Green Beauty Basics by Jenn Savedge

Over the next nine months, every inch of your body will change in one way or another. As your body expands to accommodate your growing baby, you may notice differences in your skin, your hair, and even your fingernails. And at a time when you may be feeling most self-conscious about your body, it can be easy to fall prey to the constant bombardment from the global cosmetics industry as it aims to sell you products that claim to make you look younger, thinner, and more gorgeous.

Unfortunately, many conventional beauty products contain ingredients that are known to be harmful to human and environmental health. You might think that if they are on the store shelves, they must be safe, but there is actually minimal oversight over the safety of products that come from the personal care industry.

More than 1,110 personal-product ingredients have been banned for use in cosmetics in the European Union because of concerns that they may cause cancer, birth defects, or reproductive disorders. By contrast only ten are banned in the United States.

According to the Environmental Working Group: 89 percent of the 10,500 ingredients used in personal care products have not been evaluated for safety by the FDA (the agency that regulates the personal care product industry), the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (an in-house panel appointed by the cosmetics industry), or by anyone else.

Also remember that every personal care product you use in your beauty regimen, whether it is soap or mascara, will eventually wash off of your body and into the environment, where its presence may affect plants, birds, fish, and other wildlife.

Does this mean that you have to go without washing your hair or applying cosmetics in order to be green? Certainly not! Fortunately it is easy to green your beauty regimen, as long as you know what to look for. Here's