When January hits us after the excesses of Xmas and New Year we immediately think to detox our bodies, diet, hit the dry January/February button, juice everything in sight… the lot!

But for me, it’s as important to overhaul what you put on your skin as what you put in your body as much of what we put on our bodies and our face are absorbed and can affect us in a negative way.

Consider makeup - like most women I love how make-up makes me feel and the confidence it gives me. For me it’s a constant positive in life when I feel up, down or sideways it makes me feel fabulous!

But having been in the industry so long, and having developed and launched both skincare and makeup ranges I’ve learned a lot about what harmful ingredients many of these products contain.

In particular I’m on my soapbox about PARABENS. Parabens are chemical preservatives that are added to cosmetics to prolong the shelf life. They have a role as they are added to help keep our makeup and skincare products free from bacteria but importantly we have learnt over the years that these preservatives can act as a hormone disruptor and are potentially toxic to us. And, as we get older, and our hormones increasingly play havoc with our skin, mood and general wellbeing it becomes even more crucial that we look to minimise the effect of harmful chemicals on our body.

Going paraben free many moons ago was natural for me as I have been aware of the potentially harsh compounds that are in a wide range of brands for many years. And for you I advocate change now!

The brilliant news is that many global brands are now aware of the effect that these preservatives added to products have on our bodies. So, they are consciously seeking out and using different, more natural ingredients to do the same job and without the products shelf life being effected.

In turn, this means that for you going paraben free should not limit your choice of makeup so I would really really encourage you to look hard at the product ingredient list on your makeup skincare, body and hair products... Because you’re worth it!