Beauty Counter Archives - Ashley Hackshaw / Lil Blue Boo

Safe Sunscreen

April 19, 2016 by Ashley Hackshaw

Is there a safe sunscreen out there? Many sunscreens use chemical sun blockers like oxybenzone.

What’s so bad about Oxybenzone? Oxybenzone soaks through skin, triggers allergic skin reactions, and can be a hormone disruptor.

You can check any brand of sunscreen you are using in the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Database to see where it ranks. (Note: you want it to be a ONE.) This is most important for kids:

“Children are not little adults. Pound for pound, kids are exposed to more contaminants in air, water, food, and personal care products than adults. Immature organ systems are often less capable of fending off chemical assaults. Subtle damage to developing bodies may lead to disease later in life.” –EWG

I’ve never been a big fan of the sun but living here makes me want to be outdoors all the time…and Boo too:

Last summer I looked up the sunscreens I was using on Boo every day. I learned they were ranked in the 4s. Not good. And they are ones that are marketed for kids! I also felt sick when I used most of them, a few times even breaking out in a rash.

So what sunscreen do I use now? Beauty Counter’s Protect All Over. It ranks a 1 on EWG’s scale. It uses non-nano zinc oxide, which is an effective, natural, and safe mineral sun blocker.

Disclaimer: I am a Senior Consultant for Beauty Counter. I love their products and my entire family uses them. Please email me if you have any questions!

Safe Baby and Kids Products

March 28, 2016 by Ashley Hackshaw

First of all some great news: Beauty Counter is now available in Canada. I know many of you have been asking when it would move north and it has!

I use Beauty Counter products because I know they are safe. So many products labeled natural and safe these days aren’t really natural and safe if you look closely at the ingredients (see the never list at the bottom of this post).

The reason I trust Beauty Counter is because they are actually trying to bring about change in a largely unregulated industry.

“Skin care and beauty products are some of the least-regulated consumer products on the market. Consider this: The last time Congress passed a major law to regulate cosmetic ingredients was in 1938. The United States has only partially restricted 11 ingredients from use in the beauty industry; the European Union has banned nearly 1,400. It’s safe to say we’re dangerously behind the times.”

Boo loves the kids line and I love that they are all the same size and that I can buy the pumps to use over and over…it regulates how much product she uses. My sister is due to have a new baby in June so I’m excited that Beauty Counter has recently added a baby line to their products. An all-over gentle wash, a protective balm, and a soothing skin oil:

Here’s what Boo uses from Beauty Counter’s Kids Counter line:

This is Beauty Counter’s list of ingredients to never use on your skin. You can check your existing products against. I carry it in my wallet to check products if I’m out and about. I created a PDF you can print off onto card stock as well (click here to download or click the image to open and print):

You can read more posts about the products I use here! Thanks for reading!

Battling Winter Dry Skin

January 22, 2016 by Ashley Hackshaw

I made a commitment to myself and to my family to rid our home of unsafe products. It’s been eye opening! I always think I have my whole routine figured out but then the seasons change and I have to tweak it a little. To keep my face moisturized this winter I’ve turned to coconut oil (always virgin organic coconut oil in a glass bottle!) I’m partial to Trader Joe’s brand:

I love the light coconut smell and the consistency. Plus it’s organic, virgin and in a glass bottle. (You can buy it on Amazon now too if you are like me and don’t live anywhere near a Trader Joe’s.)

I have rosacea and my skin is very prone to breakouts. Coconut oil has only helped those two issues. The only thing I’ve found is that if I use coconut oil on my face sometimes it looks like I dipped my face in a VAT OF OLIVE OIL. I could care less when I’m at home but if I have to go out in public I dust my face with BeautyCounter’s Mattify and voila the olive oil look disappears:

And what about foundation? If I decide to wear it I just apply it over the coconut oil and then use the Mattify Skin Finishing Powder over that layer too.

A few more thoughts: I love my Dew Skin and Tint Skin foundations (often mixing both) because they have a coconut oil base. I also helps to drink a lot more water this time of year.

Disclaimer: I am a senior consultant/affiliate for Beauty Counter, and for one primary reason: Beauty Counter’s mission is to get safe products into the hands of everyone. Please feel free to email me with any questions you might have about their products or joining the awesome team I am apart of.

I would love for you to read more about Beauty Counter and the failure of the FDA to protect us from harmful chemicals in the products we use everyday. The United States has not passed a federal law to regulate the ingredients used in personal care products since 1938. The European Union has spent the past two decades banning or restricting more than 1,300 ingredients, the US has only banned 11 to date.We deserve better. Our kids deserve better.

*****

And if nothing else please check out THE NEVER LIST, the list to check your existing products against. I carry it in my wallet to check products if I’m out and about. I created a PDF you can print off onto card stock as well (click here to download or click the image to open and print):