Better Beauty Vermont

My husband is the only person I know that still uses bar soap. While I have added bar soap back into my routine, I thought it was a relic only used when you forgot your soap at a hotel. Much to my surprise when we moved in together, I had to actually go out and invest in soap dishes for our shower.

After my friend Trish opened my eyes to the ingredients and toxins in most personal care products, I began switching my shampoo, soaps and beauty products to safer alternatives. Beautycounter has great products and a great mission, and I love what I use, but it’s been a harder sell getting my husband on board. One thing I love about Beautycounter is it’s not even close to all pink and fluffy- the Body Collection would fit right in on any bachelor’s shower nook. The Charcoal Bar is a great solution to acne prone or uneven skin, plus, looks cool on the soap dish.

I continue to search for other safer solutions for my husband. While currently sporting a beard (these beard oils from Little Seed Farm are great), he still shaves part of his face. I’m excited to try this DIY shaving cream and am still searching for an aftershave alternative. The one he likes scores a 5 on the Skin Deep Database (a great resource if you’re in a conventional store looking for the best alternative). The trick is, these products, often referred to as personal care products, are just that- personal. What I think is a awesome smelling product might not do it for someone else. If I find a product too heavy, someone else might think it’s just right. I’ve been guilty of assuming that my husband doesn’t really care- he’s a guy after all. Thing is, that’s not entirely true. He does care. He loves the soap he loves, and is wary of change.

That doesn’t mean I’m not going to continue to search for products he might love that are better for him, but it means that I’m going to continue to clean up the rest of our lifestyle- eat better, clean better, drink better. The thing that makes our personal care products (all of whom say they’re safe) potentially dangerous is the consistent and lengthy exposure. If you only polish your silver once a year, what’s in your silver polish is less likely to adversely impact your health. I brush my teeth every day, so what’s in my toothpaste is more important to me. If my husband wants to remain loyal to his favorite soap, I can reduce his exposure through our dish soap, bathroom cleaner and other sources of chemical exposure.

It’s never going to be perfect. You’re not always going to be able to use your own coffee cup and may end up using a paper cup for your coffee at the unexpected meeting in the middle of the afternoon. The bathroom at work is going to stick with the cheap soap from Sysco. The #switchtosafer is a continuous process that will never be perfect- but the more aware we are, the better we can be with the choices we make.

Just because the men in your life don’t borrow your eyeliner doesn’t mean we shouldn’t include them in our educational mission and consider products they’ll like when doing the family shopping- their health and wellness is key to a healthy and happy family!