Green Line Beauty Founder Purifies Our Beauty Regimen

After a holiday weekend such as the one just past, we always feel the need to cleanse our systems by only consuming whole, natural foods.  But what good is eating au naturel if we douse our skin in harmful chemicals every day? To help us eliminate the toxins in our beauty regimen that are ironically making us less attractive rather than more so, we've enlisted the help of Green Line Beauty founder Stacey L. Stilts.  Today, the natural cosmetics expert has some excellent insider advice on which ingredients to watch out for, as well as DIY tips and tricks for greening our beauty routines at home.  

BGG: If we'd rather not replace ALL of our products, but we'd like to start moving in a greener direction, what's the most important place to start?

Stacey: Lip balm, lip stick, and/or lip gloss. These are the most important because you end up eating them!

BGG: Could you suggest some natural remedies that are easy for us to try at home?

As a hair treatment, try coconut, sweet almond, jojoba, avocado, and argan oils.  These cold-pressed nut oils are rich in vitamins A, D, E, and B group, as well as in lecithin and palmitic acid. They can be used for weekly warm hair packs and as daily care for dry, frizzy locks.

For a cooling toner, take 1 peppermint tea bag, ¼ cup colloidal silver, 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice, and 1 cup of boiling water.  Steep the tea in water for 10 minutes, then discard the bag and allow the liquid to cool.  Add lemon juice and colloidal silver, and store in a glass jar in the refrigerator. It is recommended that you use this daily.

To make a salve cream (for super dry skin), you'll need 1 tablespoon beeswax (grated), ¼ cup avocado oil, ¼ cup cocoa butter, ½ teaspoon vitamin E oil, 1 tablespoon rose water, 2 drops carrot juice, 4 drops lavender oil, and 3 drops orange oil.  To prepare, add the beeswax, avocado oil, and cocoa butter to a glass Pyrex jug. Sit this jug in a frying pan of simmering water and melt the ingredients together. Meanwhile, add the rose water to another Pyrex jug and sit this in the frying pan of simmering water as well.  Once the wax, oil, and cocoa butter have melted together, add the vitamin E oil to this and mix well.  Next, slowly start to add the rose water to the wax and oil mixture, drop by drop (preferably using a dropper/pipette).  After you have added about 1 tablespoon of the rose water to the wax and oil mixture, remove from the heat. Continue to add the rose water slowly, mixing continuously with a small whisk. Once the mixture starts to thicken, add the essential oils and mix them in with the whisk. Divide the moisturizer into sterilized glass jars. Cover tightly and label the product, including the date.

BGG: Are there any green beauty products we absolutely must have NOW?

My favorite product is our Green Line Beauty Body Scrub -- it's formulated with ultra-fine sea salt to gently exfoliate dead cells. Rosemary tones and firms your skin while helping it to retain moisture. Dead cells are gently removed and impurities eliminated. The skin is left soft and smooth.  This is a perfect body scrub to use before applying self-tanner. It's also 100% organic & wildcrafted

BGG: What are your favorite natural beauty lines?

ISUN Wildcrafted, Organic & Natural, (OM PURR), Tammy Fender, Sircuit Skin, Green Line Beauty, Rahua, Jane Lerdale, Dr. Alkitis, GoldenPath, and many more!

BGG: Which websites do you use as a reference?

www.ewg.org/skindeep/

BGG: What are some of the big toxic offenders that appear in everyday cosmetics, and why should they be avoided?

Sodium Laureth Sulphate (SLS) aggravates dermatitis, acne, eczema, and psoriasis, as it wicks the moisture from the top layer of the skin. It can also damage eye tissue and promote scalp dryness and flaking.

Paraffin, a.k.a. mineral oil and petrolatum, clogs pores and covers the skin with an airtight film, thus messing up the natural processes of skin perspiration and toxin removal from skin cells. This causes skin cells to shed abnormally which results in worsening of acne, eczema, and dry skin. Petrolatum also slows down skin function and cell development, which speeds up premature skin aging.

Propylene glycol and polyethylene glycol (PEG) are known to trigger allergic dermatitis. Present in many moisturisers, toothpastes, shaving foams, and baby lotions, these solvents boost the penetration of cosmetic ingredients into skin, making it even more vulnerable to toxic and bacterial attacks from outside.

Polypropylene, the allegedly non-toxic plastic used in powders, eye shadows, foundations, eyeliners, mascara, cleansing cold creams, and pads often contains potentially toxic UV-absorbers, whiteners, and antioxidants such as phenols and phosphites, coumarins, benzoxazoles, and heavy metals.

Bronopol causes allergic-contact dermatitis.

Sodium hydroxide, also known as caustic soda, is used to adjust pH in moisturisers and lotions for sensitive skin. It may actually increase skin’s sensitivity to other chemicals.

Isopropyl alcohol, which is made of alcohol, water and petroleum-derived gas propylene, is a popular ingredient in skincare for oily skin. It’s about twice as toxic as ethanol, grain alcohol, and another popular solvent used in toners, makeup removers, and antibacterial wipes. Both work by stripping your skin’s natural acid mantle (which causes oily shine), making skin more vulnerable to UV rays and bacteria. Frequent use may result in brown spots and premature aging.

Isopropyl palmitate, a fatty acid from palm oil combined with alcohol, is often used in moisturisers. It’s a known skin irritant and a comedogenic substance that promotes acne.

You can visit Stacey's store Green Line Beauty at 7123 Melrose in Los Angeles.