Beauty’s Worst Eco-Offenders (And Best Bets) for Fake Tanning
by Siobhan O’Connor and Alexandra Spunt, authors of No More Dirty Looks
It was about three years ago now that we went for Brazilian blowouts, just two best friends primed for a day at the salon together. Many of you have probably heard of this now infamously noxious, formaldehyde-laced hair treatment—but at the time it was still new on the American market, and presented to us as a healthy “keratin” infusion. Willing guinea pigs, we settled in for some fun. Instead our eyes burned, our throats itched, and we were suited up with protective goggles worthy of a high school lab class.
See, when it comes to thinking about the chemicals in beauty products, we’ve come to realize that everyone has an a-ha moment. That was ours. Little did we know that it would change the course of our lives and lead us to write a book about this stuff.
We assume that some of you have probably gone through an a-ha moment of your own. Maybe you got pregnant, had a bad reaction to a product, or just somehow clued in to the fact that so many of us overlook: What we put on our bodies also goes in our bodies.
While this is well-trodden territory, one thing never gets old: finding amazing clean products that work. So, just for our beloved ecoistas (read: you), we took a long, hard look at four of the most toxic products or treatments on the market, then sussed out eco-friendly alternatives for you to fall in love with like we did. Ready for a-ha?
When we first started researching clean beauty for our book, it felt like there was nothing but bad news. Hidden—and not so hidden—chemicals lurked in just about everything, from our favorite lipsticks to our most trusted hair products. Over time we found better—Really! We swear!—alternatives. But it was something of a pleasant surprise when we discovered that the active ingredients in most self-tanners, something called dihydroxyacetone (DHA), appeared to be pretty innocuous.
DHA is a sugar that interacts with the top layer of skin to create the appearance of a tan; it can be derived from natural things like beets. Cool, right? What’s not so cool is that most conventional tanning creams are filled with a motley crew of dyes, synthetic preservatives, fragrance and all of the other stuff we generally try to avoid on our bodies. Spray tans are particularly obnoxious, not only for their Jersey-Shore stain, but because you run the risk of inhaling all of those awful chemicals in the process—as opposed to just absorbing them through your skin.
Sexy.
Luckily, there are amazing alternatives. One of the best clean tanning creams we found was created by a California company called Chocolate Sun. This line offers a natural looking tan without any of the nasty chemicals; in fact, their ingredients read more like a trip to the grocery store.
Chocolate Sun primarily uses organic ingredients (as much as 90%), and the products feature skin-nourishers like coconut and jojoba oil, shea butter, as well as antioxidants like green tea extract. In light, medium, and dark shades, their Sunless Tanning Cream involves a subtle build that will not streak, but takes about three applications to really start showing. But we natural girls prefer that to a hot orange mess, right?
Chocolate Sun Cocoa Glow Sunless Tanning Cream For The Body ($40)
If you don’t go in for the whole self-tanning thing but are looking to add a little bit o’ color, have we got a recommendation for you. We have a deep and abiding love for fair-trade sourced argan oil, and so does supermodel-turned-greentrepreneur Josie Maran. But she took things one step further when she created her Argan Bronzing Oil, which gives skin a sun-kissed glow as it nourishes.
If you’ve never tried oils, forget everything you know: think glisten, not grease. Argan acts like a natural highlighter on the skin, and the tint here is subtle and translucent enough to work with all skin tones. Application is foolproof; unless you’re very pale, you can’t really overdo it with this stuff. It’s a great product to use on your face—trust us, skin loves argan oil—or give a little bronzy boost with a swipe to your shoulders and collar bones.
Summer just got a little bit closer.
Josie Maran Cosmetics Bronzing Argan Oil ($52)
Siobhan O’Connor and Alexandra Spunt are the coauthors of No More Dirty Looks: The Truth About Your Beauty Products, and the Ultimate Guide to Safe and Clean Cosmetics.
