Most of us are familiar with eating whole foods versus processed foods—and the difference we experience in our guts, brains, skin, and hormones.
It’s common knowledge that what we put in our bodies directly impacts how we feel.
But do we ever stop and think about what we put on our bodies?
There are rising concerns about the ingredients allowed in makeup and skincare products, especially in the United States. Here are some things you should know:
While it’s becoming more difficult to trust grocery store products, we still have the power to take matters into our own hands. It’s up to us to reconsider the ingredients we use and take charge of our skin health.
1. Parabens
Essentially, parabens are a group of chemical preservatives. They’re used to prevent bacterial growth and mold in products that contain water and other perishable ingredients.
Found in everything from shampoo and soap to makeup and skincare, parabens can disrupt hormone levels. Parabens mimic estrogen, dominating the body and putting extra stress on the liver (which processes estrogen).
Alarmingly, young girls today are reaching puberty much earlier than previous generations (around 8 or 9). Studies suggest that paraben exposure could have something to do with this since they mimic estrogen.
Other concerns related to parabens include things like fertility issues, estrogen dominance (leading to blood sugar imbalance), skin irritation, and altered gene expression.
Read the Fine Print: To avoid parabens, look for anything that has “paraben” in the name. Methylparaben, propylparaben, isopropylparaben, and isobutylparaben are all part of the paraben family.
2. Artificial Fragrance (Or Parfum)
While it sounds harmless, the word “fragrance” hides a cocktail of up to 3,000 different harmful ingredients. These ingredients don’t have to be disclosed on the label because they’re protected as trade secrets. But they can include hormone disruptors, carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, and allergens, just to name a few.
In recent years, companies have used the term “fragrance” to greenwash products. For example, something could be advertised as paraben-free but actually include parabens under the “fragrance” label. Especially when fragrance is one of the first ingredients on a product label, this should raise questions about whether the product is really natural.
Read the Fine Print: Avoid anything that includes “fragrance” or “parfum” on the label, especially if it’s one of the first ingredients listed.
3. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (Or Sulfates)
These are foaming agents used to create the illusion of cleanliness. You’ll typically find them in shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothpaste, and anything that foams unnaturally. Sulfates are common allergy triggers, especially for children. They may irritate the eyes or throat (especially if sprayed).
One of the biggest reasons to avoid sulfates is because of a byproduct called nitrosamines. About 90% of nitrosamines are considered carcinogenic.
Read the Fine Print: Try to avoid sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate and any products that foam unnaturally.
4. Phthalates
In a word, phthalates are preservatives. They’re used to increase the longevity and durability of a product (anything from makeup and nail polish to plastic dishware). They’re most well-known for their ability to disrupt hormones, which can have a domino effect on the rest of the body. Phthalates are connected to low sperm counts, poor thyroid health, birth defects, weight gain, increased blood pressure, and asthma.
Phthalates also have a concerning environmental impact, since they may pollute our drinking water and can take up to three years to break down. Many of them are banned by the European Union.
Read the Fine Print: Check for these phthalates on ingredient labels: BBP (benzyl butyl phthalate), DBP (dibutyl phthalate), DEHP (di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate), DEP (diethyl phthalate), DIDP (diisodecyl phthalate), DINP (diisononyl phthalate), DMP (dimethyl phthalate), and DNOP (di-n-octyl phthalate).
5. Oxybenzone
Even the FDA is raising the alarm about the dangers of chemical sunscreens. Oxybenzone is a chemical ingredient used to protect our skin against UV rays. However, it isn’t especially safe.
Studies show it’s detectable on the skin and in the bloodstream for weeks after use. Not only that but oxybenzone levels in the bloodstream soared 180 times higher than the amount recommended by the FDA. The use of oxybenzone and other chemical UV filters is totally unnecessary since mineral-based sunscreens work just as well.
Read the Fine Print: We recommend choosing a mineral-based sunscreen over a chemical one. Also, avoid sunscreen products that spray and opt for the lotion instead.
6. Phenoxyethanol
This chemical is particularly sneaky since it’s used by natural skincare brands as a “clean” alternative to parabens. Products that are labeled as “paraben-free” may contain phenoxyethanol. The Material Data Safety Sheet for phenoxyethanol names it as an irritant that may be harmful if swallowed or inhaled. It’s thought to cause reproductive issues and endocrine disruption.
Why should we protect our skin from toxic chemicals?
It’s up to us to change the face of natural skincare and makeup. And we’re doing it one ingredient at a time.
The truth is, we don’t have to turn to chemicals in order to properly clean and care for our bodies. Our ancestors left us with resources and remedies that revive and refresh the skin—without the use of synthetic chemicals or toxins.
It’s time to go back to our roots, using things like vitamin-rich ancestral fats, fewer seed oils, naturally-occurring fruit acids, and recognizable ingredients for the benefit of ourselves and future generations.
These are some of our favorites:
Consumers are recognizing the highly restorative properties available to us in nature—and using them because they work.
As a collective, we’re turning back to our ancestors’ methods of diet and skincare, and saying, “You were right. Teach me more.”
The good news is, ancestral skincare methods haven’t been so lost to time that they can’t be reclaimed.
Thanks to primal societies in Australia, we still have access to one powerful skincare ingredient.
It’s called emu oil.
Before you ask, the answer is yes.
Emu oil does come from an emu bird.
In primal Australian societies, emu oil was used for everything from skincare to cooking.
With limited resources, this practice eliminated waste and honored the animal’s sacrifice. It also led to the discovery of emu oil for skincare.
Emu oil is a powerful source of…
Emu oil is also extremely easy for your skin to absorb, thanks to its small particles. Some experts recommend pairing emu oil with other nutrients to promote better absorption.
Emu oil is one of those ingredients that’s good for just about everything. If you have an unexpected breakout, rash, or cut, emu oil is a quick and safe remedy to try. It’s also extremely beneficial to the overall health of skin—making it a perfect addition to your intentional skincare routine.
Your skin can use the fatty acids found in emu oil as a resource to improve stretch marks. Its ability to penetrate deep into the skin means you can do more with emu oil than most other moisturizers. To reduce stretch marks, we recommend pairing emu oil with a gentle exfoliation routine.
If you struggle with chronic acne and scarring, you may need a multi-step holistic plan to reduce it. We often recommend changing up your diet and removing hormone disruptors from your environment. Still, emu oil is a wonderful three-in-one product that can work toward smoother skin, less acne, and better moisture—all at once.
When we age, we often lose a lot of the nutrients that keep our skin plump and elastic. Emu oil can help restore some of those missing nutrients. It’s rich in antioxidants, is a great source of natural vitamin A, and can help boost collagen production.
It’s still debated whether or not emu oil is a natural sunscreen (it may contain a low SPF). Either way, it’s soothing and moisturizing to sun-damaged and sunburned skin—offering natural minerals, antioxidants, and fatty acids to bring the skin back to balance.
High-quality emu oil offers hydration and vitamins for eczema breakouts. Since it's natural, most emu oil is safe to use on kids and shouldn’t stick to clothing or cause further irritation. Its small particles help emu oil stand out from other eczema remedies, allowing it to seep deeper into the skin.
Full of powerful antioxidants, emu oil is known for its ability to help regenerate skin cells. With collagen-boosting properties and natural vitamins and minerals, emu oil creates the ideal environment to support plump, elastic, and glowing skin.
Speaking of animal-based skincare, tallow has quickly caught on as one of the most nourishing and moisturizing ingredients you can put on your face. We’ve been praising the benefits of tallow for a long time, and we consider emu oil another fantastic addition to our animal-based skincare line.
Emu oil, when mixed with tallow, offers a gentle application—with quick absorption that leaves less room for breakouts.
We’re pretty obsessed with emu oil as a skincare product. As self-proclaimed minimalists, we believe finding regenerative ingredients that have multiple benefits is always a win.
Here are just some of the reasons you should make emu oil a regular part of your skincare routine:
As we mentioned, there are many benefits of using emu oil for skin. We encourage you to think of emu oil as a nutrient-packed moisturizer. The best time to apply it is in the morning before makeup or as a moisturizer during your bedtime routine.
In some cases (for outdoor sports, dry climates, and midday skincare pick-me-ups), you may want to reapply emu oil throughout the day. Just make sure you apply it to a clean face and give the product a few minutes to soak in.
One benefit of emu oil is that it hasn’t been too disrupted by conventional skincare companies. Emu oil is difficult to source (it comes from Australia) and can be expensive. Since chemical-based moisturizers are still more commonly used than animal-based skincare, most companies don’t see a market for emu oil.
This is actually a great thing because it ensures much of the emu oil on the market is high quality. But just in case you want to do your own research (which we always recommend), here’s what to look for in high-quality emu oil:
Natural ingredients are typically self-protective. This means they include elements that balance each other out. For example, vitamin A as a whole food has naturally built-in protection against the sun. If only part of that vitamin A is extracted, the sun protection may be lost in the process.
By keeping emu oil in its natural form, we’re able to lock rich oleic acid and antioxidants into the formula—so those benefits go straight to your skin.
Checking the ingredients list for “fragrance” or “parfum” is a good way to tell immediately if a product is clean or not. These terms are protected under trademark laws, and they allow companies to include thousands of chemical ingredients without naming them.
The order of an ingredients list can tell you a lot about the product. Ingredients that make up most of the product will be listed first, while ingredients that make up a smaller portion are listed last.
You want to see emu oil as one of the top ingredients (preferably one of the first five listed). This shows that you’re actually getting the emu oil you pay for and it isn’t being cut with other less expensive oils, like olive oil.
Ancestral skincare habits are ideal for someone who cares about natural ingredients, eco-friendly practices, and minimalism. Both tallow and emu oil contain fatty acid profiles that are extremely similar to our own skin, which makes these ingredients extra gentle and soothing (arguably more so than conventional moisturizers).
We believe in honoring our bodies and respecting the resources nature has provided for us. At Toups and Co, our products will always be ethically rendered and responsibly made. We use parts of the animal that would otherwise go to waste, and we never add extra chemicals or additives.
Animal-based products eliminate the need for multi-step skincare routines—by covering multiple skin concerns with just one or two simple ingredients. Want to try emu oil for yourself? We created an on-the-go blend of emu oil and tallow to offer hydration anywhere.
It’s a synthetic form of vitamin A that’s used in creams, lotions, and serums and is commonly recommended by dermatologists.
The goal of the product? Cell turnover. Which is a scientific way of saying, “plump and rejuvenated skin.”
Yes, retinol can help with cell turnover … in theory.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean it should be used by everyone.
For instance, retinol is particularly challenging for people with sensitive skin. The rapid cell turnover it promotes can sometimes cause a burning sensation (called “retinol burn”).
While retinol seems natural (how bad could vitamin A possibly be for your skin?) some studies raise questions about its safety.
Let’s dive into the science behind retinol—plus retinol alternatives that can help you apply a little extra love to your skin.
People are led down the path of retinol alternatives for a few reasons:
It’s not our intention to fearmonger any ingredient. However, we do want to provide the science and information that can help you make an informed decision about your health.
Here are some things to consider before using retinol:
Bakuchiol is the holy grail of retinol alternatives. It’s an antioxidant and plant extract that has roots in Chinese and Indian medicine—and it’s extremely gentle on the skin.
Studies show that bakuchiol is anti-inflammatory and has profound effects on the skin. It’s commonly used as a retinol alternative because it promotes cell turnover and rejuvenation, but not so rapidly that it causes irritation.
It also works to boost mitochondria and preserve skin barrier function (something retinol has not shown to do).
It’s common to use this retinol alternative for its soothing effects. Unlike retinol, bakuchiol should help relieve irritation. In fact, most people can use it in their skincare routine every day.
Bakuchiol can do so much good for your skin—in most cases, for any skin type at any age. On a molecular level, it shares few similarities with retinol, but the results can be just as effective as retinol for graceful aging.
Bakuchiol is a breakthrough ingredient for women who struggle with sensitivity, acne, or eczema—who want a revitalizing skincare routine without fear of increased symptoms.
Here are just a few of the powerful benefits of bakuchiol:
Revitalizing skincare we love.
Some of these products have natural vitamin A in them (like the tallow balm). Others offer a more holistic approach to skincare, using different ingredients that have similar effects to retinol products.
We like to operate on the principle that one ingredient (retinol, for example) isn’t going to change your skin. Instead, it’s a combination of healthy skin superfoods and lifestyle practices (like diet, hydration, and even sweating) that really do the most to boost cellular rejuvenation.
We love tallow balm for its hydrating and moisturizing properties, but it also has soothing benefits that play a role in cell turnover, too. One of them is the natural and whole version of vitamin A.
We don’t recommend using it as your entire skincare routine, but tallow balm can certainly take care of the hydration, while adding linoleic acid and natural vitamins and minerals to your skin.
There are some skincare products that contain collagen, but we find the effects more powerful when we consume collagen in our diets.
Dietary collagen helps with so many things—like building protein, growing hair and nails, and strengthening joints. For our skin, regular collagen consumption can produce a natural glow and increase elasticity. We like to eat collagen in the form of bone broth, gelatin, and high-quality powder supplements (make sure they’re 100% grass-fed).
Alpha hydroxy acids (or AHA fruit acids) are a group of gentle acids that come from plants, particularly fruits. They work by gently exfoliating the skin, targeting dark spots and fine lines. Since they come from fruit, they naturally contain antioxidants.
While they’re not the same as retinol, AHA fruit acids offer many similar benefits. We recommend adding them to your skincare routine, at least once or twice a week.
This little known ingredient comes from plant algae, and it’s a powerful antioxidant (you can tell just by looking at it).
This is just where the benefits of blue C-phycocyanin algae start. Recent studies show it helps decrease the effects of UVB radiation while inhibiting the enzyme responsible for inflammation.
Whenever we’re exploring cell-boosting skincare, we want to come from a healthy place where we’ve made peace with our skin—at any stage.
It’s so common for us to be bombarded with “miracle” products and expectations for the way we should look at and think about our skin.
Skincare products can certainly help with graceful aging, but they won’t change who we are. If we expect that, we’re approaching skincare with goals that won’t be met.
Instead of believing one topical ingredient will change everything, we encourage you to look inward. Find the space within you to appreciate your fine lines for what they are—symptoms of living.
But there are, actually, a few key differences between these two products. Exploring body oil vs. lotion is a simple way to cater to your skin’s specific needs—targeting problem areas, limiting toxin exposure, and giving your body the right tools it needs for healing.
Body lotion is arguably the most commonly used body product for dry skin. It works to lock in moisture, target problem areas, and leave the skin feeling supple. Lotion is well-loved everywhere, but comes in handy particularly in cold and dry climates.
The creation of body lotion dates back to 3000 BC, when plant oils, herbs, and animal-based ingredients were combined to create remedying balms. Since most of our ancestors worked outside, they relied on these natural ingredients everyday.
Unfortunately, body lotion isn’t what it used to be. In the last hundred years, it’s drastically changed from a nature-based product to a chemical-based one.
Most of the body lotions found on store shelves today include toxic chemicals, preservatives, and fragrances. They might include some of the rich and restorative ingredients our ancestors benefitted from—but only in small amounts.
We’re big fans of both organic body lotion and body oil (as long as they contain nontoxic ingredients). However, it’s important to understand the differences between the two products.
We choose to offer organic body oils because they so closely match the ingredients our ancestors used (and they’re more compatible with our skin).
More About Lotion vs. Body Oil
Oils for the body aren’t as popular as lotion products, which is a shame because they offer so many powerful benefits. We chose to create organic body oil because the ingredients closely match those that our ancestors used for skin health.
Here are some of the reasons we use organic body oils. They…
The epidermis is held together by a careful balance of natural oils, water, and nutrients. This is your skin barrier, and it protects you from environmental toxins while naturally hydrating the skin. If the skin barrier is disrupted by outside influences (say, pollution, toxins, and harsh skin products) then you may start to experience sensitivity, breakouts, and redness.
One benefit of using oils for the body is that they work with your skin barrier. They naturally provide nutrients and extra oil to help hold your epidermis together. Over time, body oils should help your skin perform better on its own.
Uncomfortable idea? Sure. But this is actually a really good thing. When healthy bacteria take care of natural oil, we can experience better skin protection and fewer breakouts.
We know, sourcing organic body oils can be expensive. Is it necessary to ensure the oils you use are organic?
Yes. Pesticide residue can seep into your body products—which is bad news for the cells we’re trying to rejuvenate. By sourcing organic oil, our goal is to maintain quality control for a product that’s applied to your biggest organ: your skin.
Another concern is eczema breakouts and allergic reactions. Body oils can be a miracle worker for these conditions, but ineffective if they contain chemicals that exacerbate the problem.
When overly processed, even the most natural oils can turn toxic.
