Green products that’ll make you feel less guilty about our melting planet

President Trump and the Republican party may not believe that our planet is in crisis. But they’re in serious denial. Our planet is virtually melting.

No matter your political affiliation – or religion for that matter – climate change is unequivocally real. In fact, our planet’s temperature has been soaring in the past few years alone. But it isn’t the first time this has happened. In the past 650,000 years of existence, Earth has gone through seven cycles of glacial advance and retreat, that is, major disruption to every being involved – this, including human civilization. The last time something so disastrous as climate change occurred was 7,000 years ago during the ice age.

Today, the leading cause in our planet’s global warming is greenhouse gases, that is, gas in the atmosphere that absorb radiation. This, in turn, traps and holds heat into the atmosphere. By increasing heat into the atmosphere, these greenhouse gases create the greenhouse effect, which leads to global warming.

Trump’s recent withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement has a real impact when it comes to our home here on Earth. According to a report from 2014, climate change is set to create “severe, widespread, and irreversible impacts” on people and the natural world unless something is done to dramatically cut carbon emissions. Such travesties include floods, heatwaves, other violent environmental acts and more.

“Science has spoken,” said Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general. “There is no ambiguity in the message. “Leaders must act. Time is not on our side.”

President Trump’s explanation to back out of the Paris Climate Agreement is simple; he feels it’s unfair that the U.S. pays so much and has to cut emissions when countries like China and India aren’t upholding their agreement. It was agreed upon that industrialized nations such as the U.S. would pay $10.3 billion to reduce greenhouse gases. Though it’s true, that the U.S. pays $3 billion, but when broken down per capita, that’s $9.41, according to the New York Times. In comparison, countries like Sweden pay $59.31 per person, much more than every person does in our country.

While the withdrawal has major implications, we as a collective people can do our part in helping out planet Earth. This comes from reducing emissions by carpooling, recycling, and doing everyday tasks, like using environmentally safe and friendly products. By reducing waste, putting less toxins into the air, we are able to do our small part in helping Mother Nature see another century. We can also do our part with being more responsible with our hair, facial, and body products we choose to use, some that are harmful to our bodies as they are to Planet Earth.

How are beauty products bad for the environment?

For one, packaging of cosmetics and personal care products have a very damaging effect on the environment. These included tubes of sprays, shampoos, moisturizers in containers that cannot degrade. When they end up in landfills, they take hundreds of years to break down.

Some beauty products also poison our planet – not to mention your body. Many aren’t able to break down, accumulating throughout our ecosystems, whether they’re thrown out or poured down our sinks. They then end up in our waters: lakes, streams and rivers.

And the effects on your own human body?

Using the wrong products can have devastating effects on your own well-being. Some cause cancers. Others disrupt your hormones. Others, your future offspring. Here’s a list of common ingredients and why you really should avoid them.

Nickel is toxic for your body, a known carcinogen that’s considered to be the most dangerous of alloys.

Parabens, used in shampoos, toothpastes, deodorants and more, have been used in beauty products since the 1950’s. Used as a preservative, they’re now known to disrupt hormone function, and has been found to be a link to breast cancer.

Lanolin is the substance that coats a sheep’s fur, keeping it moist and protected. It’s also a product found in some of our skincare products to create moisture like in lotions. While this has been used for years, there’s studies now that show how toxic it can be to humans as there are other substances found in the oils. These include sweat, dust, fecal matter. In addition, many sheep are fed GMO products and pesticides, ingredients that are then found in the oils put into these beauty products.

MI, or known as methylisothiazolinone, is also a preservative found in mouthwashes and toothpastes. In recent years, there have been extreme allergic reactions to this ingredient.

Phthalates. The chemical, used in hundreds of plastics to increase the flexibility or softness of packaging has a disastrous effect on humans. It’s an endocrine disruptor, linked to birth defects and cancer.

