The Hidden Cost of Beauty: Are We Paying with Our Health?

The global beauty industry is worth over $500 billion, but a lot of the products we trust to make us look good are filled with chemicals that can harm us. From cancer-causing ingredients to endocrine disruptors, it’s shocking what gets a pass. The ugly truth? Many beauty products promise to make us look better, but at what cost to our health?

We’ve been sold the idea that beauty comes in a bottle, but real beauty—the kind that radiates from within—starts with how we take care of ourselves. A healthy diet and lifestyle don’t just give you glowing skin and luscious hair; they also build confidence and vitality that no product can replicate.

The beauty industry thrives on making people feel like they’re not enough. Just like the pharmaceutical industry profits from sickness, the beauty industry profits from insecurity. But true beauty can’t be bought—it’s cultivated through nourishing your body from the inside out. When you fuel yourself with nutritious foods, stay active, and take care of your mental well-being, your natural beauty shines brighter than any makeup could.

The harsh reality? Many of the mainstream products we slather on our skin every day contain toxic chemicals. The FDA doesn’t have much power to regulate personal care products, and most chemicals used in beauty products aren’t required to undergo safety testing in the U.S. That’s why you’ll find ingredients banned in other countries still in our products. It’s a wild west of unregulated chemicals, with us as the guinea pigs.

But there’s hope. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has created the Skin Deep database, a helpful tool to find beauty products made with safer, non-toxic ingredients. If you want to avoid harmful chemicals and nourish your body with the good stuff, start there!

Real beauty comes from within, and it’s not just about looking good—it’s about feeling good, too. Choose products and practices that enhance your natural radiance and help you live a healthier, happier life.

Beauty: The Ugly Truth

What I’ve witnessed over the last 20 years in the beauty industry has me seriously feeling sad. I, too, fell victim to the “beauty standard” telling us we had to look a certain way. As a beauty professional, I was literally trained to "put my face on" before walking into work. A natural appearance? Oh no, not really encouraged. That was the early 2000s for you. But now, things seem to be shifting, and we’re embracing the whole “natural look” thing—even if it’s using a ton of makeup to look like we’re not wearing any.

We’ve created this idea that applying makeup to look like we’re not wearing makeup is a win for natural beauty. Isn’t that defeating the purpose? It should be about taking care of your body—because, you know, skin is your largest organ—and most of us don’t treat it so well.  I mean, if you keep eating processed junk and not hydrating, it’s gonna show up on your face eventually. That’s why the skin isn't doing so great and I constantly talk about what we are eating! It’s all connected!

But hey, I digress…

Being a natural kind of girl in the beauty industry wasn’t easy. First off, I never liked how makeup felt on my face—and there was always a breakout waiting to happen. So I stuck to the bare minimum. Naturally, I was always getting “talked to” about my makeup or lack thereof. People in the industry would insist on doing my makeup, saying things like, “Your eyes are gorgeous, but if you did this, they would look like…” And cue the self-doubt. So what did I do? Like most of us, I turned to things like eyelash extensions (even though, fun fact, they should only be for special occasions).

Let’s be real for a second—our eyelashes serve a purpose, like keeping dirt and debris out of our eyes. But wearing extensions too long? You risk permanently damaging the follicles. I’ve seen it happen! And it’s not just lashes. I’ve seen women with actual bald spots on their scalps from overusing hair extensions, literally pulling their hair out and damaging their hair follicle. It’s heartbreaking as a stylist to see it.  Because they come to me for help and even when I explain, they just aren’t hearing me. Vanity is clogging their ears.

I feel so much empathy for those women.

While I didn’t destroy my hair with extensions, I experienced hair loss from my breast implants. So I know firsthand how the pursuit of “beauty” can really take a toll on your body. It’s one of those things no one warns you about until it’s too late.

In hindsight, I think I dodged some serious bullets by being busy with kids when all the new “beauty” trends were exploading. But since I was so immersed in the industry, I still ended up trying everything. It felt like being in the middle of a constant competition, with everyone around me chasing a specific image, like we were all living in some kind of reality show. I got swept right into that celebrity-obsessed mindset. And the result? I watched relationships—mine and others—fall apart left and right, as vanity completely took over sanity.

No one talks about that side of it—the pressure, the constant chase to meet unrealistic standards. It was traumatic for me, and I know I’m not alone in feeling this way. We’re conditioned to believe that if we don’t look a certain way, we’re not enough. And if we achieve that “perfect” look, it will somehow elevate our status or self-worth. But at what cost? Our health and well-being are paying the price. It’s time we take it down a notch, because this obsession with appearances is doing more harm than good.

