How To Clean Up Your Beauty Cabinet
Making the switch to natural beauty products can and should be a positive experience. Moving away from chemical and synthetic ingredients in your lifestyle can be overwhelming but your beauty cabinet is one of the best places to start. Overhauling your entire skin and hair care routine along with your make up bag and toiletries is definitely not advised (for your sanity or your wallet) but rather gradually integrating new products that suit your needs. There is certainly some trial and error involved but a commitment to the process means that you have the best chance of finding natural products that deliver amazing results. Here is a step by step on how to clean up your beauty cabinet the smart way, we promise your body and mind will thank you for it.
STEP 1: DECLUTTER
Empty your entire beauty cabinet/ draw/ make up bags and discard any products that are past their expiry date.
Approximate shelf life of opened beauty products
Skincare: 6 - 12 months
Foundation & Face Products: 6 - 12 months
Mascara & Eye Products: 3 - 6 months
Haircare: 12 months - 2 years
Fragrance: 1 - 2 years
Hoarders take note, beauty products do not have a long life span so buying compulsively means that many of your products will have expired by the time you get around to using them.
If you are holding onto any new and unopened products that you do not need or want then gift to a friend or a local charity such as www.sharethedignity.com.au
STEP 2: ORGANISE
Keep similar products together so you can start to get an idea of how much inventory you have and what you will need to replace soon.
STEP 3: WRITE A LIST
Compile a list of any products that you have run out of or are close to emptying.
STEP 4: RESEARCH & TRIAL
Start your research online for natural alternatives to the products you need to purchase and visit your favourite natural beauty stockist, health food shop, local markets to trial some products in store and hopefully take home some samples. Knowing your skin and hair type as well as any specific concerns you have or results you are looking for will help narrow your search.
STEP 5: LETS GO SHOPPING!
Now the fun part - go shopping online or in store for your selected product/s. Our best advice is to purchase the smallest size so that you can make sure a product is right for you without making a big investment (who wants 1 litre of a shampoo they don’t like). Also, keep in mind that natural products don’t contain fillers, preservatives and stabilisers meaning they have a shorter shelf life than traditional brands.
Still don’t know where to start? The products you use most regularly and intimately are best switched to natural versions first. In this way you are limiting the quantity and coverage of chemicals and synthetics you ingest and expose your face and body to on a daily basis. The list of 10 products below form the perfect basis to build upon for your natural skin, hair and make up regimen.
Still need a little more convincing? If you are nervous to break up with your long time favourite moisturiser or skeptical about the effectiveness of natural beauty products, start by adding some of these easily accessible and low investment items to your routine and we have no doubt they will convert you to “clean up” the rest of your beauty cabinet!
1. Dr Brite Natural Whitening Toothpaste 119g $14.95
2. TOM Organic Cotton Sanitary Tampons and Pads $7 (per pack of 10)
3. Grown Alchemist Intensive Hand Cream Persian Rose & Argan Extract 65g $30
4. Noosa Basics Organic Deodorant Coco & Vanilla 60g $16.95
5. Go-To Pinky-Nudey Lips 15ml $17
6. COOLA Mineral Sunscreen Face SPF 30 Cucumber Matte Finish $45
7. KORA Organics Enriched Body Lotion 175ml $24.97* on sale at time of publication
8. KORA Organics Essential Body Wash 175ml $18.74* on sale at time of publication