Take olive oil for example. It’s full of antioxidants, vibrant flavor, and healthy skin benefits. But when heat is applied during the processing of olive oil, many nutrients are lost.
Choosing a body oil that’s minimally processed (and preferably cold pressed) is the best way to ensure the nutrients in your oil get to your skin.
All avocado oils are the same, right?
Actually, the purity and quality of your body oil can determine whether you love or hate the product. Low-quality oils typically contain fewer nutrients, more pesticides, and can even have sneaky toxic fillers included.
If this is your first time using body oil, we recommend choosing one that’s cold-pressed, organic, and tested for quality. That way, you can experience the hydrating and soothing power of body oil the way our ancestors intended.
But within all the fancy marketing and outlandish trends is packed a simple and timeless principle: makeup is a way of expressing who we are.
When it comes to makeup application, it’s often the simple and delicate steps that truly elevate our glow—and help us enter new seasons with confidence.
One of our favorite simple steps to achieve this? Organic face primer.
While this product may feel insubstantial to your makeup routine, it’s actually fantastic for hydration and smooth makeup application.
Since face primer is the first step in your makeup routine, it offers a unique opportunity to lock in moisture. Whether or not we harness that opportunity all comes down to the product’s ingredients.
Let’s unpack how to find the best face primer for dry skin.
Face primers are well-known for their contribution to smooth makeup application. They act as a canvas, soothing blemishes and red spots while providing better slip for your makeup sponge or brush.
This might seem like a small benefit, but it really makes a difference. Most people who try face primers for the first time never look back.
Alongside better makeup application, we look at face primer as a way to offer all-day hydration. It’s the first thing to touch your skin in the morning (besides skincare) and if it doesn’t take that opportunity to lock in moisture, it’s missing the point.
An organic face primer should…
An organic face primer shouldn’t…
If you’re not using an organic face primer, you’re missing out.
Most people who try primer for the first time are shocked by how well it preserves their makeup look (and glow) throughout the day.
That said, adding one more step to your makeup routine might feel overwhelming at first. So here’s what we recommend it for…
Since face primer is the first thing you apply during your makeup routine, it should do the most for your complexion.
No-compromise ingredients are the first step to ensuring your organic face primer is working with your skin, not against it. Trust us, ingredients are the difference between a primer that exacerbates dry skin and one that works to eliminate it.
Here’s what we mean…
We look at face primer as the perfect opportunity to add moisture, fight wrinkles, and restore the skin barrier—with almost no extra effort. Meanwhile, large skincare companies stuff toxins and fillers into their primers to cheapen production costs.
We were surprised, too, by just how easy it is to transition primer from toxic to restorative—using simple ingredients like jojoba oil, aloe vera juice, and green tea extract.
It’s a rite of passage. When you first start wearing makeup, the women in your life will tell you: “Make sure to remove it at night, or makeup will give you wrinkles.”
That raises some eyebrows, right?
If we shouldn’t wear makeup overnight, why do we wear it all day?
If we know toxic ingredients accelerate aging, why do we keep using them?
These are the questions that inspired us to create our nontoxic makeup line.
And then we went a step further.
Not only should we require nontoxic ingredients, we should find ingredients that improve the skin.
Here’s what that looks like:
If you’re shopping for a face primer for dry skin, read the ingredients label thoroughly. You’ll want to find ingredients like cold-pressed oils, antioxidants, vitamin E, and herbal extracts—and avoid anything you don’t recognize or can’t pronounce.
If you’ve had a bad experience with face primer in the past (likely relating to dry or sensitive skin), the ingredients may have been the problem.
Use resources like the Environmental Working Group, the Switch Natural App, and the Think Dirty App to vet any toxic ingredients easily and on the go.
Whenever you run into an issue with dry or sensitive skin, make sure you’re using the right products for your skin type.
It’s important to be hyper-vigilant with ingredients while listening to your body and carefully evaluating how those ingredients work for you.
Remember, everyone’s different, and you’re not a failure if you get your primer wrong on the first try.
If you’ve been using makeup and primer with toxic ingredients for a while, it might help to remove products altogether to give your face room to breathe. We recommend a 2-3 week detox (perhaps with a detoxing mask) to give your skin a safe and restorative space to recover.
Finally, doing a patch test on your face is always helpful, especially if you struggle with allergies. Never be afraid to start slowly and work your way up.
Face primer is a makeup product in name. More than that, it’s a tool that allows us to feel the difference of intentionality. With one simple product, we can restore dry skin, create a better canvas for makeup, and elevate our confidence.
Maybe you’ll go head-to-head with your fragrance-happy aunt—begging her not to use plug-in air fresheners around the kids.
Or you’ll admit to your vegan bestie that you now use beef tallow for skincare.
But none of these cringe-worthy moments compare to your first two weeks without conventional deodorant.
Seriously, around here we consider starting your natural deodorant journey the initiation into the nontoxic community.
Because it’s where most people draw the line.
Which is a shame, since aluminum-filled deodorant is a major barrier to sweating (an important detox pathway).
Your first few weeks using natural deodorant builds character. It reveals who your true friends are … and maybe it’s an invitation for more regular showers.
While it’s a challenge, it is possible to keep the smell at bay and make a comfortable transition that pays off in the long run. (Think: no more chemicals applied straight to your pits.)
We’ve made the switch, and we believe you can too.
When switching to natural deodorant, a lot of people go through something called the detox phase. This is a period of four to six weeks when body odor becomes more … obvious.
But there’s a good reason for this. It’s a time for your body to release decades' worth of aluminum, hormone disruptors, and other toxins that hid in your old deodorant stick.
Not to worry. The detox phase is temporary, and your body will eventually find homeostasis with your natural deodorant.
Resources like our armpit detox recipe can help expedite that process. Plus, there are a lot of resources available to help you manage any extra B.O.
Who needs an armpit detox? Everyone.
While an armpit detox is particularly helpful for those transitioning to natural deodorant, this resource can be used anytime…
Aside from these factors, we recommend completing a deodorant detox every 3-6 months for maintenance.
Theoretically, you can buy an armpit detox kit online. But making your own with our foolproof armpit detox recipe is simple and inexpensive.
Ingredients:
How to make it:
Gently mix the dry ingredients together, then add your water and stir.
Modifications:
If you’re missing a clay or charcoal ingredient, just two tablespoons of whatever detox agent you have (charcoal, bentonite clay, or kaolin clay) should work. The recipe relies on a 1:1 ratio of detox powder to liquid.
Add-Ins:
Essential oils can add a gentle scent and help control bacteria. We like high-quality frankincense essential oil for this. Make sure to do a spot test to ensure your underarms aren’t sensitive to the oils.
How to Use It:
Gently apply the detox mask to your clean armpits and wait until it dries. Once dry, use a wet towel to wipe your armpits clean. Follow up with a shower, preferably with nontoxic soap (so you’re not adding more chemicals to your freshly detoxed pits). Repeat every 3-6 months. Or, every four days while actively in the detox phase.
Trial and error isn’t the route you want to take when it comes to body odor (trust us).
These detox hacks are used by our community and help to fend off unwanted scents as you detox conventional deodorant.
Deodorant buildup can breed bacteria. That’s why we always recommend wiping your armpits clean before each application. You can use a warm washcloth or homemade body wipe to do this.
While keeping your armpits hair-free is a personal choice, shaving is another helpful way to eliminate B.O. during the detox phase. Excess hair creates an environment that’s welcoming to bacteria, which means more stink.
The people who don’t stink during the deodorant detox phase are usually the people with really healthy detox pathways. This means their bodies easily filter out excess toxins from their environment.
If you’re not one of these lucky people, it may be time to open your detox pathways. Try lymphatic drainage (dry brushing or a massage), visit a sauna, work on your liver health, and pay attention to mitochondria function. These small efforts can help the detox phase go by faster—while boosting your overall health at the same time.
Our Western diet is full of sugar and processed foods—and this may contribute to excess body odor. Changing your diet can help decrease stink and increase your chances of better detox.
Especially during the detox phase, we recommend avoiding pungent foods—and hydrating with extra electrolytes, minerals, and water to flush out toxins.
Three ingredients…
Grass-fed tallow, arrowroot powder, and magnesium hydroxide.
This winning combination soaks up excess body odor and naturally detoxes the armpits—all while providing nourishment to your skin. We added magnesium hydroxide for its ability to eliminate odor-causing bacteria and balance your body’s natural pH.
Ready to Try a Natural Deodorant That Works?
After more than seven years in business, we’re thrilled to see the general public catch on to our ultimate skincare hack.
(Before you ask, no, we haven’t been gatekeeping it).
We’ve been making and using tallow balm for a long time (read: 100,000+ handmade jars every year)—and we want to help you take charge of this trend.
So, here it is—we’re spilling the tea. Everything you need to know before buying beef tallow for skin:
Beef tallow is overflowing with skin benefits. We’ll just cover the basics…
These vitamins are naturally occurring, meaning they’re more bioavailable than the lab-made vitamins typically found in skincare. Vitamin A is a natural retinol while vitamin K fights free radical damage.
This stuff is so powerful that skincare companies are making linoleic acid face products. Little do they know it naturally occurs in tallow balm.
Linoleic acid is an omega-6 fatty acid and antioxidant that works to moisturize, plump, and fight inflammation. It can also reduce acne, minimize scarring, and rebuild the skin barrier.
Like … in a good way. Unlike antibiotics, tallow balm won’t strip your skin of good bacteria. But it will still target the bad stuff and help remove it. Anti-inflammatory properties sweep in to help calm redness, acne, and other inflammation.
What’s better than consuming collagen? Giving your skin the building blocks it needs to create it.
Tallow can boost blood flow to your face while providing the vitamins and minerals essential for collagen creation.
High-quality tallow balm is non-comedogenic, which means it works with your skin’s natural barrier, instead of against it. Even though tallow balm has a thick and creamy texture, it shouldn’t clog pores or lead to breakouts.
This is one of the most powerful benefits of tallow balm—and why it’s a skincare “superfood” for most people. Tallow is an animal product and because of this, it’s easier for our skin to recognize than most plant products. The chemical makeup of high-quality tallow balm is extremely similar to our own skin’s DNA.
This is what makes it so bioavailable—and why it can rapidly heal wounds and reverse skin damage. Almost like a liquid bandage.
Tallow balm is an all-in-one remedy. You can use it as a moisturizer, face balm, or pack it in your first-aid kit. Some of our clients even keep it in their diaper bags as a rash cream.
Have any of these skin issues? Tallow balm is known to help:
Not every tallow balm is created equal.
Many big corporations hopped on the tallow balm bandwagon as soon as it went viral. And they are diluting their tallow products with chemicals, fillers, and quantity-over-quality values.
We’ve pioneered this industry with a standard of purity and quality—even down to the food our cows eat (they are 100% grass-fed).
It’s time to be extra wary about the principles and standards used in tallow balm creation. Your skin will notice the benefits (and so will your friends).
Here’s what to watch out for:
Grain-fed tallow is a lot cheaper than grass-fed tallow. But there’s a reason for that.
Grass-fed tallow has a more balanced concentration of fatty acids. When it comes to omega-3s and omega-6s, what matters most is the ratio between the two—not how much of each individual nutrient you get.
There are higher concentrations of vitamins and minerals in grass-fed tallow balm, too. Studies show that these essential nutrients (you know, the reason why tallow is famous) are four times more prevalent in grass-fed tallow.
Takeaway: Grass-fed tallow balm contains up to four times the concentration of nutrients. Those benefits will show on your skin.
We create over 100,000 jars of tallow every year—and we hand render all of it. This allows us to be super involved in the process from start to finish. Careful attention to detail helps ensure the nutrient profile stays intact and bioavailable.
Since some companies use chemicals to render tallow, it’s important to do your research and choose a tallow balm that meets a high standard of purity.
Takeaway: Quality standards aren’t just about ingredients. Often, they consider processing methods that either drain nutrient profiles or keep them intact.
Fillers are used as a cheap way to “take up space” in a product. Something could be branded as a “tallow balm” while containing 80% chemical fillers and only 20% industrial-raised tallow.
No wonder many of us grew up believing natural remedies don’t work. We’ve been duped by too many fillers.
Takeaway: If you’re experimenting with tallow skin care for the first time, make sure you’re using actual high-quality tallow, not chemical fillers disguised as tallow.
We’ve yet to meet anyone who didn’t benefit from tallow skincare. However, it’s helpful to start slow—especially if you’re prone to breakouts or redness.
Our Unscented Tallow Balm is perfect for this. Since it’s essential oil-free, it’s better suited for sensitive skin and first-time tallow users (and thanks to our rendering process, it doesn’t smell like beef. Phew!).
We know rumors are circulating about essential oil benefits (or supposed lack of benefits). A lot of fellow crunchies believe they’re bad for you.
But we’ve seen the medicinal benefits of essential oils in action. The catch is, essential oils must be high quality and used responsibly.
Takeaway: Using an Unscented Tallow Balm is a gentle introduction for people with sensitive and acne-prone skin. If you’re already used to essential oils, feel free to experiment with scented balms, like our Frankincense Tallow Balm (a personal favorite).
For most people, Tallow Balm is a miracle cure. But there’s always room for an anomaly.
If this is you, your struggle with tallow could boil down to two things: ingredients and application.
You may need to mix tallow with other skin “superfoods” for a more gentle introduction—while applying less product overall. Our Hydrating Tallow Stick is great for this since it includes beeswax and emu oil.
There’s also the Activated Charcoal Face Bar, which includes activated charcoal and coconut oil for lighter application.
Overall, using less Tallow Balm on your face can go a long way. Since ours don’t contain fillers, the product is super concentrated and should last a long time.
When researching beef tallow for skin, you might have noticed that not everyone is in love with the idea. Whether it’s because of a firm grasp on traditional skincare or personal values, we understand the hesitation.
We believe in skincare that works with our skin, not against it.
There’s no better way to live out this philosophy than with our grandparents’ recipes and animal-based skincare.
It’s clean enough to eat, won’t mess with your hormones, and usually works better than the chemical-filled alternatives.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to skincare routine options.
We’re going to let you in on a secret.
Your skin probably won’t need a twelve-step skincare routine.
(Yes, we realize that’s a bold statement to make as a nontoxic skincare brand.)
But hear us out: undisturbed, your skin intuitively knows how to maintain homeostasis.
When pollution, toxins, hormone imbalances, and processed foods enter the scene, we start to see issues—and a hoomulti-step skincare routine can be a powerful healing tool.
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But the goal of your skincare routine should be to restore balance.
Heal the skin barrier.
Boost the microbiome.
Our goal isn’t to keep you constantly needing a twelve-step skincare routine or have you chasing the “perfect formula” for your skin.
Our goal is to give your skin the tools it needs to rebuild and restore.
Once this happens, your skincare routine will become a lot easier.
Less desperation, more pampering.
Less damage control and more protection, hydration and nutrients to the skin.
With this philosophy as our cornerstone, let’s discuss morning skincare routines, night skincare routines, and when to use one or both.
Yes and no.
Doing a skincare routine twice daily is helpful for those fighting active skincare issues and for people who enjoy an extra dose of pampering.
(Translation: if you want to double up your skincare routine, don’t let anyone stop you.)
But don’t worry, twice-daily skincare isn’t required. If you want to prioritize other things in the morning, by all means, do 2-3 steps and move on to the important stuff like prioritizing morning protein and moving your body.
Okay, maybe you’re craving a little more guidance…
Your night skincare routine is non negotiable.
At night, you cleanse your face of the toxins, pollutants, and makeup of the day.
There’s nothing quite like ending your day with a fresh face—fully moisturized, with plenty of time for nutrients to soak in.
But the real reason everyone’s obsessed with night skincare routines is because sleep is your skin’s best friend.
As you sleep, your skin works overtime to heal, restore, and regenerate skin cells. So the products you use at night are likely more effective than what you use during the day—even if they contain the same ingredients.
They don’t call it “beauty sleep” for nothing. Here are some of the benefits of nighttime skincare:
Use a high-quality cleansing oil like our Seabuckthorn Cleansing Oil or a tallow-based soap bar like our Activated Charcoal Face Bar. Neither of these strip the skin. In fact, they add more moisture.
A toner can help cleanse the pores, tighten the skin, and get it ready for nutrients. Our Facial Tonic works as a great prep for serum and moisture.
The job of a high-quality serum is to target the skin needs of your face. You’ll want to choose a serum that focuses on anti-aging or overall skin glow. Try the Reparative Serum or the Glow Serum.
A high-quality moisturizer locks in your serum and adds vibrancy and bounce to healthy skin. Our favorite moisturizer is our Grass-Fed Tallow Balm—containing tons of natural vitamins and minerals your skin craves.
We’ll be honest: the morning skincare routine isn’t for everyone.
But it is for most people.
