Alright, clean eating is one thing, but fully clean living and clean beauty? It’s not always easy. My beauty routine is far from completely clean and toxin free, but I’m working on getting there, slowly but surely.

One of the first things I’ve tackled is my full-body skin care. Since our skin absorbs around 60% of what we put on it, I started with product swaps that would maximize the ROI since they cover the most surface area – body wash, body lotion, and self-tanner.

My natural skin tone is shockingly pale, so I’m really never without self tanner. And after applying all those coats of tanner for years when I knew in the back of my mind was probably made with some pretty toxic ingredients, it felt like time to make the switch. After looking up the tanner I was using on Skin Deep, it was pretty shocking. It was full of endocrine disruptors – chemicals that negatively impact the endocrine system (thyroid, adrenals, hormones, fertility, etc.) – which is a big red flag for me.

So the hunt for a natural self tanner began, and I found this one by Beauty by Earth after seeing great reviews on Amazon, and was SO pleasantly surprised. Not only does it have score of 1 on Skin Deep, but it actually WORKS. It’s now become my favorite self-tanner (natural or otherwise). It goes on totally white like a lotion, so it doesn’t give the instant tan I loved in the past, but it develops in about 6 hours, so just plan accordingly around events. If I’m wanting to be pretty tan for an event or to be in a bikini, I’ll do at least 2 (sometimes 3) coats in the 2 days leading up to the event. It gives a very natural looking tan, and doesn’t look orange. I’ve also found it fades a lot more naturally than some high-end tanners I’ve used and never gets scaly (I love St. Tropez for getting really dark, really fast, but I feel like I look scaly and splotchy after a few days).

BEFORE: PALE AF

AFTER: 1 COAT – 24 HOURS

Looking to start cleaning up your beauty routine? The website Skin Deep by the Environmental Working Group or the app Think Dirty are great resources to look up products. The app even lets you scan products, so you can check as you shop in-store. But be warned, you probably won’t like what you find. I swear almost all my favorite beauty products came up toxic – it’s pretty depressing. BUT awareness is the first step. Even if you aren’t ready to overhaul your beauty cabinet, it’s something worth thinking about when your investing in new products.

Are you interested in cleaning up your beauty routine? What are some of your favorite clean-beauty swaps?