Eczema.
My daughter has deep, ginger familial roots. Ergo, she has uber sensitive skin. I knew our kids' skin would be sensitive when I fell in love with my husband, a pale, freckled ginger himself (such a handsome one, I might add). Around the time my daughter turned one, she had struggled with rashes, molluscum contagiosum, and eczema.
My hair stylist, and now business mentor, had joined the safer movement with Beautycounter and I was intrigued by her posts. Let me stop and state for the record that I had never, ever cared about ingredients. I had never checked a label. I did not care. And I had my reservations about independent consultants [transparency, right?!] But her posts were interesting. So I ordered some of the Baby Gentle All-Over Wash. Why not, right?
Holy cow. The tiny little bumps on her arms and legs + her eczema cleared up after just two uses. I was impressed, but it still didn't push me to switch her wash permanently, because the second we ran out, I quickly picked up what was on sale at Walmart. All these years later, I'm cringing as I even write that.
Hormones.
For more than 15 years, I have struggled with my skin. Cystic acne...the really painful, really swollen, really red, really ugly kind. I spent so. much. money trying to treat it [or cover it]. Some products would work for a while, while others wouldn't work at all. I would become immune to the ones that seemed to make my skin look better overtime, then try new regimens, which I would also eventually become immune to as well. It was an endless cycle with only temporary results, wasted money, and complete oblivion that I was causing so much harm to my body.
It wasn't rocket science to figure out that my acne was hormonal, but no doctor ever discussed that with me. So I just dealt with it. I spent more money to cover it up since treating it felt impossible.
Considering I had been so pleased with the baby wash for Reaves, I decided to try the Beautycounter Charcoal Bar when my hair stylist threw out a bulk order opportunity. Sign me up! Why not? It's $26...I've already spent over $2600. Let's do it. Side note: to this day...I have not let that bar run out. Just saying. It is my jam.
The bar works miracles, but it's not a miracle product...it wasn't a one and done purchase that was going to magically solve all of my acne problems. Wait, what? You mean, I'm not guaranteed to never have acne again, have a perfect complexion, hit the lottery, and look like Carrie Underwood by a $26 purchase? Some people expect that. Heck, I probably expected that in the beginning. However, I switched nothing else at the time. Call it laziness, ignorance, cheap, maybe all of the above. But I kept complaining. Complaint without action is just annoying. And my husband very quickly made me realize that.
Nick and I had Reaves without much effort. I swear he looked at me wrong [or, right, haha] and I got pregnant with her it happened so fast. But when we tried for number 2, it wasn't happening. I had multiple tests run, and because that story is super long, I will sum it up by saying that my hormone levels were in the post-menopausal range. I was 29 years old.
That moment jolted me. How, at 29, were my hormones THAT out of whack? Beautycounter was born for reasons like this, and so many others...
So I made moves. I reached back out to my consultant. I started with my makeup bag. I did a clean swap. Threw just about everything out and replaced it with the Flawless in Five essentials. That same month, I added the Countercontrol regimen into my skincare routine, which at that time only consisted of the Charcoal Bar, and changed our laundry detergent. It didn't take long before the outward improvements started. Then I got to work. Not yet as a consultant, but as my own advocate. I started educating myself, checking labels, looking up ratings on the EWG. Asking questions. Choosing safer. Knowing better. Doing better.
Finally, my consultant saw how on fire I was for this mission. She saw the work I was putting in for myself. She could see my heart in my posts about my safer journey. So she invited me in. My husband encouraged me. What an amazing opportunity.
A week after I signed up as a consultant, I visited my aesthetician. She informed me that most of the redness on my face that I've been mistaking for acne/scars was really hyperpigmentation...the result of trauma to my skin. I asked questions, and her answers jolted me, again. Side note: We have never talked about Beautycounter. Based on the color and location of my hyperpigmentation, she said that this was most likely caused by excess production of melanin, a side effect of hormone disrupting ingredients in personal care products.
We don't know what we don't know. I learned the hard way. Years of not checking labels, layering and lathering EDTA, PEGs, phthalates, parabens, oxybenzone, and MORE onto my skin, unaware of the damage I was doing, even in seasons where my skin appeared to have improved. I have a long way to go. It will take a while to completely get rid of my hyperpigmentation. But now I know I am not causing any additional damage to my skin.
Joy. Gratitude. I am advocating for a mission that is changing my life, my family's life. I am educating people I care about. I am not just selling lipstick. I am not just an independent consultant for another beauty company. I am a voice in this movement, and I am proud to link arms with like-minded women [and men] to ignite fire around these issues in this industry. To make change. To make this world a little better. To help the next generation. To hopefully change the trajectory in the rising statistics of auto-immune disease, early puberty, infertility, cancer...
...and to turn this passion into a business. To earn an income educating others on how to choose better [notice I did not say choose Beautycounter]. Joy. Gratitude.
