I recently decided to join Beautycounter as a consultant and I want to share a bit as to why. First, what is Beautycounter? If you’re not familiar, Beautycounter is a brand with a simple mission: to get safer products into the hands of everyone. They sell high quality personal care products–from cosmetics to skin and hair care to sunscreen–that are free of questionable ingredients,1500 of them to be exact. Beyond simply selling products, part of their mission is to advocate for better laws within the personal care industry, and educate consumers about the need for safer products. You can read more about the company here, but that’s what they’re all about in a nutshell.

So why did I become a Beautycounter consultant? The short answer is, I believe in the mission and I believe in the products. As someone with a strong interest in health and wellness, I’m pretty good with nutrition and what I put into my body, but I could be doing better when it comes to what I’m putting on it. The skin is the largest organ, and I can’t even count how many products I use on it on a daily basis! I scrutinize nutrition labels on food, but often don’t give a second thought to the list of ingredients that are in my favorite moisturizers or makeup.

As I’ve recently learned, there are thousands of chemicals on the market for use in personal care items–most of which don’t have any safety data–and the U.S. has only partially banned 30 (For comparison, the EU has banned close to 1400!). This doesn’t sit well with me, especially now that I have kids. There are so many things you can’t control when it comes to what you’re exposed to, but I can control what I put on my body, and I want it to be as safe as possible.

Truthfully, I’ve been working towards choosing cleaner product options for several years, but I found the process both daunting and frustrating. Sifting through the labels and ingredients on various products is overwhelming (who has time for that?), and many of the supposed “clean” products out there either aren’t all that clean, or just don’t work. And while I like the idea of using cleaner products, I’m not willing to sacrifice how I look with products that are inferior (and I’ve tried many). I want to look and feel my best! That’s the beauty of Beautycounter (no pun intended). They take the guesswork out of the ingredient question (since they have unrivaled safety and screening standards for all of their products) AND they only sell products that truly perform. Both safety and performance hold equal weight, and this makes Beautycounter really stand out, in my opinion.

Did I replace all of my skin care and makeup with Beautycounter products? Honestly, no. Far from it. But that’s the other thing I love about Beautycounter. They’re about progress, not perfection. That’s something I fully stand behind, in all facets of life, really. At this point I’m taking small steps to clean up what I use on a daily basis, and I’ll make other swaps as they make sense for me. In the meantime, I’m really excited to share the knowledge I’m gaining and the products I love along the way. I hope you enjoy learning and discovering products along with me!