Here’s a good rule of thumb: When in doubt, use organic products or look at ingredients you can pronounce. Also, look at Think Dirty, the iPhone app that will tell you which products are harmful to you. We wrote about it here.

Though scary, the more research you can do, the better. We’ve done some work on the below and found the best skin and hair products that are doing their part in helping Planet Earth. Though not perfect, each product we’ve used in this special photo shoot is cruelty-free, good for you (free of parabens, etc.) and the better for the environment. Again, we’re not saying that any of these products are flawless; simply, they’re a better option for you and our planet.

With the hotter months around the corner, we’re proving that saving the planet is anything but boring. These looks may cool our planet, but they’ll heat up your summer. Being proactive and keepers of our planet never looked so good. Don’t believe us? Just take a look below. We took on the task of pulling the best looks, each having passed celebrity makeup artist Alicia Marie Campbell’s scrutinizing eyes. She edited her favorite eco-friendly and/or organic products for this very shoot.

Sweat it out

Nick is using:

2 Aveda Invati Scalp Revitalizer

3 Root Science Detox Facial Mask (Certified organic, naturally sourced and cruelty-free)

4 Triumph and Disaster Ritual Facial Cleanser (Locally sourced ingredients from New Zealand including horopito oil, ponga fern extract)

5 Triumph & Disaster Rock N Roll Suicide Exfoliator

6 Milk Makeup’s Sunshine Oil (vegan, natural oils)

7 Nails painted with ORLY Red tone & Cahuenga Pass (Infused with Argan oil, pro vitamin B5 and vitamin C)

Slick Up

Doug is using:

1 Aveda Smooth Infusion (certified organic cassava root)

2 Octavio Hair Argan oil (locally sourced ingredients and 100% cruelty free)

3 Aveda Mens Pommade

4 Octavio “Rocio Du Jour” Hairspray

5 Make Beauty Moonlight Primer (paraben-free, marine algae is anti-pollution)

6 Triumph and Disaster Game Face Moisturizer

7 Make Beauty Marine Salve (paraben and silicone-free)

8 Make Beauty Brow sculpting gel

9 Milk Makeup highlighter Lit (vegan)

10 Lauren B Hand treatment (eco-friendly)

11 Orly red tone and Cahuenga Pass

Curl Power

Adrian is using:

1 Aveda Smooth Infusion

2 Aveda “Be Curly” Curl Enhancer

3 Aveda Humectant pomade

4 Harry’s Shaver and Shave gel (natural ingredients like cucumber and aloe)

5 Ursa Major face balm (gluten and cruelty-free, vegan, 100% naturally sourced)

6 True Botanical eye and lip balm (non-GMO, naturally sourced, organic)

7 Make Beauty Dewpot Bronze

8 Milk Makeup Matte Bronzer

9 Make Beauty Translucent powder

10 Lauren B Hand treatment

11 Orly Red tone and Cahuenga Pass

Golden Hour

Daje is using:

1 Aveda men Pure-formance pomade Shine Control

2 Make Beauty Moonlight Primer

3 Triumph and Disaster “Game Face” Moisturizer

4 Make beauty blush Rouge blot pot

5 Milk makeup eye vinyl in “Bridge”

6 True Botanicals Eye and Lip Balm

7 Moisturized with Lauren B Hand treatment

8 Painted with ORLY Red tone & Cahuenga Pass (red-orange)
Top coat

Star Boy

Mbaye is using:

1 Octavio hair Argan Oil

2 Aveda Brillant humectant Pommade

3 Make beauty Succulent Gel

4 Make beauty sculpting brow gel

5 Make beauty Marine Salve on lips

6 Moisturized with Lauren B Hand treatment

7 Painted with ORLY Red tone & Cahuenga Pass (red-orange)
Top coat

CREDITS.

Photographed by Justin Bridges; Makeup by Alicia Marie Campbell @See Mgmt; Hair by Lorenzo Diaz; Nails by Tee Hundley; Styled by Adrian Manuel