Confessing My Beauty Sins: Silicone, Silicone and More Silicone
This weekend, one of my oldest, dearest friends got married. She wore purple and looked like Princess Jasmine. It was amazing! Also, it was black-tie, which meant some serious primping was in order.
Now, in preparation for said wedding, I found myself in humid Montreal at my parents’ house lacking certain key things: An appointment for a blowout, for one, undereye concealer, for two, as well as a hairdryer that actually dries hair and my Intelligent Nutrients Volumizing Spray—which is not itself a defrizzer, but plays one in the movie of my life.
Of course, I’d like to say I got crafty and went to the health-food store, bought a spray bottle and some aloe, mixed in a little sea salt and make an amazing spray for air-dried waves. But no.
Instead, I dragged my boyfriend to the closest Jean-Coutu and then spent a good 15 minutes reading the bottles and trying to pick the lesser of several evils.
There was a lot of crap, obviously, so this took some time. It was fun, in a perverse sort of way, reminding me of how before we wrote the book, Alexandra and I believed that looking good—whatever “good” means to you—meant putting your trust in mysterious potions at the drugstore and then hoping for the best.
Maybe it was the whole being-at-mom-and-dad’s-again thing but I did just that: I totally regressed. In the end, I bought a not-clean silicone-filled defrizzer (Frizz-Ease), a not-clean butane-and-silicone-packed volumizing dry shampoo (Klorane), and a not-clean silicone-filled undereye concealer (Cover Girl). I got a weird thrill out of it! I was genuinely curious and confused about what would happen next.
When my hair was sopping wet, I put in a tiny bit of the defrizzer, took one sniff of it and immediately started trying to wipe it off with a towel. Next, I blowdried halfway, things were looking frizzy and I started feeling desperate. “Can you plug in my iron?!” I called, panicked from the bathroom.
I decided to move on to makeup. I found the concealer liquidy in a bad way—it disappeared the second I put it on and was too yellow for my skin. I decided to wipe it all off and improvise with some clean mineral powder and Joy Juice instead. That worked well! Cover Girl was out. I continued to get dressed and was about to start ironing when lo! I looked in the mirror and my hair looked…kind of amazing?
Ugh. I’m sorry but it’s true. Silicone just works. Of course it’s not actually good for your hair, and when I used it regularly my hair looked like garbage when I airdried it—meaning there’s no temptation to keep this stuff in my caddy. As for the dry shampoo, I took one sniff of it on a napkin and threw the stuff away.
Sure, I’d be lying if I said my hair didn’t look perfectly unfrizzy all night and into the next day. But I’d also be lying if I left out the part where the hair stuff gave me a sweet rash on my upper back and chest.
Moral of the story: Conventionals are still, after all this time, crap. And the things I used were 0 for 3.
Have you cheated on your naturals recently with some good old-fashioned drugstore brands? Tell, tell.
Image via
I still cheat with foundation: Make Up For Ever HD Foundation. It just has better coverage than any naturals I’ve found and it makes my skin look flawless (I have pitmentation issues from acne). I only wear it a few times a month, but it is cheating (though it does make me feel better that it doesn’t rate terrible on the Skin Deep Database). Usually layering several naturals works for me, but if it’s hot out or I really care about how I look, I wear the Make Up For Ever. I also use the Make Up For Ever HD Setting Powder – it’s amazing and, I don’t think bad for me. :)
The fact that you ended up “0 for 3″ makes me happy and confirms that no matter how tempting they make the marketing for these products, they’re just not worth it!
I haven’t cheated since I switched over almost 2 years ago, but I haven’t been in a high pressure situation where I was out of town and needed to run out and buy products either. I think that would be the only situation where I would feel the need to cheat.
