#8 Misinformation and Fact-Checking

 Is it Really Clean?

    Buying the perfect beauty product can be tricky, especially if are looking for certain ingredients that you prefer to be in your products. One thing that is big in the beauty industry right now is paraben and sulfate-free products for your hair along with fragrance-free face products or products that do not contain parabens. 

    Vogue states that "Misinformation is the biggest threat facing the clean beauty movement right now." This statement couldn't be more true. It is hard to find healthy products for your hair and body in your local drug store. You never know if the products are actually telling the truth or if they are actually free of all the bad ingredients. Some products will be labeled "clean beauty" or "organic" to try and avoid putting "paraben and sulfate-free" on their products because it is not true. You will also come across products that say "paraben and sulfate-free" but they will strip color-treated hair of the color they paid over a hundred dollars to achieve. The "beauty & planet" line is drug store products that are some of the best products that drug stores have to offer but you have to be cautious of these products stripping your hair. Another reason to do your research. Vogue gives a great example, "the most fundamental Ayurvedic standard of beauty is that if you cannot eat it, do not use it on your skin." What a concept right? Think of it as if you would not put that ingredient in your mouth do not use it on your outer skin as well. 

    When you are looking for the perfect product for you, you may have to do a little more digging. The front may read "sulfate-free" on the front of the bottle but have a list of 5 more harmful ingredients on the back label. Here is a list of some ingredients to look for on the back label, "parabens, phthalates, PEGs sulfates, formaldehyde, and formaldehyde-releasing agents, BHT, and BHA.  

    On a different note, misinformation that we are told a lot is, "this product will make you look 10 years younger" or "oh you have under-eye bags? that's not cute, fix it with this product." You can see products everywhere that are telling you these lies and it is more than likely the high-end products. You can find some lower-end products that work just as well or better than the expensive products. In reality, a lot of these name-brand products are using a pretty face to get you to buy their products. That is where the lovely world of marketing will get you. 

    Everyone's skin, hair, and body are different. Not every product that works for one person will work for another. Sometimes finding the right beauty products for you will take some trial and error but always make sure you are reading the labels and doing your research before you spend way too much money on products that are harmful to you.