Morning skincare allows you to prep your skin barrier for makeup and any pollutants you could face throughout the day. It’s also great for sun balm application and anti-aging. Plus, it’s a nice way to start the day.
A morning skincare routine is always a good idea. Here are some benefits of giving your daytime skin a little TLC:
Cleansing your skin in the morning is especially helpful for the acne-prone. However, if you suffer from chronic dry skin, we recommend you skip this step and cleans with just warm water.
If you’re focusing on anti-aging techniques and plan to be out in the sun, we recommend applying a natural sun protection. Just a pea sized amount is all you need.
A small dose of moisturizer in the morning can help protect your skin barrier—and gently restore chronic dry skin. We recommend our Glow Serum
There’s a lot of misleading information about skin care out there.
To be honest, many of the recommendations for morning and evening skincare routines are just companies trying to convince you to buy more products.
It can be hard to sift through the information overload online and feel confident about your choices—especially if your skin makes you feel insecure.
Our recommendation? Trust your intuition. And trust yourself.
Sure, you might need to do a little trial-and-error with different skincare products and routines.
But at the end of the day, you will see the results. And your skin will feel the difference when you find the right products.
But that’s about it.
At Toups and Co, we’re obviously big fans of a hydrating skincare routine. But even with all the benefits of grass-fed tallow balm, skincare products only go so far.
For glowing and hydrated skin that lasts, you need a holistic and whole-body approach to hydration that isn’t just skin deep.
Enter: Eating your skincare.
In order to have healthy skin, you need to give your body the tools to build healthy skin. This means antioxidants, amino acids, healthy minerals, and vitamins. Applying these nutrients to your skin is great. But eating them is even better.
That’s why we’ve created this guide of healthy foods to hydrate skin—so you can conquer your skincare routine from the inside out.
If you’re looking to “glow up” your skin this year, you should care about healthy foods for skin.
Really, if you struggle with chronic dry skin, this could be your body’s signal that something else is wrong, too. The body prioritizes things like organ function, energy production, and hormone balance. For this reason, your skin may be the first place to take a hit when nutrients become depleted.
Beyond targeting skin wellness, our top five foods to hydrate skin can also do a lot for your overall health.
If you’re a fan of seafood, you’re in luck. Fish (including salmon, herring, sardines, tuna, mahi mahi, trout, and more) are particularly high in omega-3 fatty acids. Oysters, crab, and mussels can be added to this list, too.
Fatty acids can help build the skin membrane—and even slow aging with anti-inflammatory processes in the cell.
Translation? Fatty acids help hydrate the skin from the inside out. Try to always buy wild-caught fish (or better yet, catch it yourself).
Did you know? Symptoms of dry skin can originate from a mineral deficiency. That’s right, your dry hands might not be the result of forgetting a daily dose of lotion.
If you go through bottles of lotion and moisturizer without much improvement, it may be time to consider the elements that build healthy skin: minerals.
To target mineral deficiencies, you have to know what minerals you’re lacking. You can check this through a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA)—or you can focus on adding more mineral-rich foods to your diet to cover all your bases.
Here are some mineral-rich healthy foods for skin:
Pick three of these foods and add them to your diet for a month. Then, reevaluate your chronic dry skin. We bet you’ll see more improvement than you expect.
This may be a hot take, but we believe grass-fed tallow is a superfood. Seriously, tallow is packed full of conjugated fatty acids and oleic fatty acids that help your body absorb other much-needed nutrients (fat-soluble vitamins, for instance).
Tallow and lard were the cooking oils of choice just a few hundred years ago. Even McDonald’s fries used to be made with tallow. Key words, “used to.”
Studies suggest tallow consumption contributes to weight management and increases healthy cholesterol (the kind that boots out bad cholesterol). Grass-fed tallow, lard, and suet contain an array of healthy vitamins and minerals, too.
If you’ve experienced the benefits of tallow for skincare, that should be reason enough to trust it in your diet.
Since B vitamins are water soluble, they need to be regularly replenished in the body through a healthy diet. Sadly, this means most of us aren’t getting the optimal dose of B vitamins. Our low-quality soil, highly processed diets, and fortified foods aren’t doing the job.
There are eight different B vitamins—and each of them can contribute to skin health in a different way (with the possible exception of biotin for those who are prone to acne).
B vitamins play an active role in cell growth and regeneration. But they do a lot more for the body, too. When our B vitamins are depleted, our bodies will often prioritize other needs, like metabolism function and energy production, before moisturizing the skin. All the more reason to get ample B vitamins.
We’ve mentioned that fatty acids are essential foods to hydrate skin, and B vitamins actually help us metabolize these fats and use them in the body. Seriously, don’t overlook your B vitamins—they’re the building blocks to hydrated, elastic, and glowing skin.
Here are some B vitamin-rich foods to hydrate skin:
The reason we encourage farm-raised and organic produce is simple: crop rotation. This simple farming principle involves moving crops around and planting “cover crops” to revive soil after a harvest.
Why does crop rotation matter to your health? Because crop rotation is becoming less and less common in industrial farming. And when you don’t rotate your crops, you get depleted soil.
Depleted soil means depleted produce. Even with a diverse diet of fruits and veggies, it’s difficult to get even half of the vitamin and mineral concentration our ancestors thrived on.
By purchasing organic and farm-raised fruits and veggies, you’re setting yourself up for better nutrient concentrations—which should translate to better skin health.
We believe it’s not just about targeting foods to hydrate skin. It’s about finding high-quality options that actually nourish.
Need some recommendations? These nutrient-dense fruits and veggies are great foods for glowing skin:
Isn’t it interesting to discover the nutrients we use in skincare products aren’t so different from the ones recommended to “eat your skincare”?
The body knows how to use nutrients, whether they’re applied to the skin or ingested.
This is more evidence that we need to give our bodies the right tools—by consuming and using healthy ingredients, rather than fighting nature with synthetic chemicals.
If you’re looking for more clean skincare options (that work better than the chemical stuff), you’ve come to the right place. We’re committed to supporting your “glow up” journey with skincare options that complement your dietary efforts.
Our ancestors used tried-and-true methods they cultivated over thousands of years to manage dry skin, reverse aging, and help cure skin issues like eczema and acne.
When we think of ancient cultures, we often assume all of their methods were primitive. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. As modern hormone disruptors, environmental pollutants, and chemical ingredients wreak havoc on our skin, we need our ancestors’ natural methods more than ever.
Most people think there are only two options for ancestral skincare:
Our idea of the “perfect skincare routine” combines modern science and ancient skincare methods for the best approach to whole-body wellness.
We’re committed to whole ingredients that are backed by science. It turns out most ancestral skincare remedies prove to be highly effective in scientific studies. Go figure…
We took our ancestors’ skincare recipe book and added a modern twist:
Want to live more in tune with the earth and cut synthetic chemicals from your environment?
These are the ancestral skincare principles we can’t get enough of:
Oil cleansing dates back to ancient Egypt, ancient Rome, and 14th-century Japan. It’s been used across the globe as a method of cleansing the body—from head to toe. Oils were used in liquid form or molded into bar soaps.
The reason we stopped using this widely-accepted cleansing method is likely because of resource shortages during World War I and World War II. During the wars, plant oils and animal fats became difficult to access. So chemists found another solution: synthetic detergent.
After World War II, companies needed a way to keep the detergent business booming, so they pitched these chemical cleansers as a “better alternative” to ancestral skincare (hint: they aren’t).
Today, many of us are using skin-stripping detergents in our soap, shampoo, body cleanser, and face wash. This can be particularly damaging to the microbiome and may make us feel dirtier in the long run. Our skin needs natural oil. When these oils are stripped, our bodies can overproduce oil to compensate.
It’s time to return to our ancestral roots. We swear by using oil-based soaps created from tallow, olive oil, and other natural oils. These work by gently cleansing the body while adding much-needed moisture. In our experience, you’ll feel cleaner for longer and experience fewer skin issues.
Oil Cleansing for the Body — Try Body Oils and a Beef Tallow Soap
Oil Cleansing for the Face — Use a Liquid Face Oil and the Oil Cleansing Method
Here’s the tea on animal-based skincare: it closely matches our own skin’s DNA. This is one of many reasons beef tallow for skin is the latest skincare sensation (thanks TikTok).
When they aren’t diluted with water, alcohol, or chemical fillers, animal-based products are packed full of essential fatty acids, which your skin needs for cellular regeneration. Emu oil, beef tallow, mutton tallow, and lard are all incredible moisturizers that soothe the skin with natural vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
We can go on and on about animal-based skincare … and we have! Check out our ultimate guide on tallow for skin.
While plant-based ingredients can be helpful to your skincare routine, animal-based skincare is truly unmatched.
We have plenty to say about skincare ingredients (and a whole line of products to prove our obsession). However, it’s important to remember that what you put in your body is just as important to skin health as what you put on it.
Antioxidants and cellular regeneration are even more powerful when they come from within.
According to customers, liver issues, gut imbalance, toxin overload, and hormone disruption are the leading causes of acne and skin symptoms. A diet of whole foods, mineral-rich ingredients, antioxidants, and minimally processed foods is a key ancestral principle for maintaining glowy skin.
Modern consumers are realizing that chemicals and synthetic ingredients have no place on the human body. Common ingredients like parabens, forever chemicals, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been linked to hormone disruption, toxin overload in the body, and even autoimmune disease. Combined with environmental factors (pollution, heavy metals, mycotoxins, etc.) these toxic ingredients pose a real threat to our wellness.
Here’s the kicker: nontoxic skincare and body products can be just as effective as the chemical-filled options. The only reason natural products have a bad reputation is because we’re so out of touch with the ancestral skincare recipes and remedies that actually worked. (That’s why you have us.)
Ironic, isn’t it? With all the advancements we have today, we’re still turning back to the principles and ingredients used by our ancestors. And we’re using modern technology, science, and production strategies to make them even better.
It’s time for us, as a collective, to turn away from big-name companies that care more about profit than people.
We know ancestral skincare is extremely effective—and we know chemical products are wreaking havoc on our bodies.
We all deserve better.
Keep Exploring…
You’ve done the research. You’ve dived into the studies that compare conventional products to all-natural ones.
(Or at least, you’ve browsed the crunchy side of TikTok. That counts, right?).
It’s 2024, and you’re ready to purge the toxic relationships in your life—including the relationship you have with toxic body products.
Maybe you don’t know it yet, but you’re about to make history. You’re part of a powerful community that’s saying “no” to toxin exposure and a lifestyle of quantity over quality.
Replacing your daily-use products like laundry detergent, makeup, and lotion for their nontoxic alternatives can feel overwhelming. That’s why we created this guide: a list of simple nontoxic lifestyle choices that can make a significant difference in your journey.
We compiled these tips and tricks to help you start living a nontoxic lifestyle—without guilt or a huge financial investment. Choose just a few of the tips to get started with, and remember that good things take time.
It’s easy to assume that a nontoxic lifestyle requires buying a bunch of new (and expensive) products. We’re a pretty consumer-focused society, so it makes sense that a purchase translates to an action.
But there are so many things you can do to detox your life with resources you already have at home. We encourage you to create a lifestyle that closely aligns with ancestral practices.
Here are just a few ancestral practices you can try:
As mammals, we’re meant to connect with the earth’s natural rhythms. Our circadian rhythm, for example, is our body’s clock. It tells us when to wake, sleep, and eat. It also helps regulate our hormones and mood.
Sadly, most of us are disconnected from nature. When we function in a state that’s out of tune with the earth, we open ourselves up to nervous system dysregulation and miss out on essential health benefits.
Luckily, connecting with the earth is free and easy to do.
Did you know? The central nervous system connects the gut and brain so they can communicate (this is called the gut-brain axis). That’s why depression, anxiety, and various chronic illnesses can be curbed simply by caring for the gut.
We encourage you to gradually make the switch to organic produce, raw milk, milled grain, and other foods that are good for your gut. If you want to make immediate changes, you can also help your gut health by drinking bone broth, increasing your water intake, and eating more mineral-rich foods.
Simple and inexpensive interventions like these can help your gut keep up with the modern influx of environmental toxins and pollutants—and hopefully protect your immune system.
Possibly the most powerful intervention for your health, rewiring your nervous system requires speaking kindly to yourself and testing your mental limits. Try somatic exercises, yoga, meditation, morning walks, or a brain rewiring program like DNRS or Gupta.
Your nervous system is partially responsible for your cortisol levels, stress, gut issues, and fight-or-flight response. It’s also your first line of defense against environmental illnesses. Caring for your nervous system is a huge part of living a nontoxic lifestyle, and it’s extremely easy to do once you have the right tools.
Growing tomatoes and herbs in your window (or on your front porch) is an easy way to bring more natural foods into your life. Herbs have a ton of nutritional benefits and can easily be added to any meal. When you grow them yourself, you’re in charge of pesticides and growth conditions. Not only will this help you increase your plant consumption, but it helps you learn natural gardening and farming practices.
Instead of forcing yourself into routines that take energy from you, try a different approach. Prioritize goals and habits that actively give energy and wellness back to your body. This might look like a holistic skincare routine that makes you feel good, regular magnesium baths, lymphatic massage appointments, dry brushing, or a relaxing nature walk.
When you create routines that feel exciting, other nontoxic lifestyle habits will fall into place more easily. And you’ll naturally feel more grounded.
The art of making food from scratch has been lost to most of us. Between raising kids, building careers, and enjoying community—there’s not much time left over for handmade bread, cheese, and new dinner recipes.
But unlocking your culinary skills could be key to embracing a nontoxic lifestyle. When you make your own meals, you’re more in control of the ingredients you put in your body—and you’re forced to pay better attention to macronutrients (no more #girldinner).
Time for new laundry detergent? Get something nontoxic.
Just emptied your face wash? It’s time to try an oil cleanser.
No more toilet cleaner? Make your own.
Going all-natural one product at a time is a simple and sustainable way to ease into a nontoxic lifestyle. You don’t have to drain your bank account or commit to habits you’re not ready for. This is the ultimate hack to prevent “biting off more than you can chew”—and it’s good for the environment since it doesn’t promote waste.
It’s a common belief that living a nontoxic lifestyle requires abundant resources and a significant financial investment. Sure, it may be different than the lifestyle you’re used to. But different doesn’t mean worse. And it certainly doesn’t have to mean more expensive.
So many nontoxic products can be made with ingredients already in your pantry.
When you start using things like holistic skincare, you’ll notice that products last longer and improve the appearance of your skin over time, too.
Organic and whole foods will nourish your body more than processed foods. You’ll likely experience fewer cravings, which means you buy fewer snacks.
When it comes to a nontoxic lifestyle, you have to believe in playing the long game.
You may pay a few extra dollars upfront, but the goal is to save money on medical bills and live a longer and fuller life. When you think about it that way, it’s more than worth it.
More Holistic Health Rituals We Love
We’re so grateful you share our obsession with clean skincare and makeup—and that you trust us with your choices.
This year, to express just a small part of our gratitude, we’re doing a mega-fun Christmas giveaway. Join in on our giving spree for your chance to win one of almost a hundred gifts.
Our epic holiday giveaway is based on the twelve days of Christmas. But don’t worry—you won’t find a partridge in a pear tree on your doorstep.
For the first twelve days of December, we’ll be adding surprise Christmas gifts (from us to you!) to select orders. So you can check off all your Christmas shopping—and maybe win a little something for yourself in the meantime.
Here’s how to enter to win our Christmas giveaway:
Date |
Product You Can Win |
How Many We’re Giving Away |
December 1st |
Glow Serum |
1 |
December 2nd |
Resurfacing Mask |
2 |
December 3rd |
Body Oil |
3 |
December 4th |
Tinted Lip Balm |
4 |
December 5th |
Frankincense Tallow Balm |
5 |
December 6th |
Deodorant |
6 |
December 7th |
Rose Gold Luminizer Pots |
7 |
December 8th |
Tallow Sticks |
8 |
December 9th |
Mini Balm Sets |
9 |
December 10th |
Seabuckthorn Cleansing Oil |
10 |
December 11th |
Toups and Co Swag |
11 |
December 12th |
Lavender Soap |
12 |
Not to gush about our favorite giveaway products, but … okay, we’re gushing. Learn more about each giveaway item—and use your exclusive intel to determine which day to place your order.
Fight aging with our bestselling Glow Serum. With a subtle earthy scent, this serum targets cellular repair to help boost elasticity and revive your skin for a youthful glow. Organic ingredients (helichrysum, evening primrose, and calendula flowers) gently hydrate your skin and add antioxidants.
The Resurfacing Mask is our first and only product (so far!) with blue C-phycocyanin algae extract, an ingredient that’s disrupting natural skincare. It’s shown in studies to have natural anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that directly target oxidative stress. Our customers say it erases blackheads and encourages skin so smooth that makeup feels optional.