I cheated on my natural sunscreen the other day with my moms oil of olay and I don’t want to describe the breakout that ensued…
♥Sarah♥
theantiquepearl.blogspot.com
awhile back I ran out of Soapwalla and had yet to discover the joy of making my own deodorant. I still had my old Dove stick laying around from like a year ago when I quit it, and rubbed that in my pits for a few days. I was wonderfully dry and stink free (although I did stink in another way from all the fragrance in that crap – I can’t believe how strong it is now that I’ve stopped with synthetic fragrances). But the lack of sweat definitely wasn’t worth the itch that came along with the Dove…ugh. it was awful. even for days after using it my pits were itchy. AND possibly just a weird coincidence, but right after my mini deodorant affair my normally clear face started breaking out?! like a lot. could have been unrelated, but I’m going to go ahead and blame the deodorant even though it was obviously no where near my face.
My make up cabinet is 99% natural, but until now I’m struggling with foundation. I tried some natural but I bought the wrong color and /or didn’t like the result on my skin. I still use Mary Kay medium foundation in Beige 302, as it’s the perfect match for my skin, but also filled with a lot of crappy stuff. But as I use make up really few times a month, it’s not so terrible. I tried Vapour liquid foundation, but I bought the wrong color (too light and pink) and I didn’t like the result over my skin (super oily and shiny). I bought some mineral powder foundation from The All Natural Face, but I bought the wrong color again (it’s too yellow and dark), but funny that the concealer of this same brand in the same color of the foundation matches well with my terrible and big and purple dark circles.
Ugh. As I mentioned before, hair is my issue, though I have the exact opposite problem from Siobhan: super-fine hair that just lies there and plays dead + a super-shrot cut. Like today, for example, I decided to skip my almost-clean, but silicone laden Giovani hair goop and ended up looking like I’m wearing a bad toupe made out of felt. So yeah… Silicones are, sadly, a necessary evil. And then there’s makeup. I have tried using the very expensive Organic Glamour mascara (which, according to Well & Good is the gold standard for clean mascaras) for a couple of evenings out and it flaked all over my face. Seriously, I looked like a sleep-deprived raccoon. So yeah, seeing as I usually wear makeup about once or twice a month, I think I am going to stick with dirty mascara, at least when it’s hot and humid. Also, I love my RMS uncoverup, but when I need to bring out the big guns, nothing beats my SK II airbrush foundation. Plus, I just love using that little gadget. It’s just. so. cool.
I don’t cheat! I can’t imagine it – and just the IDEA of getting caught w/o the naturals I love stresses me out more than it probably should. But I’m too sensitive (potentially dire consequences) and have come too far (much better skin and hair!) to cheat. I think I know enough now, about brands and DIY, to be able to find some basics to do the job if I ever ended up without my beloved products. And I don’t even like to go into a drug store or “regular” grocery store anymore – the smells are just awful and if I have to go in for some reason I make it as quick as possible. Sometimes I’m thankful for being so sensitive, because even though it can be rough it kind of forces me to stay on the right track.
@Heglae, if you find a brand of foundation that looks promising, contact them tell them what you use that matches your skin, and they may be able to advise you which of their products you should try. I always recommend Alima Pure, if you would like to try a mineral foundation, and they are great about personal service plus have quiz on the website to help choose a foundation color, and another plus is super cheap samples so you can get a perfect match.
@Lolly, I’m trying to picture your hair, awesome description of a bad hair day ; ) Have you ever tried just plain aloe gel? or a sea salt spray?
Even though I have tried natural eyebrow products (Lavera, W3LL PEOPLE), I still haven’t found one as suitable for me as the Shu Uemura Hard 9 Formula in Seal Brown. It is the perfect neutral grey-brown colour! I am still trying to find the natural equivalent to it– I will! Then my natural conversion will be complete. hoho.
Over the last year I have tried to be conscious of what I put in (and on) my body. As far as skin care and make up, it was an easy switch to clean.
But where I cheat: micro dermabrasion and my hair.
I have thick, long, wavy hair that’s a little course in texture and since college I have had this issue in which shampoo will not rinse out of my hair and I am left with sludgy, greasy clumps in parts (gross). I used Matrix Alternate Action clarifying shampoo for years and then the condition went away about 10 years ago and I used mostly Aveda.
