Say Goodbye To Harmful Toxins: How To Do A Head-To-Toe Beauty Detox
Every day you battle air pollution, smog, hard water, and a host of environmental stressors. Yes, you make through and live to see another day, but your hair and skin aren’t exactly coming out victorious. Toxins are building up, and your natural glow is suffering. So, if your detox efforts have been limited to juice cleanses, it’s time to focus your efforts on your beauty regimen.
Keep reading for your full-body detox plan!
Think hair detox and your mind automatically goes to clarifying shampoo, but not any anti-residue shampoo will do. Look for a sulfate-free, paraben-free, non-drying, purifying shampoo like Aveda’s Rosemary Mint Shampoo ($14) or Alterna’s Caviar Repair RX Instant Recovery Shampoo ($32).
Your scalp, just like all the other skin on your body needs exfoliation too. Clear away dead skin cells, which can build up around your hair follicles, with an exfoliating mask, like Ouidad’s Mediterranean Bay Leaf Exfoliating Hair & Scalp Treatment ($36). Follow with your favorite deep conditioner to give strands a boost of moisture.
Add an oil treatment to cap off your in-shower hair detox. Oils work to force out toxins, replacing them with nourishment. Josie Maran’s Argan Hot Oil Self-Heating Hair Treatment ($36) can be applied in the shower, when the hair’s cuticle is open thanks to the warmth of the shower, making it the perfect time to soak up vitamins and nutrients.
Start with exfoliation. Ditch the old once or twice a week routine. For a skin detox, exfoliate daily—but with a gentle exfoliator. That means skip anything that feels gritty or looks like it has rough granules. Try a cleansing powder and use it with your konjac sponge or the gentle head on your Clarisonic.
Then, pull out the toxins with a clay mask. Clay naturally absorbs impurities and detoxes the skin. Use First Aid Beauty’s Skin Purifying Mask With Red Clay ($30) or Omorovicza’s Deep Cleansing Mask ($120) every other night.
Finally, add chelators and antioxidants to your daily skincare routine. Chelators are a class of ingredients that detoxify the skin by removing impurities and harmful minerals left on skin from the metal-heavy water we use every day. They eliminate existing buildup and also prevent new damage, so your skincare products can work effectively. Try Dr. Dennis Gross’ Hydra-Pure Oil-Free Moisture With Chelating Complex ($78), which packs potent antioxidants too. Antioxidants are an important ingredient in a skin detox because they heal skin cells and protect against future damage by neutralizing free radical damage.
The most obvious way to give your smile a dose of detox is with a trip to the dentist. But in between cleanings, you can polish your pearly whites at home with Crest’s 3D White Brilliance Boost Polishing Treatment ($6)—consider it exfoliation for your teeth.
Take your pre-brush ritual one step further, and detoxify your whole mouth (and more) with oil pulling. A 20-minute swish kills bacteria and pulls toxins out of your mouth. It’s your ticket to cleaner teeth, stronger gums, and a healthier smile. Then just remember to floss and skip teeth-staining foods and beverages, and you’ll be smiling brighter in no time.
If you can’t remember the last time you saw your nails sans the high-gloss finish of a gel manicure, then it’s time to detox. The first step in taking a break from gels is getting them removed by a professional. Improper removal can cause deep, permanent ridges in your nails. Once your safely gel-free, it’s time to let your nails breathe. Go polish-free for a week so your nails have a chance to get some much-needed oxygen. When it is time to go back to lacquer, choose 5-free polishes like RGB, TenOverTen, and Jin Soon.
How do you clean up your beauty routine? Share any of your own detoxifying beauty tips in the comments!