I’m about to start a detox program, and I’m freaking out a bit.

Recently I’ve been thinking about the amount of chemicals and manufactured products I put on and in my body. There’s only so much I can do about environmental chemicals since I live in London, but I can control what I choose to eat, drink, smear, scrub, smooth and otherwise put on myself.

So, this weekend I started thinking about doing a year long chemical detox of my beauty routine.

Lip gloss, body scrub, face masks, minty foot cream, nail polish, spa nights – if it’s beauty-related, I love it!  It started with my first hand-me-down lipstick at age 9, and now takes up several shelves in my bathroom and bedroom.   I can’t even begin to calculate the amount of money I’ve spent on beauty products over my lifetime.

My year long beauty detox means that I need to first eliminate all ‘chemicals’ from my beauty routine – and try to find natural alternatives.  To be honest, I don’t know where to draw the line with defining ‘chemicals’, that’s something I’ll have to figure out as I go.

I will try to make every product I use myself – based on traditional recipes where possible, and using high-quality ingredients.  I’m also hoping I’ll save a lot of money, even with using really nice ingredients.  When I can’t make a product, I’ll try to find the most natural (but still effective) alternative available to buy.

So why am I freaking out?  I don’t want to become a hippy/crunchy/smelly/weird-looking person.  My challenge for this year is to detox my beauty routine without it being noticeable to people on the street.  I need to look, smell and feel normal.  I need to fit into regular society.  It’s a beauty detox for everywoman.

Also, I admit I’m freaking out because I won’t be able to use my favorite perfume!  Or nail polish.  Or eyeliner!  I love eye makeup and have a lot of it.  The smoky-eye-pale-lip combination is my best friend.   I can only hope there are good natural alternatives…