1. Why stop at just a green thumb? Go full-body green!

2. An Artificial Market With the overwhelming amount of beauty products available to the public today, its astonishing how few of them do more good than harm to our bodies. 80,000 chemicals are legally distributed and used by people all over the world, disguised as easy ‘beautifying’ solutions to physical insecurities. But what are we really rubbing into our skin and spraying on our hair?

3. Jergens Shea Butter Moisturizer For a long time, I relied daily on this lotion for my cuticles. Prone to dry nail beds in the heat, I struggled all summer to keep them from cracking and peeling. Though the packaged claims the product “deeply conditions for visibly radiant skin”, the label on the back tells another story. Rated a 6 on the EWG Hazard Scale, the soft fingers I craved came with lots of unexpected ingredients I couldn’t even pronounce.

4. “Dermatologist Tested” After water, the rest of the list might as well be in another language. Studies show that the skin directly absorbs 60% of products applied to it, and those chemicals enter the blood stream. The ingredient petrolatum has been found in breast tumors, and is linked to extreme dehydration of skin. Demithicone has shown relation to organ system toxicity. Sodium hydroxide is a highly reactive substance used as a buffer in acidic chemical reactions. That’s just to name a few.Yet I used this everyday??

5. Swap Jergens for Acure!

6. Acure 100% Argan Oil I was given this sample at a local VegFest and fell in love! Rubbed onto my cuticles once a day, it worked faster than the Jergens and left my fingers smoother than I could ever remember them feeling. Not only do argan oil’s naturally occuring fatty acids soften skin, it also fights bad bacteria and fungi. Not to mention its totally organic!

7. While Argan Oil is a little pricier than the Jergens (running at about 15$, compared to the lesser-valued brand’s 7$), I deem it totally worth the few extra bucks. Acure’s whole line of skin and body products provide an eco-friendly alternative to the toxic sludge other companies are manufacturing.

8. Lyric Central Piedmont Community College