Embrace the wisdom (and skincare routines) of our ancestors. Using body oil is a practice that dates all the way back to ancient Egypt. Ingredients in our Organic Body Oil include jojoba oil and avocado oil which naturally hydrate the skin and help to nourish the microbiome. Your after-shower routine has never been better.
We combined our bestselling tallow-based lip balm with a touch of merlot color for subtle holiday glam. It’s the perfect alternative to toxic lip stains and keeps your lips both soft and colorful throughout the day. Many of our customers share the Tinted Lip Balm with their daughters since it’s totally toxin-free, and young girls want to join in on the holiday lipstick fun.
Not to be biased but the Frankincense Face Balm is our favorite tallow balm. Especially since it comes with added health benefits (things like stress relief and memory improvement). It’s a luxurious face balm that may help boost skin elasticity, increase hydration, and improve acne and wrinkles.
Give your holiday gift to everyone else. Unfortunately, many natural deodorant recipes just don’t do the job—and we all have a horror story to prove it. You don’t want to be stress sweating during Christmas because Aunt Linda asked you why seed oil mayonnaise is off limits. Toups and Co Natural Deodorant to the rescue. We tested countless recipes ourselves until we found one that actually works.
Add some Christmas shimmer to your eyelids, nose, and cheekbones. The Rose Gold Luminizer Pots are a favorite among our community—and add an extra glow. They apply like a cream—and don’t contain any forever chemicals (which are common in glitter products).
It’s an on-the-go lip balm for your whole body. Take the nourishing and healing power of tallow with you anywhere. We released the Hydrating Tallow Stick this year, and it’s already a bestseller. It’s our first product infused with emu oil (extremely beneficial for the face) and it’s great for cuts, scrapes, chapped skin, sunburn, and more.
You get a tallow balm, and you get a tallow balm. Winning a Mini Tallow Balm Set means you can keep all the balms for yourself—or you can use them as gifts and stocking stuffers. Included are the Original, Sweet Girl, and Frankincense scents.
If acne is putting a damper on your holiday photos, it may be time to rebalance your skin’s microbiome. Seabuckthorn Cleansing Oil is said to benefit estrogen levels in your body—unlike other face cleansers that mimic estrogen and increase toxin overload in the body. Instead of stripping oils and sebum from your skin, an oil cleanser helps to rebalance your body’s natural oils, working alongside them instead of against them.
Love telling the world about your favorite Toups and Co products? Same. This year, we built a brand new distribution center—and celebrated with new branding and Toups and Co swag. Join the “inner circle” and win your very own Toups and Co swag hat before we release these designs to the public.
Just a hundred years ago, soaps were made with healthy oils (like tallow) and leftover kitchen ingredients. Instead of stripping the skin of its natural oils, these soaps cleansed the skin and nourished the body’s careful balance of oils. When you return to ancestral skincare, over time your body should adjust to having oils available and begin to produce less. With our All-Natural Lavender Soap, you can have less stink, better hygiene, and fewer showers.
We absolutely hit the jackpot with our supportive community (aka you). We love sharing our products with people who need and love them as much as we do. Thank you so much for your support and love for Toups and Co throughout the year.
Best of luck to those who enter our Christmas giveaway—we hope you win!
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We think yes.
If anyone understands your obsession, it’s us. When you find all-natural skincare products that work better than the toxic alternatives, it’s difficult not to tell your loved ones what they’re missing. Sharing is caring, right?
This holiday season, we’re making it a little easier to hide your favorite products under the tree.
Enter skincare gift sets.
Packed full of bestsellers, ancestral favorites, and new-release products, these bundles contain everything you need to help…
Curious to know what you’ll find in our skincare sets? Keep reading…
(And if you buy a skincare bundle and keep it for yourself? We won’t tell. Merry Christmas to you.)
Mistletoe? We think you mean mistle-glow. Become the gift-giving favorite with these clean skincare holiday gift sets.
Here you are, absolutely glowing for your holiday pictures.
And premature aging? Never heard of her.
The ingredients responsible for your new glow are none other than 100% grass-fed beef tallow balm, activated charcoal, and aloe vera juice.
You’ve learned that consistent routines and essential products are the keys to youthful and vibrant skin.
The Essential Face Set tackles just this: helping you build consistent habits with nutrient-dense ingredients that lock in moisture and change your skin for the better.
We recommend this skincare gift set for beginners and for people who don’t want to commit to a long skincare routine (this one is five minutes, tops!).
The products included cover all the basics and are helpful for:
This skincare gift set is a new release—just in time for Christmas. Although it’s considered a beginner set, we recommend it for anyone who wants to take a deep dive into skin health. Whether you’re looking to prevent future signs of aging or you have current skin issues you’d like to resolve—the Skincare Starter Set includes everything you need.
Here’s how it works:
Step 1: Oil Cleansing
Use the Seabuckthorn Cleansing Oil for this ancient skincare ritual. Instead of stripping the skin of natural oils, an oil cleanser helps to promote balance.
Too much oil on your face can increase acne. At the same time, your body produces natural oils for a reason. An oil cleanser helps promote a feeling of safety in your body—sending the message that there is enough oil to go around. In turn, your body should produce less natural oil and find homeostasis.
The goal is to use a nontoxic oil cleanser alongside your body’s natural oil production to create balance—eliminating acne for good and restoring the microbiome.
Step 2: Tone Your Skin
Another resource to reduce the appearance of acne and wrinkles is a toner. Toner helps to balance the pH in your skin and preps it to absorb moisture. The facial tonic we recommend as a toner is infused with herbs and natural antioxidants, to promote cellular regeneration.
Step 3: Add a Serum
A serum is a highly concentrated skincare product that seeps deep into the skin, promoting wellness and locking in vitamins. We created the Glow Serum for everyday use—to improve the skin’s health while gently preventing premature aging.
This one contains high levels of antioxidants, plus healthy avocado oil and jojoba oil.
Step 4: Skincare Maintenence
Self-care night? Does your skin need an extra bit of love during your menstrual cycle?
This mask was created to masterfully hydrate dull skin and target breakouts, puffiness, and redness. With blue C-phycocyanin, raw honey, and fruit acids, it’s also a great intervention for aging skin. Wherever you are in your skincare journey, adding a weekly mask for maintenance is a must—which is why we included The Resurfacing Mask in the Skincare Starter Set.
Obsessed with tallow balm? The Ultimate Tallow Balm Set is also, perhaps, the ultimate Christmas gift. Either your loved one will never run out of tallow balm again (a dream when tallow replaces every cream and moisturizer in your home)—or you can use the different balms as stocking stuffers.
This set includes a whopping five jars of tallow balm—and every essential oil scent includes its own delicious fragrance and unique healing benefits.
What’s included?
Feeling all heart-eyes for mini skincare products? Us, too.
We created a teeny-tiny tallow balm and charcoal soap set—so your skeptical crunchy friends can try out ancestral recipes without the financial commitment. They make perfect stocking stuffers, too.
We recommend a combination of Charcoal Soap and Tallow Balm for people struggling with acne. Charcoal helps to draw out toxins, gently cleansing the pores. As a soap, it’s a little more intensive than oil cleansing, but still doesn’t strip the skin of nutrients.
Follow up with a tallow balm to lock in moisture and for antibacterial effects.
If you’re new to buying skincare gift sets, you may be wondering what to look for during your online shopping spree. After years of working in the nontoxic skincare industry, we have a few tips for first-timers:
We love using Christmas as an excuse to spread holiday cheer—and give away our favorite Toups and Co products. Right now, we’re running an epic Christmas giveaway. To enter or to keep up with coupons, special promotions, and giveaways, join our email list. There, you’ll get wholesome encouragement for life—and you’ll be the first to know when skincare gift sets go on sale.
You’ve always been hesitant about the mystery chemicals hanging out in skincare products.
You wonder … can this magical anti-aging cream actually cure my wrinkles (without creating worse problems)?
Is a heavily marketed skincare routine with synthetic ingredients even worth my time?
…and you’ve decided the answer is no.
You’re brand new to creating a skincare routine. Total novice. A clean skincare brand has finally caught your eye, and you’re wondering if maybe healthy, whole ingredients can be the skincare solution you didn’t know you needed.
But here’s the problem: you don’t know where to start.
That’s nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, you’d be surprised how many women (of all ages) we hear from who are starting a skincare routine for the first time.
There’s no right or wrong time to start a skincare routine. Trust your instincts. When you’re ready to begin, here are some all-natural tips to help you get started:
Skincare is a personal choice. Some people go their whole lives without using a single moisturizer, tonic, or serum—and their skin still looks fantastic. Others prefer to use nature’s resources combined with science to slow the aging process or eliminate blemishes.
Wherever you are with your skincare routine, know that there’s no “wrong” answer—only your answer. Just because everyone else is doing something, doesn’t mean you have to hop on the bandwagon. But if taking care of your skin is something you genuinely enjoy doing, then take care of it well.
Building a nontoxic skincare routine can help you tap into your feminine side, feel more like yourself (with clearer skin or less wrinkles), and even connect you with brilliant ancestral practices.
We talk a lot about the dangers of toxic chemicals in skincare products. (For example, how can we really call it “skincare” if it comes with a side of parabens, plastics, fillers, and PFAS?)
But there’s so much more to building a successful beginner skincare routine than simply avoiding the bad ingredients. In fact, we see this mistake made often in the beauty community. A product with zero chemicals doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good product.
Luckily, nature has so many amazing resources that have been shown to increase our skin’s natural elasticity (and collagen), dull the effects of aging and sun damage, eliminate acne, and boost our skin’s overall glow and vitality.
Our recommendation? Nontoxic skincare is the bare minimum. Find whole, quality ingredients that are science-backed, and use them consistently to give you better skin over time.
Here are some science-backed ingredients (straight from nature) that might be even more effective than store-brand products:
Serums, moisturizers, and cleansers (oh my).
When beginning your skincare routine, the decision fatigue is real.
What products should you get? How do you avoid draining your entire life-savings on ineffective products with clever marketing? Will you actually see results?
Here are our tips:
Seriously, if the product passes the ingredients test and you feel drawn to it, it might be worth a try. Intuition is often our best guide when it comes to addressing acne, wrinkles, and other skin issues with skincare.
Pick a few products that align with your values and your intuition, and start using them. Give yourself plenty of time to try the new products (we recommend around 3-6 months), and then make a change if you aren’t getting the desired results.
As much as we wish we could all fall madly in love with the first serum we try, this just isn’t realistic. Anticipate taking some time to finalize your skincare routine and try different products. Everyone is different. Something that might be a “miracle cure” for your friend’s skin might not be as beneficial to yours.
Make sure you give each product a reasonable trial period before switching to something new. But remember, just because one thing doesn’t work for you doesn’t mean nothing will work for you.
One thing you might notice as you step into the skincare realm: your favorite products can be pricey. There’s nothing wrong with paying for quality—and many clean skincare brands are worth the investment (especially when they use high-quality ingredients).
Since it’s easy to get overwhelmed by prices, we recommend setting a standard budget for your skincare. Plan to spend the same amount each month—and keep your commitment. Not only will this help keep you from breaking the bank but it can also keep you from binge-buying products you don’t end up using.
This is a bit of a controversial subject in the nontoxic world. Vitamin D is essential for wellness across the board. In most cases, the benefits of mild sun exposure seem to outweigh potential aging side effects.
Our goal is health for the overall body.
We recommend getting gentle sunlight during early morning and late evening hours (this is great for your circadian rhythm, too!). If you know you’ll be exposed to harsh midday sun rays, then it’s wise to use all-natural sun protection to help avoid sun burns.
Hint: Drugstore sunscreens can cause just as much damage as UV rays. Many brands are full of chemicals and even known carcinogens. Apply with care!
Beginner skincare questions are so common at Toups and Co (we love hearing from you!) that we decided to create a Skincare Starter Set. It’s packed with our all-time favorite skincare ingredients (cleanser, tonic, serum, and mask) and discounted to help you save on your favorites along the way.
We believe in the simplicity of good skincare. A few targeted ingredients can do a lot more for your skin than an eight-step routine or the next trendy product. Not to mention the time it saves.
Good skincare isn’t one-size-fits-all, but these products are a great place to start.
Jumpstart Your Skincare Routine with the Skincare Starter Set
]]>It’s a self-care ritual that dates back to ancient Egypt.
But if you feel like you need makeup to go out, then you’re doing it wrong.
Makeup is a luxury that highlights your already beautiful complexion.
Think of it as an add-on.
If you’re looking for permission to wear as much or as little makeup as you want, here it is.
Your life is too long and full to stress over your appearance. Find your sweet spot—and love your skin no matter what.
For many of us (busy mamas and working women, I’m looking at you) the sweet spot is the makeup routine that lets you sleep in.
No more trading precious hours of rest to stress out about your pores.
These are our tips on creating the perfect three-step makeup routine that refreshes your skin—and doesn’t require waking up before the sun.
Oh, and because it’s chemical-free makeup, it’s good for your skin, too.
(You’re welcome.)
Your journey to the easiest makeup routine of your life starts here. Sure, highlighter and eye glam has its place, but this routine is stripped down to the basics. Embrace your inner makeup minimalist and focus your attention on more important things.
Natural foundation is a ten-minute makeup routine essential. For women who aren’t blessed with naturally even and acne-free skin (skincare has a lot to do with this), natural foundation can help add consistency and cover up blemishes.
At least, until your skincare starts to work its magic. (You’ll get there.)
When it comes to natural foundation, quality matters. You don’t want to have to re-apply or deal with nasty chemicals that only make acne and skin blemishes worse. We’re playing the long game here.
For those who want more full coverage, we recommend applying liquid foundation with a makeup sponge for an even and consistent application that stays throughout the day.
For light coverage, mineral makeup works wonderfully. It’s a favorite among makeup minimalists. The best way to apply it is with a powder makeup sponge, although you can also use a high-quality makeup brush. Over time, the healthy minerals in mineral makeup can help restore your skin barrier.
Just because you’ve switched to an organic makeup brand doesn’t mean you have to give up on pigment. There are tons of ways to add pigment to eyeshadow using herbs and natural minerals.
We also have a few tricks up our sleeve to help you get the most out of your eyeshadow palette. Try applying a light base of concealer over your eyelid. Then apply the chemical-free eyeshadow gently with your fingers. Dab rather than smear. Add complementary colors to your look in the form of natural blush and lipstick.
The hardest part about creating a ten-minute makeup routine is deciding which products (or facial features) you want to prioritize. We chose skin tone, color, and eyes—because these three elements can accentuate your whole face with minimal effort.
The job of eye makeup is to make your eyes appear bright, healthy, and (depending on your style) colorful and creative. Whether you love the natural look or know exactly what colors and angles best accentuate your eyes, eye makeup is the finishing touch.
To get the most out of your natural mascara, lightly prep your eyelashes with a powder (both mineral makeup and chemical-free eyeshadow can work). You’ll be surprised how easily you can get eyelashes worthy of a makeup artist with this method.
Outline your eyelids with natural eyeliner and finish with a bit of luminizer at the inner corners of your eyes for added shimmer. You can use the same eyeshadow trick for your inner eye corners, too—apply concealer first, then add light shimmer.
Theoretically, you can go through our three-step easy makeup routine in about five minutes (especially after a couple weeks of practice). The extra five minutes is completely open to your creativity and personalizations.
Natural concealer works well for those who struggle with under-eye circles, acne, and age spots. It’s also great if you want more of a full-coverage look. We like to think of concealer as temporary—especially if you’re dedicated to a healthy skincare routine.
All-natural and chemical-free makeup comes with a learning curve, especially if you’ve used the same brand since your teens. A good makeup primer is our favorite way to beat the learning curve—since it encourages a smooth application and makes your makeup much easier to use.
Some natural primers even include skin-healthy ingredients that can help nourish your skin barrier all day long. Look for ingredients like aloe vera juice, jojoba oil, and fruit oils. If you’re investing in a base layer, it should (at minimum) cause no harm to your skin and ideally help improve the elasticity and appearance of your skin over time.
The real secret to an easy makeup routine is taking charge of your skincare. With glowing and even-toned skin, you’ll have less to cover up with foundation and concealer. Over time, sun spots and wrinkles are minimal (shoutout to natural ingredients like antioxidants and bakuchiol).
It’s well-known that wearing less makeup improves the health and wellness of your skin (this is why makeup gurus are religious about removing their makeup at night). But what if we cared more about the ingredients in our makeup?
Most likely, if you’re coating your face in microplastics, toxic fillers, PFAS, parabens, and a cocktail of other chemical ingredients, this will show on your skin.
We believe simply choosing high-quality, pronounceable ingredients that are safe for your skin and body can save you time in your makeup routine. You’ll have less to cover up, fewer wrinkles over time, and won’t start your day with toxic chemicals.
