On a mission.

I am just back from the Beautycounter Leadership conference in Dallas and my heart and head are so full that I wanted to jump on here and share. 

First and foremost, I feel honored to work for and with this incredible and impassioned woman pictured below. She saw a problem in the world and set out to fix it.

That problem is one that is near and dear my heart, given my health challenges and the path to wellness I have been for the last 4 ½ years. 

The problem is this: we are being bombarded from all sides by environmental toxins. Yes, our bodies have ways of naturally dumping toxins to protect itself, but we are not meant to carry this heavy of a load. It’s too much. Not to mention the toll it is taking on the planet. So Gregg Renfrew decided to do something about it, and I am so grateful that she did. And I feel very fortunate that I caught wind of this company when I did, not only because I was in need of safe products for myself after my diagnosis, but also because Beautycounter is on the brink of something very big, in my opinion, and I get to be a part of that.

This is not another beauty company (lest you think I am just a lipstick saleslady). This is a social mission full of women and men with passion to educate and advocate. This is a movement. And more than ever before, after what I experienced this weekend, I really truly believe that we are going to start seeing changes in the industry. We already are! Our voices being heard and other companies are beginning to follow suit.

Some facts and stats I heard this weekend:

-The average woman exposes herself to 500 chemicals A DAY through her products. That’s a problem given that over 80% of those chemicals commonly used in products have NEVER BEEN TESTED on human health.

-Going back several generations to our grandparents’ and our great grandparents’ day: they were exposed to the same amount of toxic chemicals in their LIFETIME as we have been exposed to in the last 5 MONTHS. Sorry for the excessive use of caps, I don’t mean to yell, but WHOA! Isn’t that alarming?? No wonder cancer is on the rise.

The good news is that change can happen and is attainable. Yes, it takes a lot work (and sometimes, unfortunately, too many years) but it is attainable. For example:

-The ban on smoking in airplanes started with one petition. It then took 21 years to pass legislation.

-It took 27 years to pass legislation to ban lead in paint.

-It took 72 years for women to earn the right to vote. 

(I can't even with this ad. Holy smokes)

It's disheartening that those changes above took as long as they did to come to fruition. But at the end of the day, a change for the better DID occur. So what if no one had led the charge? Change requires people raising their voices and raising awareness. And that’s what we are doing at Beautycounter. The more voices we have, the faster we can get there. I was so encouraged by what Lindsay Dahl, our VP of Community Affairs and Engagement, shared at the conference. She put a timeline up on the big screen of the progress we’ve made in Washington. In just a few short years, there’s been progress!  

So. What can you do?

*Just being aware is the first step. That’s why I am putting myself out there, willing to risk being viewed as just another direct sales stay-at-home-mommy pushing lipstick, so that you are aware. Knowledge is power and we have the right to make the best and healthiest choices possible for ourselves and our families.

*Send a message to the industry with your dollars. Doesn’t matter if it’s Beautycounter or not, but do your research if it’s not, and support companies that are being 100% transparent and refuse to use harmful chemicals in their products. EWG is a great resource to check the safety products on the market.

*Pick up the phone and call your local representatives, telling them that this is an issue that’s important to you and ask them what they are doing about it. Trust me, enough of those phone calls, and they will begin to listen.

*Talk to me about getting involved and joining the cause. If this is speaking to you in any way, if you’re feeling fired up, please reach out. We need people who are fired up! We shouldn’t have to worry about cancer-causing ingredients lurking in our shampoo bottles and in our kids’ diaper cream. That’s just as outrageous as smoking on airplanes! And that ridiculous paint ad above! I hope that one day, we can all look back and say, "Wasn’t that crazy?! Good thing we pulled together and turned the tides on that nonsense."

xo

ps - I now have a FB group called That Wellness Group. Come say hello! 

pps - Confused as to who we are and what I am talking about? Watch this.