Five Simple Ways to Give Your Life A Non-Toxic Upgrade

Welcome to Ask A Beauty Shaman, a three-part series in which we’re sharing a Los Angeles-based holistic beauty expert’s guide to cleaning up your skincare routine and more. Avoiding harmful beauty ingredients is just one simple way to clean up your makeup and skincare routine. Now that you know how easy it is to go green, holistic beauty expert Megan Schaeffer is helping us take another step towards that non-toxic life.

Here, she shares her checklist for those looking to dip their toes into clean beauty and beyond, starting with basics like bath and body products. Read on below for five ways for a more mindful lifestyle.

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Start with your every day regimen. "Whatever you use every day in and after your shower to get ready, get an-organic, all-natural, non-toxic product to replace each of those. For example, cleanser, toner, and moisturizer for your face, and maybe your body wash, shampoo & conditioner, deodorant, and body oil or lotion."

Read beyond product labels. "Your skin has five layers and the top three layers are dead, which is why you need to choose ingredients and products that will actually be absorbed into the skin and penetrate at a deep enough level to affect the collagen and elastin in your skin (which is located in the last layer of skin, the subcutaneous layer). Start reading the ingredient list before you purchase products. Just because the product says it will provide certain miracle results for you, doesn't mean that there's not one single ingredient that can even scientifically create those results or even be beneficial to you. The ingredients can tell you what a product can do for your skin and body along with what therapeutic benefits it has."

Go on a spring cleaning spree. "Start to clean your home car, office, and yoga mat (basically, anything and everything) with non-toxic cleaners. Consider investing in an ultrasonic diffuser to help purify your air and get the added benefits of aromas you love to enhance your mood, your immune system, and your body. Use your intuition to pick your essential oils. Whatever you resonate with is probably what your body needs at the time."

Be aware of your body and soul. "Start paying attention to the food you eat on a daily basis. Maybe keep a food journal to jot down your daily eating habits. Start to notice how you treat your body, like how much water you're drinking, how much you actually take the time to breathe, and how much you're smiling, for example. What kind of environment are you in and experiencing every day? When was the last time you were in nature?

This simple awareness is a great starting point to learning how to treat your body purely and to start integrating new healthy ways of being into your life."

Take in more H2O. "Drink more water! Hop in the sauna, even for a few minutes. This will start to cleanse and beautify the body while also stimulating circulation, detoxifying your lymphatic system, boosting immunity, helping you to heal faster, and helping to soothe and balance the body for heightened relaxation and calm."

Inspired to clean up your diet? Watch the video below for the best healthy food swaps for dairy, alcohol, sugar, and more: