It can be so overwhelming when you first start to switch the products you use to products with cleaner ingredients; but I think it's such an important thing to focus on because it can have such an impact on your health!

The two ways that I go about checking to see how "clean" the ingredients are in products are by using the Think Dirty app (so easy to use!) or by looking up the product/individual ingredients on the EWG.org website.

1. Think Dirty app

Download it for free onto your phone. You can then go ahead and either scan the barcode on your products or look up the product in their search form. They will list each ingredient in the product and show the cleanliness rating for each (their scale is on a 0-10. 0 =very clean 10= very dirty).

You can save your products to your "bathroom shelf" in the app. If there's a product that has a high rating that you're wanting to see what you can switch it to, then after scanning, you can click on the tabs above the ingredients list to "Our Picks" and they will show you clean products to choose from! You can even shop for them through the app too. It's so easy to navigate & use!

I've been using this app for years now! Anytime I'm in the store looking for any products, I pull out my phone, open this app and scan away!

Here's an example of how to easily scan a product to see its' rating: 

2. EWG.org website

This website is great for looking up individual ingredients in products! They don't have a database of products as big as the Think Dirty app, so I mainly use this website to search individual ingredients in a product to see the ratings and they give information on the ingredients as well. Their rating is very similar to Think Dirty (0-10 scale).


I hope these two sources will help you on your journey of switching to cleaner products! If you have any questions, comment below or message me on instagram :) 

I've been trying to get my lashes to naturally grow longer and they needed a boost! Eyelash and brow serums can get so expensive! So this is a great alternative for those wanting to save the money - and this bottle lasts for SO LONG. All you need are two things!

DIY Natural Lash & Brow Serum

100% Pure & Natural Eyelash Serum - it comes with the little brushes and mascara wands!
Lavender Essential Oil  

Just add 10 drops of Lavendar Essential Oil to the bottle of lash serum and you're done! You can brush the serum on your eyelashes and brows every night or twice a day if you'd like.

If you'd like, you can find empty mascara bottles to put it in!

while my mom was here for colsen's birth, she brought along some ingredients for us to make our own baby soap! i knew that i wanted to keep things as clean and organic as i could for our little boy and this was such a simple task to make our own soap. the great thing is that you can use this as face soap as well! when we use it, he smells sooo good and it's comforting knowing exactly what ingredients i am putting on his precious (and incredibly soft!) baby skin :)

 Natural Baby Soap

i've tried several different face soaps and lotions to help my skin. i've had this constant battle with acne over the years and i've felt like nothing has really helped. this summer i've tried my best to avoid wearing foundation or powder in hopes that my skin would clear up... which didn't really help. on the other hand, in just the short amount of time that i've decided to go natural by changing my make-up to a more "clean" brand and using oils as face cleanser (+ moisturizer!) i've noticed a big difference! the redness in my skin has calmed down and i haven't been totally breaking out lately. hallelujah!
i actually gave away the cetafil face cleanser that i've been using for yearrsss and decided to try out my own homemade face wash. luckily i had 2 of the 3 ingredients at home, so it was an easy task.


  

while i was visiting home in seattle this past week, my mom recommended the book No More Dirty Looks. it's all about the truth behind beauty products and how you can learn to read the ingredients and choose your products more wisely. just like reading the labels of your food items, we should be doing the same with all the products we use on our body. reading this book has been such an eye-opening experience for me, kind of in a scary way (!!!) about how much we trust the products to be okay for our bodies, when really they are packed full of toxins. shampoos, body wash, all kinds of make-up, you name it! we should especially be aware of the products we use on a daily basis. scary huh? if you're looking for an end-of-the-summer read, i definitely recommend it. disclaimer: be ready to make some lifestyle changes once starting the book. you won't be able to resist.

so, naturally, i picked up my make-up bag and started throwing away the foundation i've used for years and any old make-up as well (it was time for me to clean out my make-up bag anyways). since my parents started using baking soda as their shampoo and apple cider vinegar for their conditioner already, i went cold turkey and started it too. i was so surprised how soft my hair was afterward!! it felt clean and so soft AND i didn't have to wash my hair for a couple days (whatt??) personally, my hair didn't get as greasy fast but it may for some people depending on your hair type.

just like changing your food lifestyle to be healthier and more natural, why not change what you are putting on your face and body? i've decided that it's totally worth making little changes in our lives to live more naturally and it's way easier than you might think. it's especially been on my mind lately thinking about how i want to raise our future children so that they are healthy and happy. which means that it's time to change my habits now!