Going Natural

Among my many new years resolutions this year was to try to switch over to natural cosmetic and beauty products - I can say 2 months in this is my most successful resolution by far (probably because it does not involve going to the gym, changing my diet or time management). At this point I have managed to switch over a good portion of the products I use to a natural alternative. I now use natural shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, face lotion, eye cream, foundation, mascara, toothpaste and deodorant (am I missing anything?), the remaining non-natural items in my bathroom are there just until I finish them up and can replace them with natural options.

Though I have not been doing this long enough to say that I see any difference in the way my skin, hair, etc feels from using these products, I do know that they are better, not only for my body but also for the environment as well. And while I have made a commitment to this and do not plan to give up there are many deterrents that I have discovered, some obvious some not so, that would likely turn away the casual shopper looking for natural alternatives. And this is where the problems lies. Though I don't think it's good to encourage the idea that people should not have to put some work into choosing the right products for themselves, I do however think that large brands (ones that are generally speaking not natural or environmentally conscious) have such a corner on the market consumers have to go to great lengths to find the alternatives they are looking for. For example, I decided the other day that I was going to purchase a natural foundation - my first choice was The Body Shop, the product I intended to buy was actually not available as the stock they had in store had recently expired (a sign that such products are under consumed) and had to be sent back. My next step was Sephora but I knew I needed to do research because, unlike The Body Shop, not everything at Sephora is natural. List in hand I headed into Sephora feeling knowledgeable and ready to make an informed choice. 20 minutes later I left feeling disappointed and not so confident. I did find a product that so far seems ok but half the things I found online where not actually in the store and those that were underwhelmed. This lack of selection and options has been something I have encountered before when looking for other products. An obvious solution is to buy things online but sometimes you just want to be able to shop for things in a store like a normal person.

Another issues is the price, ok I knew pure natural products would be more expensive and I was ready for that but it seems to be more then I expected. Maybe because I'm switching over a lot of products in a short time. But it just seems wrong to be paying more for products that contain ingredients that I can grow in my backyard (this is a lie since I live in an apartment but you get the point) than those that are created in labs with synthetic chemical.

In high school I became a vegetarian and have managed to continue not eating meat to this day (I do now eat seafood so am no longer technically a vegetarian) and while that was a much bigger lifestyle change to be sure I feel, even at that time, there were less external obstacles to overcome. Of course I had to cut steakhouses out of my diet but almost any restaurant carried vegetarian dishes and you could buy fake meat products in most any grocery store. Since that time it has become even easier, so I can only hope that will be the case with natural cosmetic products as well - that with time they will become more popular and hence more available, both in convenience and price.