Then it came back last year and after reading and researching I tried a dandruff shampoo with pyrithione (even though I don’t have dandruff) but it worked really well — I only had to use a tiny amount and my hair looked really bouncy and soft and I could get away with washing it every 2-3 days.
So, last year when I made the switch after reading NMDL, I tried the no-poo (not so good) and then began using John Masters Zinc and Sage Shampoo and Honey and Hibiscus Hair Reconstructor, with the JMO Vinegar rinse every week. My hair looked great — except I needed to wash it every day and when I traveled (which I do frequently for work) it wouldn’t rinse out and my hair looked and felt like greasy, sticky sludge. After a lengthy trip I was desperate and tried Max Green Alchemy Scalp Rescue Shampoo and Conditioner (30 bucks!) to no avail.
So… I caved and bought a bottle of Head & Shoulders.
And, well, my hair looks good, it’s cheap and I don’t need to wash it as frequently. I really, really want to be clean, but I am reluctant to keep spending money on products that don’t work and maybe it’s shallow and small and unhealthy, but I want my hair to look clean and pretty.
I’m sorry for the lengthy post, but any suggestions or advice would be welcome!
I recently discovered this and am quite intrigued by the idea of a mascara cake. I’ve always been wary of even the “cleanest” mascaras and as I never saw myself wearing mascara on a daily basis could never buy something that would probably expire before i got my money’s worth out of it but this seems like a great solution for those rare moments when I pull out the big guns. With a brush separate from the formula surely you could wash it and the formula should keep for a while longer than other “clean” mascaras no? Not to mention, for those of you who can’t help sharing makeup, if your friends have their own brush you could share with much less risk, or just wash the brush between uses by different people even. Finally, this truly feels like a clean mascara to me. And there’s a broad selections of actual *colors*. I’m excited.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/61634625/lash-paint-mineral-mascara-vegan-non
@B, do you have a filter for your shower? By your story, I don’t think the problem is the products, I think it’s your water. I believe filtering the water you wash with will solve the problem and you’ll be able to use naturals. Traveling may still be a challenge since you can’t control the water but maybe get by with dry shampoo or get a jug of filtered water to wash hair with if you are committed to the naturals.
my brother got married this past friday, and while i don’t even have products to cheat with and i don’t plan on spending money on dirty products when i can get clean ones i’ve been dying to try, i went to the salon with the bride and other bridesmaids and mothers to get my makeup and hair done. i’ve been clean for about a year and have suffered from terrible cystic acne for about a year and a half. i went to the dermatologist to get antibiotics a couple months before the wedding, i was so desperate! but i ended up not taking them (they scared me way too much). my now sister-in-law asked me if i wanted to get my hair done at the salon with the other girls, i said yes (i don’t know how to do my hair fancy) she asked me if i wanted to get my makeup done, i said yes once she said it was sweat and smudge proof for 12 hours and it would cover up the acne scars/acne that is still refusing to remove itself from my face. we also got our nails done. overall 0-3 experience. my hair looked amazing but i almost died from the amount of hairspray i had to breathe. i washed my hair three times just to get it all out the next morning. the makeup ended up being airbrushing makeup where they put some sort of something on my face and then spray painted me. it was heavy. to me, it looked caked on. and while i was promised sweat proof my eyeliner melted all over my eye lid. while the other girls opted for fake eyelashes i just used my own. ripping off false eyelashes the next morning was pushing it. we got our nails done (not clean nail polish of course) on tuesday and by wednesday mine were chipped. it seems that when you get fake nails the nail polish clings much better than using natural nails, my bad. thankfully in looking at pictures i didn’t look as bad as i felt. several people complimented my appearance so all the poison at least served a purpose. i’m getting married next august and will have to think of something else to do because i can promise you that i wont be getting my makeup airbrushed, my hair hairsprayed, or my nails coated in poison ever again.
i cheat with mascara :( i have a wedding to attend this weekend (as a bridesmaid!), and i just can’t risk the black stains running down my face. i’m a weepy girl. i’ve found a few natural-ish mascaras that i like, but i just don’t get the high-impact results i crave. i have short, stubby, asian lashes that need plumping.
