The term Green or Clean Beauty is definitely a hot topic right now as it’s gaining more and more popularity. But what does it mean exactly and why is better for you and your skin? 

Before diving deep into the concept of green beauty let me mention briefly when I decided to switch to non toxic beauty products and why.

It was when I was battling with my hormonal acne that I got more and more interested in natural skincare products. Although at the time I didn’t know much about it, I knew my body was fighting with an internal inflammation and the idea of adding harsh chemical to the surface, my skin, didn’t make sense to me. That’s when my journey in finding out more about toxic free beauty started. I didn’t throw away all my existent beauty products, I just replaced them with natural ones as they ran out. Switching to a natural and less harsh skincare routine definitely helped me massively to clear my skin and since then I never looked back.

So why Green non toxic beauty is better? 

1- Better for your health : A lot of what we put on our skin and hair is absorbed into the body, so I personally believe that it is important to only use products with ingredients that will make you look great inside and out! 

2 -Better for the enviroment: In addition to natural products that do no harm to the body, natural products also won’t do harm to the environment. With added chemicals, beauty product waste can contaminate water and the surrounding environments and become toxic.

3- Better for the animals: Normally Green beauty brands don’t test on animals and most of times don’t use animal products as well. They also tend to source their ingredients in a more ethical way, either by choosing organic or fair trade sources. Lots of brand also use more sustainable packaging like glass/metal or bamboo instead of plastic. 

So what shall we look out for and avoid when buying a product? This is quite and extensive list of ingredients which I try to avoid as much as possible. I know it might look a bit overwhelming but once you get familiar with certain brands that avoid all of these you won’t need to check every single bottle as you will probably just trust the brand and what they stand for.

• Aluminium chlorhydrate and aluminium zirconium
• Cocamide DEA
• Contaminated Lanolin
• Disodium EDTA
• DMDM hydantoin
• Butylated Hydroxyanisole
• Butylated hydroxytoluene
• Ethylene Glycol
• Formaldehyde
• Iodopropynyl butylcarbamate
• Lauramide DEA
• Methyldibromoglutaronitrile
• Methylchloroisothiazolinone
• Methylisothiazolinone
• Ozokerite
• Parabens
• Paraffin Wax
• Petroleum derivatives
• Phthalates
• Polyethylene Glycol (PEG)
• Propylene Glycol
• Polyoxymethylene urea
• PVC
• Quaternium-15
• Silicones 
• Sodium hydroxymethylglycinate
• Sodium lauryl sulphate
• Sodium laureth sulphate
• Synthetic colourants 
• Synthetic fragrance
• Synthetic SPF’s – Oxybenzone, Octinoxate, Octocrylene and Homosalate
• TEA / abv. tiethanolamine
• Tetrahydrozoline Hydrochloride
• Tetrasodium EDTA
• Toluene
• Triclosal

The only downside of clean beauty is that you might have to go out of your way to find products. You won’t probably find them at your local drug store but online shopping definitely makes life so much easier as almost any brands now will ship internationally.

For the past 5 months I have been using amaiaa facial oils as key part of my skincare routine and I definitely fallen head over heels with these products. They are a 100% natural, vegan and cruelty free beauty brand who like me believe every woman’s skin should reflect the radiance within. I have been replacing my day moisturiser with atma day time facial oil which is a blend of 10 different oils and it really nourish my skin more than any cream has done before. I know lots of women with a combination skin are fearful of oils as they think they might cause breakouts, but my experience has been exactly the opposite. The amaiaa oils are nourishing and moisturising without being “greasy” so they work perfectly with my combination skin. I also found them particularly helpful during these winter months to help defend my skin from the cold temperatures. 

All amaiaa products are 100% natural, vegan and cruelty free and they also contribute to the Empowered Girl foundation, so with every purchase made, amaiaa will empower a young girl to attend school in India.

The lovely people at amaiaa like me believe that looking after your skin from the outside is equally important as feeding your skin from the inside so I have decided to share my favourite Green Smoothie recipe which I have been so obsessed with lately. I call it my Green Goddess Smoothie Bowl as I literally feel so vibrant and alive after eating it!

The smoothie is packed with skin loving ingredients, like kale, oranges and lime juice, all really high in vitamin C, essential for the production of skin collagen. 

I also like to add avocado not just to make the smoothie super creamy but also because it adds healthy fats, again really important for plumped and glowy skin. I love adding a bit of fresh ginger for that extra zing which goes so well with all the other ingredients.

Green Goddess Smoothie Bowl

Ingredients: 

Makes 1 large smoothie 

1-2 frozen babanas

A generous handful of kale 

The juice and pulp of 1-2 oranges 

The juice of 1 lime 

A thumb size piece of ginger 

1/2 avocado

Enough water to blend 

Optional adds on:

1 tsp of baobab powder 

1 tsp of wheatgrass powder 

Toppings:

Coconut chips 

Quinoa pops 

Sliced kiwi

berreis

Cacao nibs 

Or whatever you fancy!

Simply place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Add the water gradually as you don’t want to have your smoothie too runny. 

Pour the smoothie into a bow and top with your favourite toppings. Enjoy!