Shop Our Organic Makeup Brand
]]>Aluminum deodorant has absolutely nothing to do with breast cancer.
The studies are inconclusive.
Actually, a recent study showed that aluminum salts altered cell structure within twenty-four hours.
Deodorant and breast cancer is a long-debated subject. And (spoiler alert) one that is clouded by an industry that’s worth 24 billion dollars.
Since our own aluminum-free deodorant products aren’t approved by the FDA, there’s only so much we can say about the link between deodorant and breast cancer.
Many years ago, we lived our lives just like everybody else: regularly swiping drugstore deodorants under our armpits, without a second thought.
What changed for us?
It wasn’t the studies. It wasn’t some in-your-face proof that we couldn’t deny.
What changed our minds was broadening our understanding of the human body.
It was researching the toxic chemicals in everyday hygiene products—and seeing tangible changes when we stopped using them.
And it was trusting the intuition of our ancestors, who understood how to heal and be well before modern medicine.
So no, we’re not going to tell you that aluminum deodorant definitely causes breast cancer. But we are going to share the science and principles that convinced our family to switch over to aluminum-free deodorant for good.
When exploring the potential toxicity of deodorant, this is an important question to ask. Logically, if deodorant can’t absorb into your skin, then it shouldn’t cause any physical harm.
The skin is our body’s largest organ. One of its jobs is to act as a barrier by keeping toxins out of sensitive areas. It shields our internal organs from environmental harm.
But the skin does absorb things, too. It can absorb minerals (magnesium, for example) to help our bodies, and it can absorb things that harm our bodies (like chemicals).
One study that looked at the chemicals in our tap water showed that an average of 64% of those chemicals are absorbed into our bodies. Since each chemical compound is different, our bodies can absorb different chemicals at different rates. So, it could be debated that some chemicals are less harmful … but is it really worth the risk?
Our philosophy is, don’t put things on your skin that you don’t want in your body.
Aluminum in deodorant is optional. It’s not included in every formula, so it’s important to check the label of your deodorant brand to see exactly what’s in yours. Aluminum is typically used to stop sweat production—so you can go about your life without the embarrassment of stress sweat or a soaked t-shirt at the gym. Sounds good, right?
Like any time you disrupt a natural bodily function, there are consequences.
Sweating is incredibly good for your skin—it produces a peptide that’s naturally antimicrobial, targeting bad bacteria that could cause skin issues and breakouts. Sweat is also a detox pathway your body can use to rid itself of harmful toxins. One study showed that a variety of heavy metals were excreted through sweat—and different heavy metals were excreted during different activities.
Finally, aluminum itself simply isn’t good for you. It’s a heavy metal and is known as a neurotoxin. Sure, you’re only using small doses every day, but those doses add up.
Since aluminum is considered a heavy metal, most people who are concerned about the consequences of conventional deodorant point fingers there first. And it’s true, aluminum is dangerous.
But there are a lot of other concerning ingredients in deodorant, too. Watch out for things like:
Not only have we learned that chemicals can absorb into the skin, but the presence of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in deodorant should caution us against using them, since VOCs are chemicals we breathe in.
The lymphatic system is a drainage pathway that our bodies use to remove toxins (it cleans almost every cell in the body). Although it’s not the most well-known system in the body, it does extremely important work. Without the lymphatic system, we’d all be a swollen, puffy, and toxic mess.
There are key areas of the body where your lymphatic system may drain—including the armpits. The armpit is home to a system of lymph nodes called the axillary lymph nodes. Interestingly, breast cancer often starts in the armpit or eventually spreads to axillary lymph nodes.
There is growing concern that chemicals in our deodorant and other skincare products can absorb into the lymphatic system itself. If this is true, it means that aluminum and parabens are quite literally circulating through your entire body—and may contribute to a blocked and sluggish lymphatic system over time.
Using aluminum-free deodorant is a scary step in your nontoxic health journey. It was for us, too. After reading all the research, studying the lymphatic system, learning about the detox pathway of sweat, and understanding exactly how harmful aluminum can be for the body, we decided to choose aluminum-free deodorant. And we’re so glad we did.
Here are a few core reasons why we’ll never turn back:
Even if we can’t prove that conventional deodorant is bad for you, we don’t want to take any chances. Aluminum-free deodorant works great for us, and we feel so much better after going through the detox phase ourselves.
Our ancestors knew that disrupting the body’s natural functions was a bad idea. But over time, we’ve lost the knowledge of our ancestors and become vulnerable to industrial products and ideas. Sometimes you just have to let the body do its thing—and trust that it has a purpose.
We admit it … when natural deodorant first became popular in holistic communities, it left a lot to be desired. But formulas have changed over the years. We especially love our natural deodorant (yep, we’re biased). It helps control odor with magnesium, which can actually benefit your skin.
We can’t make medical claims, and honestly, we don’t want to. The beauty of natural skincare is that it gives the power back to you. No more clever marketing, no more hiding thousands of chemicals under a “fragrance” label, and no more greenwashing.
We believe everyone should do their own research to find the products that they feel are safest for their own families.
Continue Learning about Ingredients:
There are many reasons why mommy bloggers and medical communities aren’t talking about the microbiome.
Most baby wash and baby shampoo products on the market today are full of harsh chemicals that disrupt your child’s natural skin barrier. Bringing the microbiome into discussions about early childhood development would drastically change the products we use on our baby's skin.
We don’t know that much about the microbiome (yet), so it’s not commonly considered in the face of illness prevention and early childhood development. Especially since Western medicine gravitates toward treating the symptoms rather than the root cause.
But what if your baby’s microbiome development is just as important as their immune system development?
Your baby is born with a bacterial coating (aka microbiome) that’s totally unique to them and helps guard against illness. The good news is, there’s little you have to do in order to nurture this microbiome—mostly, just avoid chemicals in their shampoo and baby wash.
Those are just the benefits we know about so far. The truth is, scientists have only just begun to study the tiny microscopic bacteria that make their home in our bodies—and how they impact our daily lives.
When considering the microbiome, most people think about the gut—particularly the large intestine. It’s true that most of the microbiome is located in your digestive tract once you reach adulthood.
But there’s a healthy microbiome that makes its home on your skin, too. This layer of microbes helps protect your skin barrier and aids in healing cuts, scrapes, and skin issues like acne and eczema.
When a baby is born, they get most of their flourishing skin microbiome from the birth canal. The healthy bacteria in the gut is cultivated later—alongside the immune system.
Protecting the microbiome is easier than you think. These lifestyle adjustments are simple, inexpensive, and easy to begin during early development.
Your baby’s microbiome is largely determined by your own gut health. Before and during pregnancy, make sure to eat tons of healthy fibers and fermented foods—like kombucha, kefir, yogurt, and berries.
Fermented foods will add healthy microscopic friends to your gut—while fibrous foods will feed the good bacteria that are already there, allowing them to multiply.
Another way to protect your microbiome during pregnancy is to be careful about what kinds of medication you take. Antibiotics, birth control, and even painkillers can alter your microbiome—so use them cautiously.
Breastfeeding isn’t possible for everyone—and we’re not about promoting mom-guilt.
If breastfeeding is an easy option for you, it’s a great way to nurture your baby’s microbiome early on in their life. Your breastmilk can “customize” itself to your baby's needs—providing essential nutrients and, yes, probiotics!
The probiotics and prebiotics in your breastmilk will help build your baby’s own microbiome while their immune system matures on its own.
A little tummy time in the great outdoors? Your baby will probably love it.
There are tons of probiotics in the soil, making grounding an easy (and free) way to boost your baby’s microbiome.
Creating a habit of outdoor play and curiosity as your child grows can help strengthen their immune system and nurture their gut and skin health—while cultivating a lifetime love for nature.
For years, the medical community has subscribed to the idea that removing harmful bacteria is the way to treat infection and illness.
That’s sort of true.
Your gut microbiome is constantly fighting with itself—the ultimate story of good vs evil. Although antibacterials are important for treating some infections, you can actually make a lot of progress by feeding the good bacteria.
Increase the good bacteria in your baby’s system, and they’ll have a better chance of fighting off the bad stuff.
If you focus on removing bacteria altogether (via frequent use of antibiotics and antibacterials), you’ll kill both the good and the bad bacteria—leaving skin susceptible to future infections.
We don’t like to fixate on all the bad stuff in baby skincare products. But trust us—it’s one big yikes. Fresh out of the womb, your baby’s microbiome is fragile. The choices you make between birth and early childhood development can either provide long-term nourishment or chronic damage.
Focus on two things: the food your baby consumes and the products their skin is exposed to.
Shop All-Natural Baby Wash and Shampoo
Wondering how your baby’s microbiome is doing? These signs and symptoms can indicate distress:
The solution to these issues is typically an over-the-counter cream or medication. But this can further alter the natural microbiome and cause long-term issues.
If possible, treat the symptoms with all-natural products, like 100% grass-fed tallow balm and organic baby balm. Then do a deep dive into diet and lifestyle, so you can help your baby rebuild their microbiome—and their health.
We can’t believe it’s been seven whole years since our dream of bringing nontoxic skincare to the world became a reality. When we started Toups and Co, we had no idea how many incredible friends we’d make along the way—or how many people would love our products just as much as we do.
A lot of our processes have changed over time, and we’ve undergone a lot of much-needed updates (shoutout to our original name, Crunchy Balm). But there are a few things that remain the same:
Even though a lot of things have stayed the same at Toups and Co, plenty has changed in the nontoxic skincare industry. People are becoming more aware of the toxins in their hygiene products, and we’re beginning to see small changes in policy and awareness.
Here are seven things that have changed in the skincare world since we began Toups and Co:
Contouring was the makeup of the future … carefully curated eyebrows … and ombre hairstyles. Those trends marked 2017 (were things really that different back then?). Here are just a few changes we’ve noticed in nontoxic skincare since our opening.
Checking the labels of all your foods, household products, and skincare items should be considered a competitive sport. But seriously, consumers are starting to realize … we’ve been duped. Those organic-looking green bottles and glass jars are tricking us less and less often. Now, we check our receipts—and we know that if we can’t understand the ingredients label, it’s probably not good for us.
We even have apps and websites to help us avoid getting bamboozled by good marketing and pretty packages (almost one in three products are labeled as “clean”—we have to fight back).
The more we recognize greenwashing, the more we fight back. Eventually, companies will have to start listening—and offering whole, healthy products on store shelves. We can’t wait!
Well … it was more of a re-discovery. Our ancestors used nontoxic skincare like tallow balm for generations—before we traded it all in for cheap manufactured products that were supposed to be “better”).
Suddenly, people who used traditional remedies became inferior. In just a few generations, we lost touch with everything our ancestors knew.
Now, we’re taking it back.
Even though nontoxic skincare started out a little rough (remember egg yolk mascara and banana masks?), we’ve finally found our footing.
Tallow balms, oil-based soaps, beeswax lip balm, and shea butter hydrating salve. These are all products inspired by ancestral recipes and perfected over the years. We’re well on our way to remembering the remedies and recipes that kept our ancestors healthy.
The “fragrance” label on conventional products hides a lot of dirty secrets. Chemicals, to be exact—up to 3,000 of them. At this point, most conscious shoppers know to look out for the fragrance label on their “nontoxic” products. Especially if it’s one of the first ingredients on the bottle, it’s probably being used as a cover-up for unpronounceable ingredients they don’t want you to see.
Chemical ingredients? Not for our generation. We’ve seen the devastating effects of chemicals in our environment, and it’s only getting worse. Whether it’s pollution, mold, microplastics in our water, or synthetic ingredients in skincare products—we’re starting to see that toxins are impacting our world in a big way.
Do these products have something to do with the influx of autoimmune disorders? And how will our children and their children handle a world that’s toxic?
As a society, we’re starting to recognize the dangers of chemical ingredients, and speak up about them.
We’re not going to name names or anything, but sunscreen brands particularly have been in the news for some sketchy ingredients (benzene—no thanks).
Another recent lawsuit was filed against a mascara brand for the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in their waterproof line.
Oh, and dry shampoo brands are in hot water over more benzene.
… Should we go on?
Honestly, we’re thrilled that these lawsuits are drawing attention to the chemicals in makeup and skincare products—and (hopefully) creating changes in consumer products and brand accountability.
Remember the “make-your-own-makeup” revolution? Consumers were so desperate to find products that wouldn’t irritate their skin or increase chemical exposure. We were all experimenting with coconut oil and beeswax in our kitchens.
Luckily, we’ve upgraded from shea butter to 100% grass-fed tallow and antioxidant-infused serums. Oh, and we do it all here for you in Coastal Alabama.
Our ancestors didn’t have research studies or Amazon reviews to back up their recipes. But what they did have was years of experience. We have the history to back it up—nontoxic skincare products were perfected by the time our great-grandparents used them.
Today, our culture relies on research and social proof in order for a product or method to be accepted. And luckily, we’re starting to get it.
Slowly but steadily, studies are being released about the dangers of chemical ingredients—and the benefits of all-natural remedies.
Here’s one about the dangers of PFAS.
The future is always bright when it comes to nontoxic skincare. We have so many new products in the works and exciting announcements for the future (we can’t get ahead of ourselves!).
Most of all, we’re grateful for seven amazing years of serving you—our community. We cannot wait to see what the next seven bring.
Maybe it was a lipstick from the local drugstore that gave you instant classic Hollywood vibes (Grace Kelly, is that you?). Or the perfect color-popping eye palette that finally boosted your confidence to wear glasses.
You have an emotional connection to makeup.
It helps you feel beautiful (even though you already are).
It unleashes creativity.
And it connects you to the past and the future.
But every good thing has its drawbacks. And conventional makeup brands are hiding dirty secrets (literally). They’re called forever chemicals.
Let us explain…
Forever chemicals are appropriately named. It’s estimated that they take over 1,000 years to completely decompose. But since they’re microscopic, most of us don’t even realize they’re heavily polluting our environment and our bodies.
The technical name for forever chemicals is per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS for short). PFAS were initially created to coat non-stick pots and pans. Today, they’re used to increase the lifespan of personal care products, clothing, furniture, and more. Since they (basically) never break down, they’re a prime group of chemicals to increase durability and slow down wear and tear. But at what cost?
It’s estimated that 98% of Americans have PFAS in their bloodstream (including newborn and preborn babies). This is particularly concerning since PFAS are connected to thyroid dysfunction, hormone disruption, and liver issues. Since toxins are stored in adipose tissue (fat), PFAS may contribute to weight gain.
There is nothing like the relief of a clean face after a long day. But did you know washing your makeup down the drain may be contributing to an environmental crisis? Yep. PFAS have catastrophic health concerns—and since they don’t easily decompose, they remain in the environment (even after you wash your face).
Forever chemicals are used in makeup products to create a sheen or smooth finish. They also contribute to waterproof products and allow makeup to last longer before expiration.
Because PFAS (basically) never break down, they’re intentionally added to makeup products to increase the length of wear, durability, and the product’s lifetime.
As an organic makeup brand ourselves, we can confirm: it’s actually not that hard to create stunning makeup without PFAS—that still lasts all day. It just takes a little more intentionality, ancestral wisdom, and a commitment to better health.
How much impact exactly could a group of microscopic chemical compounds have on your health? The list of PFAS health risks just keeps growing…
Forever chemicals are especially concerning because, as their name suggests, they’re made to last forever. This means they don’t break down when they get into our bodies. Instead, our immune system is forced to work overtime to eliminate PFAS. Avoidance is always the best way to keep forever chemicals from impacting your health.
Forever chemicals have made national news on more than one occasion. They continue to be the subject of medical studies, drawing serious health and environmental concerns. But stressing about them isn’t the answer (seriously, it’s not).
Instead, take control of your environment. Understand the products that are most likely to contain high levels of PFAS and make adjustments. Here are a few suggestions:
Reading ingredient labels at the grocery store either makes you feel like a health wizard or (if you’re like us) extremely confused. But forever chemicals can be easy to identify when you know what you’re looking for. Check your bottles for the word “fluoro.” Better yet, avoid waterproof and long-lasting makeup products altogether.
We get it. Taking on responsibility for the environmental pollution caused by multi-billion dollar corporations feels completely uncool. And, it is. Consumers didn’t create forever chemicals. In fact, we didn’t even know about them until recently.
When the manufacturing of PFAS began, we weren’t given a voice.
Now, data is rising. We have the information. We know what’s happening with PFAS and their impact on disease. For the first time, we have the power to change our environment now—and for our children and grandchildren.
By using healthy alternatives (for example: organic furniture, cotton clothing, homemade products, and organic makeup brands), we can support responsible consumption. And, we can advocate for the future by helping pass laws that ban PFAS. Let’s put in the work to spread awareness, fund medical studies, and watch our planet change for the better.
Learn More About Environmental Toxins:
]]>Okay, that wasn’t really a secret.
