It's Time for All-Natural Beauty Practices
Today, girls and women are constantly being flooded with commercials and promises of the perfect big brand beauty product, which makes our choice of what to use and what to buy rather difficult, as there are hundreds of products out there. Our choice however can lie somewhere else: we can choose not to buy any of these industrial products, and to turn to the emerging concept of all natural beauty products and ingredients.
All of the industrial products we use every day, from big famous brands like L'Oréal or Bobbi Brown, are not necessarily healthy for you. Some are even harmful, specifically the ones that include paraben, which is a class of preservatives used in all liquid cosmetics: creams, oils, masks, and make-up. Paraben is suspected by experts to be carcinogenic. Phthalates are found in nail polish, perfume, deodorant and hairspray, and have proven to be carcinogenic and damaging to animals. Another potentially dangerous ingredient present in shampoos, body washes and facial cleansers is sulfate, which, according to the Journal of American College of Toxicology, can enter the body through the skin and build up in the heart, lungs and brain. The same study also suggested that sulfates can damage the immune system.
In terms of efficiency, even though that can sometimes be subjective — you might find that X lipstick is perfect for you while it does not do the job for your sister — most of these products are made so that you will need to use them possibly several times a day. Lastly, industrial cosmetics and beauty products are far from inexpensive, with prices sometimes as high as 125 euros for a simple bottle of foundation, for example. Despite the available documentation about these negative aspects of industrial beauty products, it is sometimes difficult for young women to get rid of their shopping habits, as these aspects can be easy to ignore, and because they do not see any other alternative. However, there is another alternative out there for women who want to keep using beauty products but do not want to condone the dangers and negative aspects of industrial beauty products. This alternative is natural products, that are accessible to all of us, perfectly healthy, made in an ethical fashion, in most cases more efficient, and inexpensive.
Although the concept of all natural and/or self made cosmetics is not very popular in France yet, there are a few places that promote this "all-natural beauty" lifestyle, and sell all necessary products and ingredients to make us happy. AromaZone in Paris is one of these stores, and is a true heaven for those who are looking for an alternative to industrial beauty products. Here, you can find all kinds of natural ingredients: natural oils, natural extracts, natural powders, butters, salts, clay, plant-derived products and more. The endless choices of ingredients in these stores can certainly be confusing for a newbie customer, and that is why they have ready-made natural products, like shampoo, hair masks, creams and shower gels, as well as assistants, available to help you figure out what you want or need. These ingredients and products' exact composition and effects are listed in the store as well as on their website, where they also list dozens of recipes for those who want to make their cosmetics at home.
Prices are generally all under 20 euros in these stores and online, with single ingredients at an average of 4 euros, so truly accessible to anyone. Using these natural products is beneficial to your health and body, as many women realize just after their first use. On top of that, making your own cosmetics can truly be a fun activity, and a way to feel completely in control of what exactly you put on your body, all the while feeling and looking just as — if not more — beautiful as when using industrial products that cost a fortune. Ultimately, even if sometimes making our own beauty products isn’t possible or seems like an unnecessary waste of time, buying these natural products is truly better for all girls and women in terms of health, ethics, ingredients, and effects.
