How to clean up your beauty regime

While maintaining or even refreshing your beauty regime is a great idea, reality is a different factor. We all know clearing out one’s routine is not the simplest of tasks and can be rather intimidating and confusing on where to even begin. But let me help you.

Photo by Beckii Janee

What does the term ‘Clean Beauty’ even mean?

If you asked this question a couple years ago, you would have been greeted with answers like “it’s a marketing ploy” or “it is not followed by science”. Well in 2023, it is safe to say that is not the case anymore. Clean beauty is used for most beauty brands in one way or another. But that still does not answer the question of what clean beauty really is, does it? Clean beauty is a spectrum and stands for sustainability and ethical practices which is more then just ingredients and how their sourced but also packaging and how it is made.

Here at Shay & Blue we believe that to make real fragrances, it takes real ingredients. We drive towards plastic free and carbon zone neutral production making our products responsibly packaged and sourced for all our consumers.

Good to you, good to the animals, good to the planet!

Swapping out to clean beauty can be seen as being rather daunting but a matter of fact is, it can be made so much simpler by swapping things like one use items to refillable. Did you know the body shop have a full refill station? You can walk in with your previous tubs and fill up at the wall and you are done! That simple.

Clean beauty is more than just “natural” ingredients. In some cases, it is cleaner to have “lab created” synthetics which can be healthier and safer for your health and for the environment all together. Ingredients like sandalwood are vulnerable, so why not make our own.

Read those labels

The best way to start is simply by identifying what your skin goals are. Why? This stops the unnecessary hoarding of useless products that are not even going to benefit you in the first place. Did you know that reading the ingredients list off a skincare bottle is the same as reading the ingredients list on a chocolate bar? Afterall, you want to eliminate any questionable ingredients including the ones you can’t even pronounce.

Photo by himartine

Does it really matter? I thought about this question a few times myself, a matter of fact is, yes it does! Mixing ingredients together actually can do more harm then good. Ultimately making these products counteract each other making them completely ineffective and essentially a waste of your money. We have all been there.

Reading the labels does more then just give you information on what is inside of the product you are buying, but it also gives you a sense of what the company is like overall. After all, why not be open about what you are putting in your products?

Declutter, Declutter, Declutter

In order to “clean up” one’s regime, you need to start by making space, to do that, it means decluttering old products and even products you do not use anymore. But don’t worry! Did you know most beauty products are recyclable?

Ask yourself, “when did I use this last?” You would probably be as shocked at your own answer as I was with my own. Toss out that old moisturiser with the funny smell and that hard panned blusher you been using since college and remove anything that’s not been touched or used in years.

All beauty products must have an expiration date or a shelf-life symbol on their packaging and it is easy to find. Skincare products can stop working after their shelf life and it is important to note when you have opened said products. Active ingredients like salicylic acid and vitamin c loose their potency after a certain time frame. But don’t let that scare you, make a note on your calendar or stick a label with the date on the bottle when you open them.

Does this apply to just makeup and skincare?

Absolutely not. It can be anything from fragrances to body washes to candles. We love simplicity here at Shay & Blue and believe clean beauty should be for all aspects of your life. Did you know that on average, a perfume is made up of over 60+ different ingredients whereas here we strive to use under 15!

Photo by poko skincare on unsplash

This applies to our candles as-well, we strive in using a 100% vegetable wax blend instead of the average petroleum-based paraffin. Although it is not an even melt, our way in the long run is much healthier to yourself to breath in but also to the environment. Win win if you ask me.

And the best part is, you can reuse your candle jars by giving them a clean of all excess wax around the edges and store your makeup brushes or sponges inside. Cute right?

You will never stop learning.

The best bit about cleaning up your beauty regime is that you will never stop learning and experimenting. You will find new tips and tricks that will work best for you but also will find some newfound favourites along the way. As you continue to shop, read the labels, explore the world of clean beauty (whatever that means to you) you will soon become a pro yourself. Social media can play a huge part in helping one clean up their beauty regime but do also remember, social media can also be the downfall and set you right back. Just remember the tips and tricks we spoke about earlier, is this going to benefit you?

Lastly, give it time. Cleaning out a life’s time of habits will not be fixed overnight. After all I have been doing this for years and I am still changing my habits as I write this. Trial and error will be a huge part of the process, you will try things you don’t like and fall in love with other things, and it is okay if you make a mistake or just can’t replace that one item you love so much.

We are only human after all.