I’m singing Usher right now… “these are my confessions!”
Over the weekend I went out and bought some antiperspirant because I STINK AND NOTHING WORKS!!!
I’ve spent two years trying this and that as far as clean deo goes, and I have just come to the conclusion that I must be more smelly than other girls. And I am OK with that. But it does bum me out quite a bit as it feels like a defeat.
I even eat pretty clean & get lots of sun, sweat, and water in, soooo….
@christina, have you tried any of the DIY deo recipes posted here? I’ve always thought I must be the stinkiest sweatiest girl ever, and the best solutions for me have been DIY. Far better than any product I’ve ever bought, clean or dirty.
By far no cheating,but the idea of how to find a good green liquid foundation seems hard to do.Not to mention that it will take lots and more money to spend! Any idea what’s the best liquid foundation(clean ingredients of course)?
@Rebecca: Another way to describe the way my hair looked yesterday is a Franciscan monk without the bald spot :) I used to LOVE a sea salt spray when I had longer hair – it gave me definition and volume and was all-around great. Unfortunately, my hair is so short now (think Jean Seberg in Breatheless) that the salt spray won’t do much, except make it look damp. As for aloe… I doubt it would work. My hair is just *so* thin and fine and oily that I really need something to kind of sit on top of it and make it piece-y, which, unfortunately, means silicones. I might give aloe a shot though. Who knows – it might work?
@kimberlyloc: Have you tried eyelash extensions? I know they are expensive, but they do make a huge difference and you won’t have to wear mascara at all. They are brilliant for special occasions. A good friend of mine who’s Asian uses them and the impact is quite dramatic. The only issue is that if you use an oil-based cleansing method you’d have to find something else for your eyes because oil dissolves the glue. Also, I imagine the eyelash glue is not 100% natural or clean (*ahem*), but I figure a single application beats putting on dirty mascara on a daily basis. Maybe? What do you girls think?
Just to play the devil’s advocate, I think one could find several items that while not green and clean, smell great and work beautifully! I think the negatives of using cosmetics with questionable ingredients aren’t always so readily apparent, unless you have sensitive skin or allergies. My favorite sunscreens aren’t 100% clean, so that’s been a bit of a struggle, which varies from not using any, to varying clean w/ not as clean.
@Lolly, you crack me up! (and you sound adorable) Have you ever tried any John Masters styling products? Take a look at the Texturizer and the Shine On. Those are the closest naturals I’ve seen to a silicone product (years ago I was all about the silicone). My hair is a really different texture from yours so I’m not sure what else might work, but gotta get you off the silicone, girl!
My skin is so sensitive that picking up new products at drugstore for an event would be very risky business. I stick to my products diligently and introduce changes one by one with caution. That said, IMO the clean products I have been using perform far better than my former dirty ones, so I’m not very tempted to cheat as far as products are concerned. I get highlights in my hair twice a year though…
I do believe that clean or unclean you need to invest a bit of money and to read reviews online to find products that work for you.
@Rebecca: Aww, tanks! :) I did try John Masters. It smells gorgeous and I love it conceptually, but unfortunately the fact that it’s oil/plant butter based means that it is far too heavy and greasy for my hair. And I totally agree: silicone is grody. After a while it absolutely kills my hair. So frustrating, isn’t it? D’you know, I do wonder whether aloe would actually work. It’s non-greasy after all. It might be more of a gel/wet look thing though. So 80s! Maybe I’ll try it next time I’m wearing my neon-pink skinny jeans ;-)
I’m having trouble with my hair too. I have very fine, curly hair. My hair used to be shiny, full, and bouncy. But since I’ve started using natural shampoo/conditioner, it’s not as shiny, it’s flat, and it doesn’t curl the way it used to. I love and miss my curls! I’ve tried John Masters, Rahua, and Acure. The Acure seems to produce the most consistent results, but still not what I want. I’m seriously tempted to go back to Pantene and the mousse I used to use. I need a leave in product so that my curls look like curls rather than frizzies. I was using Rahua and it was great until I realized it has wheat in it (I’m gluten intolerant). Anyone have any suggestions for fine, curly hair?