For years, you’ve been piling your shopping cart high with natural skincare products, organic food, and non-toxic cleaning agents. But there’s one thing you’ve been biting your tongue about: the aluminum-filled deodorant your man swears by.
He simply refuses to change his skincare ways.
Natural deodorant won’t hold up to heavy labor, he says.
Why order organic beard oil when you can get the cheap stuff at Walmart?
He insists there’s no way Mineral sunscreen can actually guard against sunburn.
The reason women are more likely to gravitate toward natural skincare products is simple: our bodies are usually more sensitive to toxins in the environment.
Biologically speaking, women’s hormones are more likely to go haywire when exposed to endocrine disruptors (many of which mimic estrogen). Our bodies are wired to preserve resources for reproduction and pregnancy. When those resources are threatened by pollution, mycotoxins, and parabens, we experience warning signs.
Men are different. Their hormone patterns are less complex. And they don’t use as many personal care products (women average about 12 daily), so they may be less likely to find everyday products problematic.
Does that mean they should ignore the consequences of chemical-laden products?
Absolutely not.
Sperm counts are diminishing worldwide at an alarming rate. We believe it’s the result of years of constant exposure to toxic household chemicals—including those found in personal care products like deodorant, face wash, and shampoo.
But guys aren’t just putting themselves at risk. Men’s personal care products can also contribute to the toxic burden in their partners, wives, and children, too. Think about it: as a father, one of the best ways to protect your children from early allergies and immune system dysfunction is by safeguarding their environment.
For some relationships, choosing between natural skincare and conventional skincare can be polarizing and emotional. We’ve all been there—and we certainly aren’t looking to stir up drama. These conflict-free suggestions can help your significant other take the reins of his health and fertility, without sacrificing his hygiene (or his manliness).
If you have a hesitant husband, immediately replacing a bunch of his products at once can be overwhelming for him. Pick one— ( maybe don’t start with his deodorant or toothpaste). Find him a more luxurious product like beard oil or a charcoal face bar to try out. These products won’t turn his hygiene world upside down, but they can show him exactly how well natural skincare products work.
We find that men respond better when they’re given a chance to test out and evaluate a product, before high stakes are involved. Once he’s in love with the beard oil and charcoal face soap, move on to men’s body wash and finally men’s deodorant.
While there’s certainly a lot of misinformation out there claiming that chemical-filled products are safe for children, adults, and families, there are many studies that show this simply isn’t true.
This scientific study explores paraben exposure and its relationship to breast cancer. In our opinion? It’s too close for comfort. The study shows that parabens have been found in blood and urine samples—and may be able to cross-talk with other signaling pathways in the body. Yikes!
Another study takes a deep dive into endocrine disruptors and men’s reproductive health. They found that exposure to phthalates may directly correlate with oxidative stress. Which can lead to tissue and even cell damage.
As children develop outside of the womb, their immune systems are incredibly sensitive. They are also naturally intuitive. Children will gravitate toward microdoses of things that build their immune system. This may be why they love to put things in their mouth and play in the dirt.
If the immune system is overloaded at an early age, it can impact the child’s growth and development. We noticed this with our firstborn early on—and it’s the reason Toups and Co exists.
To ensure that our children could thrive in a healthy environment, we needed to take a serious look at the chemicals we were exposing them to. We swapped their bath products, diaper rash creams, lotions, and more. As we slowly switched over to all-natural products, the change in our children was tangible—and we were confident that we were finally on the right track.
When you choose natural skincare for your children, your husband is sure to see the difference, and it may convince him to go all-natural—for his sake and theirs.
We’ve met lots of men who are just as passionate about skincare ingredients as we are—if not more. One reason why often women champion natural skincare products is because we tend to see more skincare ads. In general, women know more about natural skincare products because we are the target market.
Once men are given the resources and information about the danger of parabens, phthalates, and other toxic ingredients—they are often enthusiastic to jump on the men’s organic skincare wagon.
Using a hygiene item that fails to do what it promised is extremely frustrating—and can turn someone away from natural skincare products for good. Luckily, organic and all-natural products have come a long way since they were first popularized.
Many Toups and Co customers find that our products actually work better than the conventional ones. This is because we don’t use any fillers—so nothing in the product is taking up space to cheapen production costs. Our recipes are extremely potent and work overtime to make sure your skin stays healthy and your armpits don’t frighten anyone.
Not sure what to start with? We recommend the tallow balm or beard oil.
When given the proper tools and education, men are thrilled to take charge of their hygiene habits and hormone health. Not only will this impact their own symptoms and energy levels, but high quality products also help safeguard the immune systems and hormone health of the whole family.
The truth is, many couples are on the same page when it comes to personal care products. They just need a little time to figure that out.
]]>Your nighttime routine has ten steps.
And if your bestie hears one more word about the benefits of tallow, she’s going to lose her mind.
The truth is: you’ve become the go-to expert for all things organic skincare. Your friends text at the first sight of a pimple. Wrinkles and dry skin? Not here. Your routine is laminated and framed by the bathroom sink.
But even with all the knowledge and resources at your fingertips, something’s missing…
…and it might be a face mask.
We often assume face masks are reserved for special occasions: drinking wine and listening to crunchy podcasts—or the one relaxing bath you managed to squeeze in last month.
But frequent face masks (around once a week) can work wonders for your overall skin health. Think vibrant, plump, and depuffed.
Don’t just throw on any old mask (yep, we’re side-eyeing that three-year-old collection under the sink). There’s so much that goes into picking the ideal face mask for your skin type, skin concerns, and long-term goals.
Oh, and most face masks on the market are packed full of nasty chemicals you don’t want soaking into your skin. Check the ingredients label.
Hear us out: a face mask is the secret ingredient you’re missing in your skincare routine. And it can do so much to improve the surface of your skin, demolish age spots, and banish acne for good.
Here’s how to choose the best face mask for your skin type:
There are a number of root causes that influence breakouts. One of them is pollution. If you live in a highly polluted area, you may notice blackheads and whiteheads that lessen when you visit the countryside.
Pollution (from water and air) seeps into the pores, clogging them and leaving you to wonder how—after ample face washing—you still managed to break out.
When shopping for a face mask for acne, it’s best to find a detoxifying mask that draws toxins, dirt, and excess oil out of the skin. When this is done in a slow and healthy way (and nourishment is added back into the skin via tallow balm), the sebum is given a chance to rebalance itself. Look for ingredients like activated charcoal, Australian clay, or kaolin clay for this.
In short, our skin ages due to a loss of elasticity and a variety of other factors that happen over time. One of those factors is inflammation.
Yep, inflammation is a buzzword—and for good reason. From chronic illness to fertility and cellular health, inflammation is a key factor in your well-being—and, likely, in your facial structure.
Anti-aging ingredients we love? In studies, pure blue C-phycocyanin was shown to inhibit an enzyme that causes inflammation. This helps scavenge free radicals in the skin and body. In short, it’s anti-aging gold.
You’re on the face mask struggle bus. In fact, your only goal for face masks at this point is not to look like a tomato when you take it off (and so far, nothing meets your standards).
Many of the ingredients in face masks can be harsh—and they become even more problematic when left on the skin for a long period of time. But it’s not impossible to find your perfect face mask match.
…And we have some ideas.
We recommend staying away from the harsher detox masks and instead, choosing something more soothing. Arnica is a homeopathic remedy that actually works to calm redness and irritated skin. Raw honey can be gentle on skin, too, adding natural antibacterial properties to help banish acne for good.
In our experience, the biggest problem with face masks is quality. There are so many fun, exciting, and scented face masks to catch your eye at drugstores. But many of them contain toxic oils, plastics, fragrances…the list goes on.
When you find a face mask made from real (edible!) ingredients, your skin will thank you. You might even notice such a massive improvement in your skin issues that you want to apply them more often.
Look for ingredients you can pronounce—and recipes so clean you could eat them. Nature provides us with so many incredible resources to heal our skin and bodies. And we believe the skin responds so much better when earth-made, all-natural resources are used.
Depending on the severity of your skin concerns, we recommend applying a face mask every five to ten days. Those who experience severe acne should use a face mask more often. Frequent application ensures you’re really cleansing your pores and adding much-needed nourishment back into your skin.
We’ve spent years perfecting our face mask recipes, and these ingredients are the real deal. Not only are they totally natural, but they’re also incredibly beneficial to the skin.
Welcome to the future of anti-aging skincare.
Hint: it’s not retinol.
Pure blue C-phycocyanin is a powerful antioxidant that focuses on anti-aging and cellular wellness. In studies, it’s shown to banish free radicals and “turn off” an enzyme that causes inflammation.
Depuff, zen out, and enjoy the comfort of beating aging with the many phycocyanin benefits.
Explore Phycocyanin Benefits with the Resurfacing Mask
One of our favorite skincare ingredients, kaolin clay is great for drawing out toxins from inside the pores. This powerhouse ingredient has a pH level that’s similar to our own skin. So it offers a low-irritation application that gets to the root of pollution, oil, and dirt.
Explore Kaolin Clay Skin Benefits with the Glow Mask
Arnica is a do-it-all homeopathic remedy that’s commonly used for bites, scrapes, and redness of any kind. When combined with kaolin clay, it can help to ease the discomfort of detox and carefully ease irritated skin.
Explore Arnica for Skin with the Resurfacing Mask
Our community is full of people who are ready to ditch the toxins and live with nature as their guide. If you feel like you’ve been surviving solo in the crunchy lifestyle for too long, we invite you to join thousands of people just like you—who care about what goes on their skin and in their bodies.
At the same time, natural skincare products have a reputation for being a bit…pricey.
We aren’t afraid to admit it. It simply costs more to source whole ingredients that are vitamin and mineral-rich. Many of ours come from local farms! It costs more to hold onto our principles and not cut corners. But we firmly believe the investment is worth it.
As a family company, we know the sacrifices you have to make to afford better skincare products. Especially when you’re focused on the health of a whole family, the cost adds up.
We’re going to let you in on a little secret. There are tons of ways to save on Toups and Co products—from rewards programs to annual sales to subscriptions. We’ve compiled them all here in our official guide to Toups and Co rewards, so you can enjoy your favorite products, affordably.
Whether you’re a seasoned shopper or you’re brand new to non-toxic skincare, there are a number of ways to save on Toups and Co products. Let’s walk through our rewards programs, subscription service, annual sales, and more.
Setting up your recurring order is seamless—and you choose how frequently your favorite products arrive at your door. When you set up subscribe and save, you cross one thing off your monthly to-do list and save a percentage on each purchase. Plus, you get free shipping!
When you sign up for our rewards program, every purchase earns you points toward future purchases. Think special releases, free shipping, and free products! You’ll receive one point for every dollar spent—and you can save these points to cash in for your favorite products.
Purchases aren’t the only way to earn reward points. You can follow us on social media to receive points and refer a friend for an extra $5 off coupon.
Holistic community, exclusive coupons, and lifestyle hacks are just a few things you’ll receive when you sign up for our email list. Seriously, we don’t spam, and our email community is positive and value-packed. You’ll be the first to know about our annual sales, upcoming events, and all the exciting new things happening at Toups and Co.
When you sign up for our email list, you’ll receive a coupon for 10% off your next order.
If you have an active social media following or a high-traffic blog, you may be the perfect brand ambassador. Share your love of Toups and Co products with your friends, family, and followers, and you’ll receive a percentage of each sale (aka more money to put toward your monthly non-toxic skincare shopping).
Click here to apply for your own affiliate link and begin your journey as a Toups and Co ambassador.
It’s a not-so-secret secret that our annual sales occur on Black Friday, Labor Day, and in early Spring. We’re a small business and family company—so we can only offer sales a few times per year. But many of our loyal customers use this time to stock up on their favorite products for the whole year.
Add our sale dates to your calendar or join our Instagram community for reminders about our annual sales.
Do you still have questions about your investment? We get it. According to customer reviews, here’s why it’s worth it to invest in natural skincare products:
Scroll the reviews of any Toups and Co product and you’ll notice a trend: our products are filled to the brim with rich and effective ingredients. Since we don’t use chemicals to take up space, a small amount of product is powerful enough to take care of your skincare needs. So while some products may cost more upfront, they typically last longer than drugstore brands (and they’re much cleaner).
Most hair and skincare products on the market today contain something called fillers. These are chemical, artificial, and liquid plastic ingredients that dilute active ingredients. Fillers are cheap, so manufacturers use them to take up space in the bottle.
Not only are fillers toxic but they also make the product much less effective. Some healthy ingredients may still be present, but they are less potent.
We don’t use fillers. In fact, every ingredient is focused on healing and reviving your skin and body. Our customers notice the difference!
Whether you’re fighting acne, redness, aging, or dryness, we’ve hand-picked natural ingredients that are backed by science to promote wellness and vibrancy. From the carrier oil to the quality scents (essential oils!), our ingredients are well-researched and full of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and other ingredients that help your skin glow.
Most of our customers notice our products are more effective than drugstore brands—and sometimes even better than over-the-counter medications.
Like you, we started researching natural skincare products because we were wary of the ingredients found in drugstore brands. We noticed our everyday products didn’t actually heal what they claimed to. In fact, they often caused more problems over time.
The truth is, so many manufacturers cut corners when it comes to skincare products. There isn’t much accountability in the industry—and most companies take shortcuts (aka add fillers and chemicals) in order to increase their profit margins.
When we started Toups and Co, we committed to producing the highest quality natural skincare products, without cutting corners. Every ingredient is focused on beauty and healing, no exception.
Experience the Difference of Wholesome Skincare — Shop Our Bestsellers
]]>The rise in autoimmune diseases among women is alarming (almost 80% of autoimmune sufferers are women). Over time, studies have begun to link these diseases with hormone disruptors in our environment—BPA, parabens, and phthalates to name a few.
Women often sound the alarm on dangerous chemicals by reacting before men. Women have very specific hormonal balances that are more easily impacted by external forces.
But how do men fit into the equation?
Although the effects of hormone disruptors on men’s health may not be as obvious, they are just as concerning. A recent study shows that male sperm counts are dropping at an alarming rate of 1.16% every year.
In the past 50 years, sperm counts have dropped by about 50%. Studies are now beginning to link this decline with hormone disruptors, toxic chemicals, and (you guessed it) personal care and grooming products.
There’s a lot of conflicting information out there about whether or not external products (or dermal, meaning applied through the skin) can impact the body’s internal systems.
We like to use the example of the nicotine patch. Although it’s applied to the skin, a nicotine patch is used to curb smoking addictions. But it never technically “enters” the body. Instead, small doses of nicotine are absorbed through the skin.
It’s the same way for toxic body and grooming products. Heavy chemical usage over time may make its way into the lymphatic system (one of the body’s natural drainage pathways) or the bloodstream.
One study showed that a combination of heavy metals, phthalates, and pollutants in men had a greater impact on a couple’s ability to get pregnant than the same level of chemicals in a woman. If you’re struggling with infertility, one of the best small changes you can make is to switch out your personal care products for non-toxic versions. Here are some common chemicals to watch out for:
Phthalates are an ingredient used to make plastics, but they don’t bind to the plastic permanently. This means they can be absorbed into the body—and they’ve been found in human blood, urine, and everything in between (including breast milk!). Studies on phthalates associate them with decreased sperm counts and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Triclosan is an antibacterial chemical and known endocrine disruptor that’s used regularly in skincare products to help eliminate acne-causing bacteria. Not only has triclosan been found in urine samples but it may also cause imbalance in the microbiome, since it’s created to kill both good and bad bacteria. When good bacteria is killed, it leaves room for bad bacteria to take over.
Like triclosan, parabens are chemicals used for antibacterial purposes and as fillers—meaning they take up space in products like shampoo, conditioner, and beard oil. If parabens can’t be excreted through urine, they may be stored in adipose tissue (aka fat) until the body has the capacity to detox.
These chemicals are known for their ability to mimic estrogen in the body. Although no studies have specifically linked parabens to men’s fertility (yet), adding estrogen to your careful balance of hormones is never a good idea.
Heavy metals in deodorant? Yep, aluminum is commonly found in antiperspirant deodorants. Not only is aluminum linked to lower sperm counts but it’s also a neurotoxin that can mess with the central nervous system.
Sweating is vital to the detox process and helps drain your lymphatic system. When you prevent yourself from sweating, you’re eliminating an essential process your body uses to rid toxins from your system. Eliminate sweat and you automatically put your body under extra stress.
What changes can you expect when you switch over to organic skincare for men? You may notice…
There’s a gap in organic skincare for men.
Many non-toxic products either don’t work or don’t actually contain non-toxic ingredients (hello, greenwashing).
We believe men deserve to look and feel their best—without having to worry about sketchy chemicals in their personal care products. We’re introducing a new line of our best organic skincare for men. Our family has carefully tested each recipe—so you can trust that every Toups and Co men’s product is farm-tough and family-safe.
