Is Beauty Only Skin Deep?

"Beauty's but skin deep; nay, it is not so:
It floats but on the skin beneath the skin,
That, like pure air, scarce hides her fullest flow:
It is so subtle, fading, fragile, and thin:
Were she skin-deep, she could not be so shallow
To win but fools her purity to hallow. "

- John Davies of Hereford

If you are interested click here for the story behind this quote.

On average, a woman puts on around 11 pounds of lipcare a year according to ecofabulous. Wow. That is a lot of lip balm and lipstick. Imagine how much of this is ingested. It definitely makes me think twice about what I put on my lips. But it does not stop there, what about everything else that we put on our skin? What is safe? What is not? These have been the questions that I have been struggling with lately.

I have discovered Skin Deep, the Environmental Working Groups Cosmetic Safety Database. I especially like the Parents Guide, which gives you the ingredients to avoid and outlines some good picks for products in certain categories.

I have been slowly trying to change my shampoo, conditioner, soap, lotion, and make-up to safer brands. I now use a bar soap made by Pure & Natural. The packaging is biodegradeable and contains seeds that can be planted. My shampoo, conditioner, and lotion are paraben free. I use Alba & Burt's Bees lip balm. I am still working on my make-up.

It is very overwhelming at times with so many choices and so many opinions. I want the product to be safe for the environment and safe for my family. Plus, I want it to work. I don't want my hair to look greasy. I don't want my face broken out. I don't want to stink. I wish I could skip make-up altogether, but that is not going to happen.

Like everything else in my life, it is hard to strike a balance between good and good for me (and everyone else). For now I am muddling my way through. Doing the best I can with what I have available to me.