Ever since I started to become knowledgable on nutrition and how what you eat affects how you feel (another post coming soon on this), it made me feel weird knowing I was coating my face and body with toxic chemicals. After long hours of research (anyone else have those late nights awake googling things?) and truly looking into the ingredients of my favorite products, I knew it would be best for my health to transition to the non-toxic side.
I wasn't always this way - growing up, I used to get angry at my mom if she "accidentally" bought the organic brand of something - whether it was food, shampoo, or even cleaning supplies. For some reason, it's a common misconception that organic and natural is synonymous with ineffective. Well mom, you were onto something (as mom's usually are), and I wish I had listened to you then and accepted those non-toxic items with ease.
Fast forward to the summer of 2016. I was in Los Angeles for a few weeks on a work trip, and finally living my dream of being a west coast gal. I decided that during this trip (even though I was working a lot of the time), I would really splurge and live that LA lifestyle I always wanted to experience. So during my free time, I frequented all of the yummy, nourishing plant-based restaurants (can you say Cafe Gratitude and Gracias Madre), got a manicure at Olive & June, a relaxing massage at The Now, and had Beaming Cafe acai bowls probably far too frequently than I should have. I was in absolute heaven and never wanted to leave - the self-care made me feel so refreshed, pure, nourished and even made me glow (or so my boyfriend says). It was during this trip that I decided the time was truly never better to make the switch to non-toxic skincare and beauty products.
During one of my last days in LA, I left my work site a bit early and walked over to The Detox Market. This was the store I've been thoroughly researching for months - I knew it had a wide assortment of brands to pick from and a variety of different skincare and beauty options, all non-toxic. When I walked in, I knew immediately that I was in the right place. The environment was bright, cheery, clean and welcoming. I think I looked a little overwhelmed because a store associate instantly came up to me and asked if I could use some help. "Yes! I am looking to buy non-toxic swaps for ALL of my current products," I exclaimed with both excitement and nerves. We went through each and every one of the products I use daily and she recommended her favorites, as well as let me test out as many products as I wanted. I am not exaggerating when I say I was in that store for over 2 hours. I walked around and picked up every single product, looked at the ingredients, smelled, felt, and experienced it all until I knew I was confident in the product choices I was making. I even called my colleague to come meet me there - in that moment, I wanted to share this gem of a store and my excitement with everyone I knew. I left that evening with a bag full of new products and a hop in my step (ok, and a small dent in my wallet - but worth every penny)!