the most part, many eye shadows are safe. The Environmental Working Group has ranked 1,737 different eye shadows – and 675 are considered low hazards. That’s 675 safe eye shadows! An additional 1,049 are moderate hazards. And just 16 are high ... Read more

Using Fans Instead of AC to Cool Your Home

I have a fairly strange confession to make – I don’t like air conditioning. I need to clarify, though, by admitting that I live in the Midwest. This summer, we might have had two weeks of temperatures in the high 80s. I know that if I lived in a warmer climate, air conditioning would be essential – much like heat is for me from October to April. But, on a warm (not blazing hot) day, I would much prefer opening the windows of my home and getting fresh air as compared to leaving every window ... Read more

The Reduce, Reuse & Recycle Mascara and Eyeliner Challenge

When you head to the store to buy mascara or eyeliner you’re faced with safe and unsafe choices. The problem is, you can never guess by the packaging – toxic varieties come in the same kinds of containers and packages as safe ones. So how can you make the safest choice? As I explained earlier this week (you can read about eyeliner here and mascara here), the Environmental Working Group has rated the safety of 527 eyeliners and 613 mascaras. I haven’t issued any Reduce, Reuse ... Read more

How to Avoid Toxic Mascara

Wanting to make your eyes to look amazing is nothing new. In Biblical times, women painted their eyes: “Then Jehu went to Jezreel. When Jezebel heard about it, she painted her eyes, arranged her hair and looked out of a window.” – 2 Kings 9:30 “What are you doing, O devastated one? Why dress yourself in scarlet and put on jewels of gold? Why shade your eyes with paint? You adorn yourself in vain.” – Jeremiah 4:30 “When they arrived you bathed yourself for them, painted your eyes and put ... Read more

Choosing Safe Eyeliner May Be Simpler Than You Think

Ladies, what is one cosmetic you would rather not live without? For me, it’s eyeliner. I like the way it defines my eyes and wakes up my face. I’ve been afraid, though, to check out how harmful varieties of eyeliner are. What to avoid The fantastic news is that only four eyeliners are considered high hazards, according to the Environmental Working Group’s Cosmetics Database: 1. JaDora Cosmetics Pencil Me In Eye Liner includes Retinol/Vitamin A that causes cancer and is toxic to your ... Read more

Using Mud as a Facial Mask

Disclosure: I received a complimentary 4 oz. tube of Redmond Clay facial mud to review. All views and opinions are my own. I receive no compensation for this review or sales made as a result of the review. When I was a teenager, I loved to use facial masks. Because I thought they helped my acne, I would slather on a thick layer of blue “mud” that smelled minty fresh and tingled while it was still moist. It downright burned on my acne. Whether or not my adolescent skin needed purified ... Read more

Safer Foundation Solutions

Yesterday I shared how toxins are found in cosmetic foundations – but women do have other options. The great news is that there are hundreds of safe foundations! And you don’t have to break the bank to buy them. Almay, L’Oreal, Maybelline, Physicians Formula, Revlon, Sally Hansen, and Wet ‘n Wild all carry safe foundation products. (Other boutique brands that are more expensive also carry safe foundations.) Here’s the really important thing – you have to know what product you are ... Read more

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