I’m speaking up now because what’s happening in the beauty industry is truly heartbreaking and ugly. I’ve been in it, lived through it, and learned the hard way. I was always first in line to try every new skincare procedure or follow whatever was deemed “beautiful” at the time. And I paid the price—literally, with my health. I watched other women go through the same thing, getting sick without even realizing why. When I finally figured out what was behind it all, I tried warning my friends, but they didn’t want to hear it.

Now, I’m writing this because I can’t keep watching it happen to others. My friends are still suffering, and so many people are unknowingly harming themselves. The chemicals we’re consuming—both in our skin care products and food—are hurting us, and I’ve see the consequences firsthand and I’ve personally experienced them.

I’ve always believed in the “less is more” approach, but I got sucked into what the industry told me beauty was. And the further I went, the further I moved away from what beauty truly is. Cosmetology is about the art and science of enhancing the skin, hair, and nails. It’s about improving, not destroying. But now? We’ve gone so far out of control that what we call "beauty" is literally damaging our body!

I see it every single day. And I can’t unsee it anymore. It walks right into my salon, sits in my chair, and I joke, “Welcome to my office!” Lately, I’ve been saying that I have my PhD—Professional Hair Dresser, that is!😂 But real talk, the things I’m seeing are way more serious than just a bad haircut.

In April 2024, I stumbled across something called The Food Revolution and let me tell you—what I learned was everything I’ve been I’ve been figuring out on my own for years. It shook me to my core. Everything I’ve been diving into since 2022 was right there, backed by doctors and science, finally articulating what I knew deep down but couldn’t always put into words.

Now, I feel this urgency to share it with you. Seriously, this is why I started this blog! I encourage you to check out documentaries on the chemicals and food going into our bodies. Plus, it might help you see that I’m not just some crazy person yelling into the void. Haha! I know I can come off a bit intense, but that’s because this is a life-or-death issue—not just for you, but for your kids, your loved ones, and future generations. If you're like me, you only want the best for the people you care about, right?

We all need to take a serious step back, slow down, and face the truth: we’re literally killing ourselves. And guess what? Science is proving it! The chemicals in our food and beauty products are destroying our metabolic health. Once you dive into the facts, it’s impossible to look the other way. I mean, how could you not want to change when the evidence is staring you right in the face?

There’s a solution to feeling better, living better, and it’s right there within reach. Yet here we are, letting others dictate our health while handing us prescriptions loaded with side effects, or distracting us with a hair color to make us look “younger,” or a face full of Botox, fillers, lashes, tattooed makeup, regular makeup, hair extensions... You see where this is going, right? And believe me, I went all in on it. But now, I’m back—back from the dead, and I can’t yell loud enough to warn you!

The truth is, our bodies are designed to heal themselves, but when we keep poisoning them, they’re going to fight back—and spoiler alert, you’re not going to win. Your brain and gut will revolt in the worst way possible- Inflammation.

Like I said, I’ve been in the beauty business for 20 years, and let me tell you—it’s a vicious cycle. We’re poisoning ourselves over and over, and it’s never going to stop until we wake up and recognize the harm we’re doing. At the end of the day, we’re just trillions of cells trying to shed, renew, and heal every 28 days. But when we don’t give our bodies the chance to do what they’re designed to do, healing never happens. We just stay stuck in this loop of damage.

Let me break it down for you—beauty trend after beauty trend, I’ve seen it all. And I’m including diets in this, too, because there’s this constant pressure to be “skinny” or “thin” as if that’s the ideal. But here’s the truth: healthy is the way to go. Forget the toxic standards; focus on taking care of yourself in a way that actually promotes real beauty—from the inside out.

I see it over and over in my salon chair—women chasing these unrealistic beauty standards. And honestly, I just want to shake you and shout, “Wake up! You’re killing yourself... and for what?!” Seriously, ask yourself that question. It is for something that doesn’t care about your well-being just the bottom line.

I’m here to tell you: embrace your features! Love the skin you're in. Take care of it. Use products without harsh chemicals and limit the chemicals you do use!

I didn’t write this to push products on you, but I do want to share that I’ve found some amazing, natural skincare that can truly transform your skin. If you're looking to heal and glow without slathering on layers of makeup, check out the skincare tab and start your journey to healthier, glowing skin—without the chemicals! And who knows, maybe I’ll even inspire you to take it a step further—let those grey hairs grow in like I did and fully embrace who you are… I mean, let’s be real, we’re just trillions of cells doing our best not to shed off too soon!

xoxo. much love.