I can’t even believe it, but today is the last post in my natural beauty series with Tata Harper. I hope you guys have enjoyed it! In a lot of ways, I feel like we just scratched the surface when it comes to talking about non-toxic beauty and cosmetic products, but the good news is that you can still explore this topic on your own — there are tons of resources out there! Today, I’ve asked Tata to provide a list of books, sites, blogs and apps that she thinks are worth checking out. Even though the Tata Harper series is over, make no mistake — we’ll still be chatting about natural, non-toxic beauty plenty here on vmac, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Tata pops back in sometime in the near future. In the meantime, here’s where you can keep learning:
Websites & Blogs
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has a fantastic research page where they have compiled lots of really helpful, informative studies about the impact of synthetic chemicals on our health, lives and environment. The summaries of the studies have good, succinct info – and you know you can trust their work, as these studies are run by groups like the Environmental Working Group and the Breast Cancer Fund.
The No More Dirty Looks blog is completely devoted to living a chic, beautiful, modern life without synthetic chemical ingredients in your beauty products, and it is an awesome resource for everything from ideas about what the best nontoxic shampoo is for curly hair, to what can safely replace eyeliner, to fun DIY facial recipes (Victoria notes: check out their DIY category for more than just facial recipes — so many fun things to try!).
While they’re no longer posting regularly, Fig and Sage is a great West-coast based blog all about “Organic Goodness” and “Fresh, Healthy Finds.” Product reviews for natural beauty abound — check the “Search by Brand” dropdown on the right.
The Tata Harper Skincare Blog, of course! We keep it updated with Tata’s latest tips, tricks and advice for living the happiest, healthiest life with natural beauty products, and everything else involved – diet, exercise, etc. And of course, news from our headquarters.
Databases
The Skin Deep Database. Started and updated by the Environmental Working Group, this database ranks hundreds of thousands of products and ingredients according to toxicity on an easy scale of 1-10. But you can dig deeper into the background info of each ingredient, or any product.
Apps
The Skin Deep Database has an app! You can use it to scan the barcode of a product to see how it ranks on the toxicity scale, or you can enter the name of an ingredient, brand or product. Super handy for shopping!
The Think Dirty App is similar in that you can scan barcodes or enter names to discover background and toxicity info on the ingredients in your products. It has a different, playful interface that we like.
Books
No More Dirty Looks: The Truth about Your Beauty Products – and the Ultimate Guide to Safe and Clean Cosmetics
This is an amazing resource because it’s written by two beauty-junky city-gals who decided they were fed up with marketing lies and greenwashing, and did the research so that we could all have an easier time navigating the world of beauty products. It’s a practical guide full of product suggestions that don’t require you to compromise on performance or luxury, and it’s written in a fun, accessible way.
Not Just a Pretty Face: the Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry
This book is an important read because it gives context to the natural, nontoxic beauty movement by sharing the business practices behind the cosmetic industries, as well as a lot of in-depth information as to how synthetic chemicals are bad for our bodies.
A Consumer’s Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients, 7th Edition: Complete Information about the Harmful and Desirable Ingredients Found in Cosmetics and Cosmeceuticals
This giant book provides in-depth information on just about every single ingredient in beauty products, good and bad. Excellent for those of us that like to know the nitty gritty of what’s going into our bodies when we put it on our skin. Great for having on the shelf and for doing research while you shop.
Toxic Beauty: How Cosmetics and Personal-Care products Endanger Your Health… and What You can Do About It
The reason this book belongs on your bookshelf is because it provides essential information for how synthetic chemical ingredients can harm us, while providing you with practical and positive alternatives.
Planet Home: Conscious Choices for Cleaning & Greening the World You Care Most About
This is a fantastic resource book for living a greener life in every way, with suggestions and information on everything from buying a safe mattress to how to ensure your home has healthy air, to what cosmetic ingredients to avoid. It has a very thorough toxicity guide in the back, and a lot of coverage on what to look for in your beauty and personal care products, for yourself and you whole family.
Thank you so much to Tata Harper and her entire team for helping me with this natural beauty education series. I hope you guys enjoyed each part of it! Let me know if you have any questions or ideas for future natural beauty features — I’d love to tackle your questions and get a dialogue going!
Graphic by Victoria McGinley for vmac+cheese; background pattern via Subtle Patterns
Love this! Thanks for sharing!
The Style Storm
<3, Christina
Thanks so much for sharing. I will definitely be using the skin deep database. What a useful find!
Not gonna lie, I’m kind of scared to read about how toxic beauty products are as I am totally obsessed with them! Better to be informed though, for sure!
http://tried-trueblog.com/
Lately, my best friend and I have been become accutely aware of what goes on our skin (we’re in our early 20’s and of course skin changes). This series has helped me so much in understanding natural beauty. I’m really making a vow to love my skin more.
Thanks Victoria!
Louisa
I’ve loved this series, and am really interested to try some of Tata Harper’s products. I have to say though, as someone who is pretty frugal, I’m finding the price point a little daunting. I know that quality costs – and I’m willing to pay for it, especially as it impacts my health. However, I’m wondering if there are any drugstore brands (skincare/make up/haircare) that are “safe.” I’m definitely going to download the apps here and go scan happy at Target, but I would love to see a post or hear your thoughts on some slightly more affordable brands/products. (Also just put “No More Dirty Looks” on hold at my library.) Thanks for the great info!
Hi Julie — I completely understand. I agree that Tata’s products, while wonderful, do come with a luxury price tag (for what it’s worth, I know the cost comes from the good quality of the ingredients). That being said, I will work on doing a post about affordable naturals. There are some great brands for sure! They can be harder to find in drugstores, but are very easy to order online through places like Drugstore.com. Thank you so much for the feedback and stay tuned!
Quick tip: I know Target stocks Weleda, which makes great skincare products (lotions, etc). I use their Skin Food on the regular!!
This is so helpful, thanks!
I missed the series but I will be browsing around to catchup sounds like a really informative series.
Meghan Silva’s Blog
Here are my fave organic beauty shopping spots: http://www.organicbeautysource.com/favorite-places-to-shop