@Lolly, You just gave a description of my former neighbor.. And not even after seeing him daily for years I was able to come up with such realistic description . I’m sure it cannot be this bad.. Thin and straight hair on a pixie can only be good.. You are too hard on yourself Lolly…”sleep deprived raccoon”?!! I’ll be certainly looking for your picture on the next Hair Challenge.. ;)
All the best!
Jean-Coutu!? Oh, no no no. You should have gone to Pharmaprix.
They have the Physician’s Formula Organic stuff. :)
@ Lynn – Try 100% Pure Liquid Foundation. The small compact bottle is for more coverage and the big one is minimal coverage.
@Anne – I use Giovanni Shampoo and conditioner right now….but for curling my hair It is Alaffia Beautiful Curls line. My curls are more spirals but it works the same way Aveda’s BCurly did for me.
@ Siobhan – Now you know what I go through trying to find your recommendations in Toronto! Now you have no excuse, you should help us locate distributors and naturals ‘carriers’
OCC (obsessive compulsive cosmetics) carries a tinted moisturizer (with good coverage) that is natural and free of silicone and soon they’re releasing a concealer (there are already review for it online) without silicone too. Check them out!
@Rebecca: Thank you for the suggestion! I am moving to NYC in the next few months (we close on an apt next week!) and I will definitely look into a filter. Any suggestions as to what kind?
@ Anne. Your hair sounds similar to mine. I had shockingly good results with skipping the shampoo all together. I just condition the tips or pre treat them with coconut oil before I give a good thorough rinse with warm water every other day. Took a long time for my hair/scalp to transition and a long time to work up the guts to try ditching the shampoo but for my delicate curls sorta dirty hair is like the perfect product. We’re talking light, pretty, defined spirals.
@B, I’m not sure what brand filter I’m using, the extra filter is hiding from me at the moment. I bought it at a small (not chain) eco home store. I’m sure there are plenty of good ones out there. All cities have different water, so maybe a store local to where you are moving would have good solutions. Best of luck with your move!
Yes, Siobhan, yes. Summer is the only time that I can’t resist silicones. Whereas the rest of the year it’s all Acure Organics and Kiss My Face shampoos & conditioners, biodynamic avocado oil hair treatments and Intelligent Nutrient leave-ins, in the summer I always return to Kerastase Oleo Relax serum, which is basically just silicone. And boy does it work to tame and soften my hair, which explodes into a sad and frizzy black mess in the humid city summer. And the scent is nothing remotely familiar or natural, just some sort of “perfume”, but I confess to really enjoying it.
*sigh* I know it’s wrong. I use my John Master’s Cider Rinse religiously to get the silicones off. But I figure this is better than getting some kind of permanent treatment. No regrets.
@Rebecca: I very well may try a diy deo recipe now, thanks to your suggestion! I usually assume they work well for girls who, uh, just don’t smell so bad haha.
@Somya and @Beth – thanks for your suggestions!! I’m looking forward to trying them out. I’m so glad to have some advice!!
Just wanted to say thanks for the link in the comment, Kali! I am co-owner of t.w.i.n.k. beauty (Lash Paint) and would be happy to talk to anyone who has questions about the cake mascara we make.
LOVE this blog – bookmarked! :D
@Lolly – Have you tried Aubrey’s B-5 Design Gel & hairspray? It’s one of the first things from the NMDL book recommendation (including the shampoo & conditioner) that I tried and it does alright by me. I have straight, very thin & very fine hair and have to wear it short so that it looks like I have hair. Since switching to clean hair products, I swear that I actually have more hair now. My balding spots don’t seem so noticeable. I’m getting my sister to switch and since she has wavy hair (gets frizzy), she’s trying John Masters. Good luck!