Clean Beauty Products from Claire!

I’ve been an athlete my whole life and used to think I was pretty “healthy.” But when I went to college my diet and lifestyle went off track without the structure that competitive swimming provided. Once I gained my Freshman 20+ pounds, I started crash diets with zero success.

Flash-forward to now: I’m the “lightest” I’ve been in years (physically and mentally) and I’ve connected to my body again. Like truly connected as in I listen to my body and what it wants. It’s a beautiful thing really, and I can’t believe how many years I spent out of touch with myself.

This shift started a couple years ago when I changed my relationship with food. I stopped conventional “diets” and began eating real, whole food. I felt loads better. Through trial and error (and the help of some seriously awesome friends, Whitney and Sarah) I cut out the crap and focused on eating foods free of packaging, gimmicks, and marketing campaigns.

Feeling great about my food choices felt awesome. It still feels awesome. But changing what I put IN my bod got me thinking about what I put ON my bod. Your skin is your largest organ and absorbs up to 70% of the ingredients you put on it. Whoa! Honestly the more I researched the more overwhelmed I got. What do you mean companies are allowed to use known toxins in beauty products without telling us? What do you mean “natural” isn’t necessarily good for you? Rather than go off the reservation and bury myself in a hole, I decided to start swapping out my products with greener, cleaner alternatives.

**Note: trying to swap out everything at once is both costly and inefficient. Many organic, skincare companies are lovely to work with because they want you to find the product that’s right for YOU. A lot of them offer sample products, percentages off your first order, and/or a good return policy.

I’m still on this healthy beauty journey, but for now here are my top 3 staples that I can’t live without. These are perfect post-sweat at Flex Studios and anyone that takes my TRX class knows I work up a sweat

Argan Oil: I am obsessed with Argan Oil, and I specifically love Tap Roots Farms because their oil has no scent. I use this as a facial moisturizer and to nourish the roots of my hair. I know we’ve been told if you have oily skin use “oil free” products. Using oil may seem odd at first, but it actually balances your skin and evens out your oil production. If you’d rather buy from the store, just make sure you’re getting 100% pure Argan Oil.

Make-up: I’ve pretty much always been a make-up minimalist. And if your product is made of clean ingredients and is multi-functional: I’m sold. W3ll People’s Universalist Colorstick is my jam! I dab this color on my cheeks, lids, and lips to maintain that post-workout glow.

Dry shampoo: for the past couple months I’ve ditched my conditioner in exchange for a baking soda/water cleanser and an ACV/water rinse. Freeing my hair of chemicals from shampoos/conditioners also means I’ve stopped using my old hairsprays, styling gels, and aerosol dry shampoos. I know it sounds crazy, and yes, there was a long transitional period, but I think I’m getting the hang of it. In between washes I love Lulu Organics hair powder. The travel size is perf for the woman on the go (hello NYC) and there’s zero harmful ingredients (you can pronounce everything – imagine that?).