Beauty

I’m not an expert in beauty products. I propose to promote the”natural beauty”… hum… No, honestly, I’m just not much interested in beauty products and don’t take the time to use some.

But here is what I do use:

(not exhaustive list; to be completed as soon as I’m happy with something new; I want to try soon lip balm). Check also my blog post.

Deodorant

You will laugh at me, but the first time i used it; my older sister, told me “oh my god Anali, you don’t stink, what did you do?”. Yes, brotherly love is pure sincerity…

My secret: For a year or 2, I used a drop of essential oil from palmarosa (source: Famille zero dechet and Bea Johnson). As I’m a scientist, I’ve searched the scientific literature for possible side effect and didn’t find anything (it means either that there is nothing wrong with it; or that none is interested to study it). But I found the risk worth it (all those deodorant, there much more chemicals in it). Since I realized it was maybe not as sustainable as i thought (see update Nov 2019 here below), I’m searching again for a sustainable and easy solution…

The essential oil from palmarosa doesn’t block sweating, but it fights bacteria under your armpit. So, you don’t stink! And if you forget one day, no problem; the effect lasts few days! For sensitive skin, you can mix the oil with plant oil (aloe vera, joloba). I do use it pure.

Update Nov 2019: apparently if you are using pure essential oil for a long time your body can develop a allergic reaction which you never get rid of. So it is always better to dilute it in oil (almond for example; or another plant-based oil which doesn’t smell too much). I didn’t thought about it before, but to produce one drop of essential oil, you need a huge quantity of plant/flowers!!! (so water too). And the extraction also requires a lot of energy! So essential oils are natural, but maybe not as sustainable as we think!