Coming Soon - Organic Skincare for Men
]]>
Or…it used to be.
In recent years, irresponsible farming practices have taken over, depleting our soil and produce of essential nutrients like magnesium.
You may have noticed that “magnesium deficiency” has become a buzzword in modern holistic health—and it’s no coincidence. Changes in farming practices, the climate, and food processing techniques are depleting our resources and our bodies of the minerals we need to thrive.
One study calls magnesium deficiency a “public health crisis” and estimates that around 50% of Americans don’t consume enough magnesium in their diet.
How did we fall so far?
And how can ancestral skincare take us back to our roots?
In this blog, we’re discussing everything you need to know about topical magnesium and how you can use it to correct magnesium deficiency.
How do you know you’re experiencing magnesium deficiency? One way is to get a hair mineral analysis. By testing hair strands, you can get a good idea of your long-term mineral health and history. But if you’re not ready to test quite yet, you can chat with your doctor and look for symptoms of magnesium deficiency.
Here are some symptoms of magnesium deficiency to check for:
When it comes to holistic health, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the most advanced wellness products. The ones that promise quick fixes for gut issues, brain fog, and exhaustion. While these can sometimes help, it’s important to take care of the basics: the things that really make your body tick.
Here are just a few things magnesium is doing for your body right now:
When facing magnesium deficiency, there are a few routes you can take to get your body back on track. For some people, high-quality magnesium supplements are the ticket to better health. Others prefer topical magnesium, usually in the form of a body spray, lotion, or even mixed in with their bath salts. We believe the most natural way to boost magnesium levels is with a combination of both methods.
Choose a high-quality, bioavailable supplement from a brand you trust and add it to your supplement routine. Then, create a habit of a nightly magnesium lotion massage or bath.
Transdermal products are considered controversial in the wellness world. But it’s our belief that topical applications of minerals and other nutrients are just as important to the body as oral ones.
In ancient times, absorbing nutrients through the skin was a common practice—and it’s making a comeback with trends like mud masks, Vitamin C serums, and castor oil packs.
We like to use the example of a nicotine patch. Though many people claim that transdermal therapy doesn’t work, they will recommend a nicotine patch to someone who’s trying to quit smoking.
When it comes to magnesium, recent research suggests that topical magnesium could be extremely effective in treating magnesium deficiency. And since the nutrients bypass the GI tract and travel straight into the bloodstream, topical magnesium may be better for those who have gut symptoms when taking magnesium orally.
When absorbed into the skin, topical magnesium can be a life-changing addition to your wellness routine.
Here are three major benefits of topical magnesium:
If your cells and organs aren’t functioning optimally, your energy levels may take a hit. It’s true that energy and vitality can be affected by a number of different issues (inflammation, chronic illness, environmental toxins, etc.)—but looking to the root of body functionality (mineral and magnesium supply) can do a lot for your recovery.
In fact, if you’ve been struggling with low energy and chronic health conditions for a while, it’s essential to look into your mineral intake. Minerals are often depleted during times of physical or physiological stress. Magnesium could be exactly what you need to optimize your sleep and improve your energy.
Magnesium plays an important role in hormone health. The hormone cortisol spikes in our bodies when we are under stress. The purpose of this spike is to make us more alert and ready to fight against danger. But too much cortisol over a long period of time can wreak havoc on our bodies, putting us in a constant state of fight or flight (hello inflammation).
That’s where magnesium comes in. Magnesium intervenes when cortisol gets too high and works to calm the body down. You may know that magnesium is often recommended for those with insomnia, and this is why. It helps restore a sense of calm and balance in the body.
By adding topical magnesium to your nighttime routine, you can help balance your hormones while calming down your nervous system.
Calcium and potassium are knocking—can your body answer?
Magnesium is used by the body to transport essential minerals like calcium and potassium to the cells. In turn, these minerals are used for nerve signaling and muscle contractions. But if there isn’t enough magnesium in the picture, muscles (including your heart) may be impacted.
Adding topical magnesium, bioavailable magnesium supplements, or dietary magnesium to your daily routine is a good way to protect your cardiovascular health—while providing extra energy and benefits to your cells.
When it comes to modern wellness, many of us just need to go back to the basics:
A healthy diet of whole foods.
Fewer environmental toxins.
Regular exercise.
Mindfulness and nervous system regulation.
And of course, adequate mineral intake.
Applying topical magnesium is a natural way to bring the mineral goodness straight to your bloodstream. Begin this easy habit by applying a nontoxic lotion or spray to your body before bed. Incorporate a massage or a therapeutic bath into your routine.
With magnesium on your side, you may notice that the energy you’ve been craving has finally returned. The stress you’ve been carrying for so long begins to fade. And you finally feel like yourself again.
Ready to see what magnesium can do for your body? Follow us on Instagram to share about your topical magnesium journey!
]]>But all of a sudden you’re hit with the exact opposite of bliss.
A piercing headache.
Synthetic fragrances impact everyone differently. For some, it’s a headache and stabbing sinus pain that sounds the alarm. For others, synthetic fragrance exposure might not be noticed until it starts clogging the liver or affecting your weight and blood sugar levels.
After years of exposure to synthetic fragrances, nasty chemicals, and hormone disruptors, some people find that they can’t tolerate scents at all—not even healthy ones like essential oils.
Let’s break down the difference between synthetic fragrances, essential oils, and completely unscented products—to find the exact match that’s right for you.
Way back in pioneer times, bathtime was a luxury. Natural scents (in the form of essential oils or floral bouquets), were used to hide the fact that the wearer might not have washed in recent weeks…or even months.
We’re grateful that showers and baths are a regular occurrence in our day and age. At the same time, we shudder at the thought that we’ve accepted synthetic and chemical-filled fragrances without a second thought.
Endless synthetic perfumes line grocery store shelves, promising your “signature scent” and a better-smelling you. What they don’t disclose is that they could be hiding ingredients known to disrupt hormones and leave pollution (plastics) in your body.
The truth is, you don’t have to trade in your health to smell good.
Unless you’re consciously scanning ingredient labels, most drugstore lotions contain a secret slew of nasty chemicals that can cause anything from headache and nausea to hormone disruption and liver overload.
For the purpose of protecting “trade secrets,” most companies aren’t even required to disclose the chemicals that go into their fragrances. Based on our research and experience, synthetic fragrances should be avoided at all costs.
Many essential oils (including one of our favorites: frankincense essential oil) come with added health benefits like improved sleep, natural antibacterial properties, and stress relief.
While essential oils are a much healthier option that we prefer, they’re still not for everyone. If you struggle with eczema, allergic reactions, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), multiple chemical sensitivity, or a chronic illness that makes it difficult for you to tolerate natural essential oils, an unscented product (like our Unscented Tallow Balm) may be the best option for you.
Unscented tallow balm is exactly what it sounds like. All the benefits of natural tallow, without any kind of added fragrance. No synthetics, no essential oils, no herbs—just skin-focused ingredients.
We do love the added benefit of a gentle essential oil, but we understand that it’s not for everyone. Here’s who we believe would benefit most from our unscented products:
When someone has a weakened immune system, added scents (no matter how natural and healthy) can become just another thing for their body to process. This is why we’re passionate about creating synthetic fragrance-free skincare, lightly scented Tallow Balms, and product options that are completely unscented.
You’re ready to try fragrance-free skincare…but you don’t know how exactly this change will help you. Here are some of the many benefits you could experience when switching to unscented products.
1. Less Irritation for Sensitive Skin
If you have extremely sensitive skin, you may need to proceed with caution when it comes to adding new skincare products to your routine. Even the cleanest essential oils could worsen ongoing symptoms or create redness. By going fragrance-free, you reduce the odds of a reaction while giving your skin an environment where it can thrive.
2. Unscented Tallow Balm for Eczema Can Help You Avoid Flare-Ups
When your skin is breaking out, the fewer ingredients you expose it to, the better. Unscented Tallow Balm can give your skin a much-needed break from irritants—and space to heal. Allow your Tallow Balm to go the extra mile by removing more ingredients for better health.
3. Unscented Tallow Balm Is Generally Better for Babies
Babies and children have sensitive skin—and a sensitive immune system. It’s generally better to expose them to gentle skincare products, which means less fragrance.
By removing fragrance, you not only protect your baby’s skin but you can also safeguard their delicate immune system. There are some occasions when the immune system can recognize essential oils as an outsider and kick into gear. This is more common in babies and people with chronic illnesses.
4. Unscented Tallow Balms May Be the Better Option for People with Histamine Sensitivity and Chronic Illness
Histamine sensitivity means your body is hyper-aware of the allergens that surround you. You may have allergies, MCAS, or another condition that makes it difficult for your liver and immune system to process toxins.
Here’s one thing you shouldn’t do when pursuing fragrance-free skincare: choose something packed full of chemicals and fillers.
These nasty ingredients can be huge offenders and deterrents on your journey to whole-body wellness. Choosing a fragrance-free product that still has parabens and phthalates will likely be just as disruptive to your microbiome and overall wellness.
At Toups and Co, we’ve made it our mission to provide the cleanest skincare products, always. When you shop our synthetic fragrance-free skincare products, you can feel confident that scents, parabens, and chemicals will never disrupt your healing journey.
Our brand-new quiz will walk you through the process of picking a flawless color match—completely customized to you.
And if you’re still not completely confident, our customer-favorite foundation test kit allows you to try the product and the shades before committing to the full bottle.
Before you test drive your soon-to-be foundation favorite, here are a few essential things to know about skincare and blemish cover-ups…
Organic foundation is an amazing tool for covering imperfections and hiding acne—but it isn’t magic. You should spend equal time and effort taking care of your skin. Whether that means rebalancing your sebum and microbiome (for acne) or targeting wrinkles and age spots with antioxidants and nature’s retinol, your skincare routine should receive just as much attention as your makeup routine!
Don’t believe us? Check out the reviews section for our organic makeup primer. Not only does primer add healthy ingredients to the skin (antioxidants and aloe vera leaf juice), but it acts as a moisturizer and encourages smooth foundation application. Easy, all-day wear is what we’re all about, and primer does all that and more.
A luxurious and elevated alternative to our makeup primer is using our glow serum for the same purpose. Glow serum will ensure the smooth application of your organic foundation, and as the name suggests, truly give your skin an exceptional healthy, and natural glow. Helichrysum essential oil is in the nutrient-packed lineup of ingredients in the serum— and is known for its ability to aid in fading age spots and skin discolorations.
Have you heard the rumors? Foundation can make your breakouts worse. Drugstore brands are especially bad at clogging pores, allowing chemicals to seep into the skin, and can even create premature wrinkles. Ingredients are essential to today’s application and tomorrow’s skin health. When picking your dream foundation, make sure to choose wholesome and natural ingredients that focus on long-term and holistic health.
Tested by hundreds and prepared specifically for you. No more wasting time and money on foundation shades that don’t match. Here, we’ll walk you through each question on our foundation quiz so you can feel empowered when choosing your shade-to-be.
When it comes to finding the best organic foundation for your skin, you have to understand your own chemical makeup and feel confident about your style preferences. How do you imagine your organic foundation will improve your skin?
Liquid foundation is similar to drugstore foundation in its application and wear (although ours has no added chemicals or fillers). It allows thicker coverage, an airbrushed finish, and can be applied with fingers or a makeup brush. It’s best for dry and combination skin.
Powder foundation (aka mineral makeup) may be a better choice for sensitive or acne-prone skin. The light application doesn’t block pores and provides buildable coverage. The final look is fairly natural but can be accentuated with concealer, eye makeup, blush, and more.
Read Our Guide to Learn More: Liquid Foundation vs Powder Foundation
Have you ever noticed you look good in bright colors, but not pastels? That’s your skin undertone in action—and it’s not just influencing your clothing choices.
Your undertone should be a driving force behind your clothing, makeup, and jewelry selections. By understanding cool, neutral, and warm tones, you can easily harness your natural beauty.
Since organic foundation shades are created with cool and warm color bases, it’s important to understand your own undertone so you can pick the best option for your features.
The easiest way to determine your skin’s undertone is to look at your jewelry selection (we mention this in our quiz). However, there are a few additional ways to double-check whether your skin is cool, neutral, or warm…
If your veins appear blue and you look best in silver jewelry, you probably have a cool undertone. You can double-check by trying on a white shirt and a cream shirt. If the cream suits you best, your undertone is definitely cool.
Medium skin looks good in gold or silver jewelry. Vein colors may hover between blue and green. Neutral tones are able to fit a lot more clothing colors into their closet without appearing washed out.
If gold is your go-to jewelry color and your veins appear green, then you have warm undertones in your skin. Contrary to popular belief, your skin’s undertone isn’t dependent on your hair color or other features. People with dark, light, and medium skin can all have warm, cool, or neutral undertones. Remember, the undertone is more about the color of your veins.
Okay, we know you have a preference for liquid foundation vs. powder foundation, but just hear us out: There are certain skin types that do better with liquid foundation and other skin types that thrive when using powder.
By understanding your skin type, you’ll help our expert system understand exactly what’s going on beneath the surface. In our opinion, the goal of foundation isn’t just to “cover-up”—it’s to increase the health of your skin over time. Knowing your current skin type helps us do this.
Before applying your foundation, we recommend a moisturizer and primer simply to protect the skin barrier and keep it from flaking. For this skin type, a liquid foundation is usually preferred to lock in moisture.
Contrary to popular belief, oily skin may need… more oil. When the skin barrier is imbalanced, sebum may overproduce. Oil cleansing helps to rebalance that sebum and oil production over time. Essentially, it lets the skin know, “hey, you’re safe. You don’t need to overcompensate.” Follow up your skincare routine with a powder or liquid foundation.
With combination skin, we recommend experimentation. Go with your intuition on your foundation choice and then see which options work best for your skin. Don’t forget to implement a powerful skincare routine, too.
You honestly have no complaints. You hit the genes jackpot and strangers often compliment your skin. For a balanced complexion, we recommend wearing either liquid foundation or mineral makeup whenever you need a little pick-me-up. You may be one of those lucky people who can toss the concealer.
Is it really impolite to ask a woman’s age? Don’t worry, your secret is safe with us. As far as we know, you’re still twenty-five for the tenth year in a row.
The age category helps us understand your skin’s specific needs. Aging skin may require more attention to detail when picking a foundation, while younger skin can usually get away with a few different options.
For instance, if your main concern is smoothing wrinkles, we recommend a liquid foundation and skincare routine. Mineral makeup can sometimes settle into fine lines and won’t create as smooth a finish.
Are you an every day or once-in-a-while kind of makeup wearer? This could easily influence your foundation choice. In general, if you’re not wearing foundation every day, we recommend a little concealer here and there and a mineral foundation for rainy days. But if makeup is a ritual, then get out your makeup brush and make our liquid foundation your new BFF.
We can’t wait to see how your brand-new organic foundation suits you! While the quiz may take some effort up front, we hope it pays off when you get organic foundation delivered straight to your door.
Meanwhile, we’ll let you in on a secret:
Our organic beauty brand isn’t just non-toxic. It’s pro-wellness.
It works behind the scenes to improve your complexion so that makeup eventually becomes optional rather than a necessity. Even down to our foundation recipes, ingredients are hand-picked to provide benefit to your complexion and work to improve the microbiome, sebum, and body as a whole.
Ready to see where healthy ingredients can take you?
We have a trick up our sleeves, and it has to do with fragrance in skincare products.
When you evaluate a bottle of lotion or shampoo, you may feel overwhelmed by a long list of unpronounceable ingredients. Luckily, there’s one ingredient that will tell you everything you need to know…
“Fragrance” is one of the best ways to judge whether or not a product is clean. In our opinion, it’s a dead giveaway that something isn’t quite right.
It’s not because pleasant scents or perfumes are inherently bad (we often use essential oils to scent our products). But when placed on an ingredient label, fragrance holds a whole lot more than meets the eye…
Your favorite scent has a dirty secret. Due to industry trade laws (aka, don’t-steal-my-recipe), skincare companies aren’t required to disclose the cocktail of chemicals used to make their signature scents.
Translation? More than 3,000 different toxic chemicals may be included in your skincare products—without your knowledge.
It’s all hiding under the term “fragrance” (or “parfum”). With thousands of chemicals approved by the FDA for one simple term, what’s hiding in fragrance is anyone’s guess.
The concern doesn’t stop there. While the term “fragrance” is supposed to be reserved for scent alone (usually a drop in the bucket compared to other ingredients), many companies use this label to hide extra fillers and chemicals they don’t want you to know about.
Greenwashing brands, specifically, will proudly disclose healthy ingredients on their product—secretly hiding the toxic ones under “fragrance.”
How can you tell? Check to see if “fragrance” is one of the first few ingredients listed.
