This week's Women in Wellness Wednesdays we featured Dixie Lincoln- Nichols, the founder and owner of Inside Outer Beauty Market, a clean beauty store located in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Dixie discusses the difference between clean and natural beauty products, and how to start a non-toxic lifestyle with the products we consume everyday.
So what's the difference between clean beauty products and natural beauty products?
Dixie: “Well, clean beauty products do not contain any potentially harmful toxicants, but they can contain safe synthetics. Also, clean beauty supply chain, from source to shelf: Who are the people making those products? Where are the products coming from? Are the people making them being paid fair and livable wages? Is an effort being made to promote a sustainability chain? Also, are those products cruelty free? Natural products, on the other hand, are ones that should only contain ingredients from nature: pure, undiluted ingredients. That does not mean that because it's pure and natural, you won't have an allergic reaction; some things from nature do cause allergic reactions.”
So, what is the most toxic ingredient?
Dixie: “I honestly cannot say that there is one most toxic ingredient because when you look at the potential risks of these ingredients and the potential harm that they can cause, they are all. So, I would say look for common ingredients like parabens and sulfates and phthalates and even fragrance. It's not an ingredient, but it's used to group the ingredients, and we don't know what those are because companies are not mandated to disclose them. They are their secret sauce, more or less, and avobenzone octinoxate in sunscreens. There are so many. Check out our forbidden list where you can go to EWG.org and do your own research, and I'm sure a lot of other companies have their forbidden list. Check those out. Do your research and make decisions that are in the best interest of your health.”
Dixie: “Clean beauty is important because we all deserve to have access to products that safely and effectively support our bodies inside and out. We deserve peace of mind when going to the counter to make our purchases as opposed to worrying about risks that some ingredients may pose to our bodies, and I'll tell you what's even worse than the worry is not even knowing that there is a potential risk in the first place. So, clean beauty is not about fear. It's about care. It's about providing safer alternatives. It's about providing information, so consumers can make more informed purchases. So, you want to make the switch over to clean beauty.
Where do you begin?
Dixie: “I always say start with the products you use everyday: the ones you use most frequently. So, think of your toothpaste; think of your body washes. Anything that you use every single day; start there. Clean beauty products definitely have been proven to work just as well and even better than their OG conventional counterparts. Clean beauty products have so much nature and are naturally derived. It gives them a better chance to work with the body's chemistry. Our bodies were made to work in tandem with nature, and when you bring nature into a bottle, and you give it to people to put on their skins, when these ingredients are absorbed, you can only win situations as opposed to having toxicants being absorbed into your body at an exceptionally high rate, and taking the risk that they can be carcinogenic, or they can be a neurotoxin, or a fertility toxin, and et cetera. Why run the risk when you can have products that are so much safer and so very effective?”
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Nina LaBruna
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