There are foods that you pick up from the farmer’s market and there are foods that you order from a drive thru. You know the difference.

Similarly, there are beauty products in your stash that are squeeky clean – and probably a few of what True Botanicals’ Hillary Peterson calls “skincare junk food”. We love the comparison – it couldn’t be more true, and we relate instantly. Before you run off and toss your latest lotion, check out this guide from the founder of one of our favorite luxury botanical skincare brands, True Botanicals…

Are you feeding your skin junk food?If you’re putting empty, non-nourishing, toxic ingredients on your skin, you’re feeding your skin junk food. What you put on your skin is feeding your skin. And because what you put on your skin can end up in your bloodstream, that junk food gets into your body as well.

We’re not opposed to junk food altogether — there’s a time and a place for french fries. But both our nutritional diets and our skincare diets must be nourishing in order to be meaningful and effective. Some common empty ingredients in skincare? Dimethicone and glycerin. If these are high up on the ingredients list—and not surrounded by nutrient-rich ingredients— your money is likely better spent elsewhere

The trouble with beauty labels…

In skincare, a label that reads “natural” isn’t enough to show that a product is safe. The most important standards for the products we use is that they are safe for both people and the planet. Unfortunately, it’s not easy to understand which ones are.

The lack of regulation in our industry means that not all ingredients must be listed on a product. Hidden sub-ingredients, like preservatives for extracts and toxins in fragrance, are almost entirely missing on ingredient labels – even on products that are labeled natural and organic. We’ve been taught that seeing natural and organic on a label makes something healthy, but that isn’t enough when harmful chemicals can be hidden inside. The only way to know something is safe is to have it independently investigated and verified for non-toxicity. That’s what we do with MADE SAFE.

Three beauty shopping tricks you should know…Here are three great things to know when you shop for beauty products next time around. For our full list of ingredients to avoid, we created this graphic – screenshot it onto your phone and refer to it next time you’re out and about.

Vitamin C oxidizes when it sits in water, losing its potency. | It only takes a few hours for vitamin C to lose its potency when it’s combined with water and, even with powerful preservatives, liquid vitamin C serums degrade over time through a process called oxidation. If you apply degraded vitamin C to your skin, you’re applying oxidants instead of antioxidants to your skin — the opposite of what you want to do. Try this instead: True Botanicals Vitamin C Booster

“Fragrance” on an ingredient list often acts as a cloak for the harmful chemicals. | When you see “fragrance” on an ingredient list, consider it a red flag. Scent is considered proprietary information, so companies don’t have to disclose what’s in it, and most scent formulas include fixatives used to keep the scent around longer. The problem is that phthalates in the fixatives have been linked to reproductive disorders, endocrine disruption, allergies and breast cancer. We prefer whole essential oil blends instead.

Antioxidants are nature’s way of protecting our cells. | Part of living on Earth is being exposed to free radicals. We’re exposed to them every day through sun exposure, pollution and chemicals in our air and water. Free radicals wreak havoc on our skin and bodies, leading to everything from wrinkles and hyperpigmentation to cancer and cardiovascular disease. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals, preventing them from damaging our cells and spreading disease, which is one reason why fruits and vegetables, which are high in antioxidants, help prolong our health. It’s the same with our skin. To prolong skin health and vibrancy, skincare should be antioxidant-packed as well. Try this intead: True Botanicals Cellular Repair Serum

Check out this convenient list of beauty ingredients to avoid from True Botanicals.