Green Makeup Comes in All Colors

By the age of 18 my hair had been every color of the rainbow- starting out green and working through orange, purple, blue, pink, black, red, and finally settling on auburn, the color I took time to dye this weekend. The good news is I no longer look like I fell in a bucket of paint, the bad news, I’m not so sure what was in that dye.

I have been dying my hair for a very long time, and have come to like everything from the fresh-dyed smell to the sudden satisfaction of a quick look change, but I realize hair dye contains a number of chemical components, some of which have been linked to cancer, and are most assuredly not good for the environment.

But there is an alternative for girls looking for that color-change without harmful side effects: Hair Henna. Henna is an eastern-European plant known most famously for its properties as a skin dye. But hair henna is a growing trend, lending itself well to those who want a natural redhead look.

Be careful when buying your hair henna, and first make sure it is of “body art quality.” An article on About My Planet.com has some great tips for buying and using hair henna. Some kinds of henna are even formulated to dye hair black, giving a little variety to color choice.

But makeup awareness shouldn’t end at the hairline. What’s in our makeup can be just as much of a mystery as what is in our hair. Some products, such as darker eye shadows and eyeliners, still use lead-based materials. One obvious solution is to abstain from makeup or hair dye, but in the professional world cosmetics are longer a vanity, but a necessity for professionalism. Luckily there are products nowadays to combine both eco-awareness and social acceptance.

Bare Minerals comes to mind when thinking of gentler, more eco-friendly cosmetics, touting the line “So Pure You Can Sleep In It!” Aside from this claim, Bare Minerals is free of talc and fragrance, which these ten tips for more earth-friendly cosmetics state as being bad for both your skin and the environment.

Some of the best ‘green’ makeup finds come from the makeup bag, including Kiss My Face, a brand I first spotted on the shelf at my neighborhood natural foods store. Their facial cleaning soaps are great for clearing pores, something every girl should do regardless of the ‘green’ state of her cosmetics.

The simple act of reading labels can help guide you through the mess of the cosmetics isle, with tips like “if you can’t pronounce it, don’t buy it.” Going green can still look great.