A recent article circled around social media - "hotdogs, sunscreen, and other ways I'm messing up."And for a moment, I felt attacked, even though I know the article was not shared as a personal jab at me. I read the article, about longing for simplicity. Not worrying about carcinogens, organic choices, the dangers of sunscreen. Longing for yester-year..when these stressors weren't "a thing." An "I survived" mentality. Too much pressure from all of the not-so-perfect solutions out there. Suggestion that we're missing out on real moments by stressing over the "small stuff." After all, our moms did a great job.
I read the article again...and a third time. And truth is, I AGREE with her. We should not have to be stressed over this. We did survive. Our moms did do great. I'm not doubting that. We are doing our best. That's exactlty what this safer mission is about. It's not about stressing everyone out. It's not about pointing out the less than, but standing up for MORE, for better. Looking out for one another. It's about making people aware that you have the power to CHOOSE. We have a voice. A chance to make CHANGE. Change in legislature so the FDA can regulate these ingreidents so we don't have to for our families. THAT would be true simple living, don't you thnink? So I agree. That's why I press on in this mission. Because it does, all too often, feel like too much. Too much to have to check behind these companies to make sure what we are choosing is truly safe. We shouldn't have to do that. Safer should be more transparent. More accessible. More afforable. It should. But it's not. Not yet. But one day. Maybe one day it will. And I'm honored to be a part of that. With my clients, with my team, with Beautycounter, with the other clean beauty companies fighting alongisde us in this mission towards that goal.
That moment jolted me. How, at 29, were my hormones THAT out of whack? Beautycounter was born for reasons like this, and so many others...
So I made moves. I reached back out to my consultant. I started with my makeup bag. I did a clean swap. Threw just about everything out and replaced it with the Flawless in Five essentials. That same month, I added the Countercontrol regimen into my skincare routine, which at that time only consisted of the Charcoal Bar, and changed our laundry detergent. It didn't take long before the outward improvements started. Then I got to work. Not yet as a consultant, but as my own advocate. I started educating myself, checking labels, looking up ratings on the EWG. Asking questions. Choosing safer. Knowing better. Doing better.
Finally, my consultant saw how on fire I was for this mission. She saw the work I was putting in for myself. She could see my heart in my posts about my safer journey. So she invited me in. My husband encouraged me. What an amazing opportunity.
A week after I signed up as a consultant, I visited my aesthetician. She informed me that most of the redness on my face that I've been mistaking for acne/scars was really hyperpigmentation...the result of trauma to my skin. I asked questions, and her answers jolted me, again. Side note: We have never talked about Beautycounter. Based on the color and location of my hyperpigmentation, she said that this was most likely caused by excess production of melanin, a side effect of hormone disrupting ingredients in personal care products.
We don't know what we don't know. I learned the hard way. Years of not checking labels, layering and lathering EDTA, PEGs, phthalates, parabens, oxybenzone, and MORE onto my skin, unaware of the damage I was doing, even in seasons where my skin appeared to have improved. I have a long way to go. It will take a while to completely get rid of my hyperpigmentation. But now I know I am not causing any additional damage to my skin.
Today, my hormone levels are in normal range, and our second child is 5 months old.
Joy. Gratitude. I am advocating for a mission that is changing my life, my family's life. I am educating people I care about. I am not just selling lipstick. I am not just an independent consultant for another beauty company. I am a voice in this movement, and I am proud to link arms with like-minded women [and men] to ignite fire around these issues in this industry. To make change. To make this world a little better. To help the next generation. To hopefully change the trajectory in the rising statistics of auto-immune disease, early puberty, infertility, cancer...
...and to turn this passion into a business. To earn an income educating others on how to choose better [notice I did not say choose Beautycounter]. Joy. Gratitude.
A recent article circled around social media - "hotdogs, sunscreen, and other ways I'm messing up."And for a moment, I felt attacked, even though I know the article was not shared as a personal jab at me. I read the article, about longing for simplicity. Not worrying about carcinogens, organic choices, the dangers of sunscreen. Longing for yester-year..when these stressors weren't "a thing." An "I survived" mentality. Too much pressure from all of the not-so-perfect solutions out there. Suggestion that we're missing out on real moments by stressing over the "small stuff." After all, our moms did a great job.
I read the article again...and a third time. And truth is, I AGREE with her. We should not have to be stressed over this. We did survive. Our moms did do great. I'm not doubting that. We are doing our best. That's exactlty what this safer mission is about. It's not about stressing everyone out. It's not about pointing out the less than, but standing up for MORE, for better. Looking out for one another. It's about making people aware that you have the power to CHOOSE. We have a voice. A chance to make CHANGE. Change in legislature so the FDA can regulate these ingreidents so we don't have to for our families. THAT would be true simple living, don't you thnink? So I agree. That's why I press on in this mission. Because it does, all too often, feel like too much. Too much to have to check behind these companies to make sure what we are choosing is truly safe. We shouldn't have to do that. Safer should be more transparent. More accessible. More afforable. It should. But it's not. Not yet. But one day. Maybe one day it will. And I'm honored to be a part of that. With my clients, with my team, with Beautycounter, with the other clean beauty companies fighting alongisde us in this mission towards that goal.
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