‘Tis the season to get all dolled up. But that doesn’t mean you have to turn your back on your green ways.
Here are five fast and easy natural alternatives for your beauty routine.
1. Eye Makeup Remover. If there’s one downside to caroling in the cold it’s that those mascara icicles leave you looking like Scrooge’s Ghost of Christmas Past. Keep a cotton puff with a dab of coconut oil on hand for quick under-eye wipe ups. It’s gentle, natural and will do the full job at the end of the night – if there’s anything left to wipe off.
2. Zit Zapper. Blame it on the extra sweets or the added seasonal stress, but holiday pimples have a way of popping up like blinking Christmas lights. Skip the chemical creams and zap those zits with a little 50/50 mixture of witch hazel and apple cider vinegar (you can also add a few drops of tea tree oil). Use it like you would a toner. If you’ve got a doozey, apply a cinnamon & baking soda paste to the bump to help dry it out then wash your face with raw honey to battle the bacteria.
3. Red Wine Teeth. The mulled wine may be flowing but that doesn’t mean you have to be reminded of it every time you look at family photos featuring your pink-teeth smile. Here’s your strategy: start by staying hydrated – red wine sticks to dry and dirty teeth better so keep the water flowing. Keep those teeth polished by eating food with a bit of roughage like spinach, kale or broccoli. And finally, don’t skip the organic cheese tray – hard, white cheese will temporarily fill the tiny gaps in your enamel so that the wine can’t infiltrate. Gross, but it works… and let’s face it, nothing goes better with wine than cheese.
4. Puffy Eyes. The party was a blast but you’ve woken up with your eyes looking like their ready for vacation (luggage in tow). Step 1. Rehydrate with lots of water (& skip the caffeine). Step 2. Make like a cliché spa ad and get some cucumber slices on your eyes. Step 3. If puffiness persists, pile some raw, grated potatoes on your closed eyes and rest for a few minutes. Final step. Submerge your face in an ice bath. Yawzzers, that should send those bags packing!
5. Smelling Sweet. If you’re a dedicated DIYer, you’ve already got a stash of toxin-free deodorant but even if you don’t, you can find some good natural options like Zoe’s or Saje’s crystal spray. And while you’re detoxing your scent, ditch the perfume! More and more people are developing sensitivities to it and its most likely loaded with phthalates (a carcinogen). Why not stun people with your sweet personality not your toxic scent?
These natural alternatives for your beauty routine are just the tip of the (melting) iceberg. Greening your beauty routine is good for your health, the health of those around you and the planet in general.
And give yourself a gift this holiday season; put a bow on the book No More Dirty Looks: The Truth about Your Beauty Products and pop it in your own stocking. You’ll have a painlessly pretty new year.