What chemicals are in your skincare? Here are just a few ingredients that could be hiding in your clean beauty products:
… and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Most of these chemicals listed are linked to endocrine disruption—and some are banned in the European Union and California.
Is fragrance in skincare actually impacting your day-to-day life? Many people excuse fragrances and other toxic chemicals because they don’t create immediate allergy symptoms.
…or do they?
Maybe we’re just not looking hard enough.
While respiratory symptoms, itchy eyes, and headaches are common reactions to chemicals, everyone responds differently. In our opinion, there’s no way a hefty dose of endocrine disruptors and carcinogens isn’t impacting your health.
Not sure how you’re reacting? Here are just a few common concerns associated with fragrance in skincare:
Often, chemicals can mimic estrogen and hormones in the human body, throwing the endocrine system out of balance. Since the endocrine system is in charge of metabolism, hormone regulation, and blood sugar control, these are usually the systems impacted. Watch for weight gain, high blood sugar, and painful periods.
Not all chemicals wash away when you take a shower. Microscopic particles of plastic may enter our water sources by way of bathing, showering, or swimming—polluting the environment.
For those with sensitive skin, fragrance is a common cause of discomfort. Have you ever carefully vetted the ingredients of a clean beauty product and still had a reaction? Likely, this is because of the undisclosed chemicals lurking under “fragrance.”
Toxic burden occurs when the body becomes so overloaded with pathogens, endocrine disruptors, and mycotoxins that it simply cannot handle another blow to the immune system.
When you reach the toxic burden stage, you’ll know it! Likely, you’ll experience sluggishness, brain fog, weight gain, and a lot of inconclusive doctor’s visits. Removing chemicals and fragrances can give your immune system the relief it needs to kick back into gear.
Many of the ingredients in our skincare products are considered toxic only in large amounts. This is how companies get away with including heavy metals, formaldehyde, and parabens in their recipes.
But think about it: women on average use twelve different beauty products per day. Regular use adds up—and suddenly you’re experiencing symptoms from the “minuscule” amount of toxins in your products.
Some of these toxins are linked to central nervous system damage and may cause headaches, tiredness, and brain fog.
Does all this knowledge about fragrance make you want to burn every lotion bottle you own? It’s an acceptable (and normal) response.
But there is a way to find balance in your beauty routine without obsessing over every scented product in your home.
There are ways to keep the scent without the chemicals!
With the right research and a healthy fear of greenwashing, clean beauty products can be a safe and healthy option for you and your family. At Toups and Co, we appreciate the value of a pleasantly scented product—just as much as anyone!
The difference? We use high-quality essential oils to provide health benefits and a subtle aroma that’s safe to use on anyone.
There are situations where you might want to opt for fragrance-free skincare products. If you or someone in your family has extremely sensitive skin, severe allergies, or a medical condition (like Multiple Chemical Sensitivity), it may be best to leave the scents behind, at least temporarily.
This can give your body a break—allowing the immune system to catch up and heal before an essential oil is introduced.
Essential Oil Use Tip: If you are experimenting with different essential oils in clean beauty products, make sure you use a carrier oil. This is something like coconut oil, olive oil, or tallow that spreads out the application and reduces the risk of irritation for extremely sensitive skin.
While you’re in the throes of researching chemicals in skincare, it’s important to remember that the beauty industry isn’t all bad news. So many family companies have been working to retain the integrity of their products through generations.
And the remedies our ancestors used before chemicals entered the scene? They are still available to us—and work better than ever.
Whether you’re just starting your clean skincare journey or you’re a seasoned pro, we’re here to walk alongside you through research, investigation, curiosity, and lifestyle changes.
Maybe it’s an overly fragrant air freshener, the cleaning aisle at the store, or the overwhelming aroma of fresh paint. Whatever the source, you aren’t crazy for thinking these scents could be affecting you physically. And you are not imagining it.
Volatile organic compounds (or VOCs for short) are airborne chemicals found in widely-used household cleaning products, paint, pesticides, gasoline, and more (most likely, anything that has a strong chemical scent).
And they, certainly, could be impacting your health.
Extreme exposure to VOCs has been known to impact major organs, like the liver and kidneys, as well as the nervous system. Low-level exposure may cause temporary symptoms, including headache, allergic reaction, and nausea.
So how do you know if volatile organic compounds are affecting you?
Volatile organic compounds (or VOCs) are gases released into our breathing air. They are most known for their presence in factories and treatment plants—and may contribute to poor outdoor air quality in industrial areas.
But VOCs are not exclusively present outside and in chemical-ridden factories. There are probably a number of them in your home right now. Volatile organic compounds can be found in household cleaning products, home-building materials, and even your everyday makeup and skincare essentials.
While they may not visibly pollute our indoor air, there’s evidence to show they’re entering our lungs and bloodstreams—just from everyday exposure.
So what exactly is a VOC? These examples of volatile organic compounds will help you recognize them in your household products:
Chemical Name: |
You Might Find It In: |
Benzene |
Dry shampoo, sunscreen, spray deodorant, hand sanitizer. |
Formaldehyde |
Cosmetics, shampoo, conditioner, paint, fabric softener, building materials, lotion, nail polish, baby wash. |
Methylene Chloride |
Lightening cream, hair spray, cosmetics, spray deodorant. |
Isopropyl alcohol |
Moisturizer, lotion, body cream, cosmetics, aftershave. |
Toluene |
Nail polish, eyelash glue, hair dye. |
Acetone |
Nail polish remover, hair dye, nail polish, skincare products, cosmetics. |
Volatile organic compounds are used as preservatives and fillers in cosmetic and beauty products. We know that in heavy doses, many studies (including, but not limited to 1, 2, 3, 4) show that various VOCs can cause damage to major organs. But in small doses? There just isn’t enough research.
Cosmetic companies claim that VOCs are safe to use. But with an onslaught of autoimmune diseases and recent studies showing heavy absorption of skincare ingredients, we’re skeptical.
These symptoms may be associated with exposure to household VOCs:
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) occurs when physical symptoms of illness are triggered by the use of household chemicals. MCS may be brought on by a traumatic event (like a chemical spill), or it may result from an overloaded immune system. Either way, one thing is true: the VOCs found in makeup, lotion, moisturizer, dry shampoo, and nail polish are all triggers for MCS.
Symptoms of MCS include:
While you work on root cause treatments for Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (such as brain retraining, lymphatic drainage, and dietary changes), you can also gradually replace your chemical-laden products with organic ones made from clean ingredients.
These can not only help relieve symptoms of MCS but may also be able to support your body’s recovery by balancing your hormones, too.
Replace your windex with microfiber towels.
Fill your once toxic makeup bag to the brim with clean products.
Toss your aerosol cans (a huge offender for VOCs) in favor of stick deodorants, bottled dry shampoo, and healthy sunscreen.
But VOCs are everywhere—and you can only limit so much exposure in the home.
We recommend using a high-quality HEPA filter to clean indoor air. Make sure you regularly check for gas and propane leaks (these are considered VOCs and can pollute your indoor air).
Open your windows whenever possible, eat high-quality foods, and limit stress. All of these lifestyle changes will help you create a healthy environment—so that when VOC exposure occurs, your health stays intact.
When we started our organic makeup company, one of our biggest efforts was learning how to make clean beauty products without fillers and additives.
Commonly used fillers in cosmetic products contain various VOCs, which are convenient for the creation of the product itself. As the name suggests, “fillers” fill up space, so active ingredients can be evenly dispersed.
When we started making our own organic makeup products, we were surprised by how easy it was to create high-quality products without fillers.
Instead of watering our products down with VOCs, we fill our bottles to the brim with active ingredients. This improves the overall customer experience and the effectiveness of the product—and it protects our customers from toxic VOCs and other harmful chemicals.
While we’re certainly not fans of spraying volatile organic compounds into our environment, we also recognize how difficult it is to switch to a toxin-free lifestyle. Retail store shelves are packed full of products containing VOCs and toxic chemicals—and obtaining clean products without getting greenwashed can feel impossible.
Here’s our philosophy: take your time.
Research which chemicals and products matter to you.
Understand your own health concerns and find products that prioritize those.
And above all, don’t stress. Its affects are harmful on your health, too.
You can give up VOCs without giving up your lifestyle.
]]>Organic foundation is a customer favorite…and that’s no shock to us. Not only is it created with an array of good-for-you ingredients (hello, aloe vera leaf juice and shea butter) but you won’t find anything questionable in our products, either.
No parabens, no phthalates, no fillers, no formaldehyde…you get the idea.
Many of our customers report an improved complexion after using the foundation consistently (and no, it’s not just from that cover-up magic).
We get it, no one likes change. So let’s call these improvements.
We’ve improved our customer-favorite organic foundation with a few small tweaks. Here’s what to expect:
Our formulas haven’t changed. But the name of your favorite foundation has. This is because we’re creating space for additional color shades. Yep, even more Toups and Co organic foundation coming to your mailbox in the future!
While you’re adjusting to the recent improvements, consult this chart to ensure you purchase your ride-or-die shade.
Previous Shade Name |
New Shade Name |
Porcelain |
Magnolia |
Bisque |
Oyster |
Nude |
Gulf Sand |
Bamboo |
Sea Oats |
Cork |
Wicker |
Almond |
Pecan |
Sandalwood |
Praline |
Caramel |
Brulee |
Chestnut |
Chai |
Honey |
Maple |
Mocha |
Clay |
Cocoa |
Oak |
We take our commitment as a clean makeup brand seriously—and want to ensure there’s no chance that microplastics could make their way into your skin or body. That’s why we’ve made the switch to glass bottles only. Plastic leaching never had a chance…
Glass bottles also reflect our commitment to the environment. The new-and-improved bottles are recyclable. We want to do our part in eliminating toxins in all practices!
So why are we so passionate about creating the best ingredient-rich organic foundation on the market? We believe women should be allowed to express themselves through makeup—without having to compromise on ingredients.
When we started Toups and Co, there weren’t a lot of options for organic makeup available. But we quickly learned that we could replace toxic fillers with high-quality ingredients, infuse our products with nontoxic pigmentation, and never compromise on product quality.
It was almost too easy.
Let’s break it down: Here’s the difference you can expect from Toups and Co products.
Toups and Co Organics |
Drugstore Makeup Brands |
Aloe vera leaf juice, shea butter, herbal extracts, Vitamin E, zinc oxides, candelilla wax, and more. Read the full ingredients list. |
Fragrance (aka undisclosed chemicals), formaldehyde releasers, parabens, phthalates, petroleum, microplastics, triclosan (antimicrobial agents), sulfates, oxybenzone, talc, and more. |
We’re confident you’ll love the application of our organic foundation, but we have a few tricks up our sleeve to create an even more smooth and air-brushed finish.
We can’t talk enough about the difference a high-quality makeup primer or moisturizer makes for your skin and makeup application. It’s actually game-changing.
A makeup primer leaves a smooth (not greasy) finish on your skin, allowing your organic foundation to glide on without any bumps or smudges. Makeup is applied more evenly, and you may be able to use less organic foundation overall.
Another way that primer comes in clutch is by improving the blend of organic makeup. You’ll feel confident trying out the elusive smokey eye or layering your foundation—without keeping emotional-support makeup wipes nearby.
If you’re removing your organic makeup with a toxic makeup remover, you’re missing the point. Chemical-filled makeup removers can strip the important natural oils from your face while leaving icky ingredients to seep into your skin all night long.
Instead of typical makeup removers, we recommend taking off your organic foundation with the oil cleansing method. Not only does oil cleansing work to remove makeup, dirt, and the day’s impurities but it can also replenish the natural oils on your face and feed your microbiome.
The oil cleansing method is popular for both aging skin and acne-prone skin. Since healthy oil deposits moisture into the skin, it can guard against wrinkles. Additionally, a dose of healthy oil can actually help prevent breakouts—by alerting your skin that it has enough moisture and doesn’t need to overproduce.
Even with accurate pictures and thorough descriptions, it can feel intimidating to commit to a foundation shade over the internet. Our priority is to help you find your perfect shade. We want to help you avoid ordering a whole bottle of brand-new organic foundation you can’t wait to try…only for you to be dissatisfied with your shade selection.
That’s why we created our foundation sample sets. You decide whether your skin falls into the light, medium, or dark category—and we handle the rest. We’ll send you four samples of organic foundation, in your selected category, so you can try them all and find the one that’s best for you.
Begin Your Journey to Organic Makeup — Try Our Foundation Sample Set
]]>What’s better for my skin: liquid or powder foundation?
Honestly, there isn’t one right answer. The best organic foundation for your skin depends on your unique beauty needs and skin type.
Your choice of organic foundation isn’t just about getting that final airbrushed look, either. Your foundation should brighten, nourish, and heal your skin—with the purpose of boosting your complexion and confidence whether you’re wearing a full face of makeup or just waking up.
Make a mental list of all the skin issues you’d like your organic foundation to address (wrinkles, acne, dark spots, or oiliness), and let’s dive in...
Giving up your makeup sponge and favorite foundation in the name of clean ingredients doesn’t seem like your idea of fun. But after hearing about phthalates and microplastics, you’re begrudgingly ready to give it a try.
Since powder foundation (aka mineral makeup) can be a big leap from the typical drugstore liquid foundation, we recommend crunchy newbies start out with liquid foundation. It’s easy to apply (just like your favorite drugstore brand) and creates a smooth and lasting finish.
Liquid foundation typically offers more coverage, too. If you’re obsessed with trying out the latest YouTube makeup trends, organic liquid foundation will get the job done—and it will easily blend with other products like bronzer and highlighter. Ours includes healthy ingredients, like aloe vera leaf juice and shea butter, to keep your face glowing long after you take it off.
Are you wearing makeup? Who knows.
Mineral makeup is loved by those who prefer a more natural makeup look. It provides a subtle finish without caking. It’s great for busy moms, gym-goers, shopping trips, and more. People with oily or acne-prone skin often appreciate mineral makeup because the healthy minerals can improve the health and appearance of the skin over time. Oh, did we mention it’s used as a natural sunscreen, too?
Tip: If your past experiences with mineral makeup led to skin irritation and redness, you’re not alone. This reaction is usually due to a cheap filler called bismuth oxychloride. You can read more about our thoughts on bismuth oxychloride here.
How would it feel to wear foundation because you want to, not because you need to?
Organic makeup doesn’t just cover up blemishes. It prioritizes your wellness and environmental sustainability by eliminating common toxic ingredients (like phthalates, parabens, forever plastics, and sketchy fragrances) and replacing them with healthy ingredients (like mica, aloe vera, and herb infusions).
The goal is to gradually improve overall skin health with natural ingredients that nourish the skin instead of stripping it.
There’s no one-size-fits-all foundation choice. We recommend that you pick your organic makeup based on your current skin concerns and goals. Find your skin concern in the chart below and see which foundation is the best fit.
Skin Concern: |
What We Recommend: |
Why It Works: |
Wrinkles |
Liquid foundation |
Since liquid foundation provides more ample coverage, it’s less likely to settle into fine lines. |
Acne |
Mineral makeup |
Acne usually has a root cause, whether it’s gut issues, overproduction of oil, or imbalanced hormones. Mineral makeup ingredients may help naturally balance your complexion. |
Dark spots |
Liquid foundation |
We’d treat dark spots with bakuchiol (nature’s retinol). In the meantime, an organic liquid foundation can be used to cover hyperpigmentation. |
Uneven skin |
Liquid foundation |
For bumps, scarring, and dryness, an organic liquid foundation is usually best for full coverage. |
Redness |
Mineral makeup |
We recommend mineral makeup for skin redness since it provides a lighter finish, allowing the skin to breathe. However, liquid foundation may be used for those with less sensitive skin. |
Clogged pores |
Mineral makeup |
If you worry about clogged pores and blackheads, a light layer of mineral makeup is the perfect solution. |
If you’re blessed with naturally smooth and glossy skin, you may not have any issues that you need your organic foundation to address. In that case, you can make your choice of liquid foundation vs powder foundation based on your skin type.
We recommend mineral makeup for oily skin. It’s lighter, so it’s less likely to cause irritation and breakouts. Plus, it works behind the scenes to gently improve the overall health of the skin.
For combination skin, either type of foundation will work. Start with the liquid foundation and see how your skin reacts. If you notice sensitivity or wish for a more natural-looking application, switch over to mineral makeup and see how it works for you.
For those with dry skin, we especially recommend beginning your makeup routine with our organic makeup primer. This will give you a smooth finish and help prevent dryness and flaking during the day. After your coat of primer, an organic liquid foundation is best. An alternative to using our organic makeup primer is using our glow serum for an exceptional, hydrated, glowing look.
When you think of your morning makeup routine, you have a vision. You know exactly what kind of coverage and color you want to achieve. Whether you’re a makeup minimalist or a contouring pro, these are our suggestions for achieving different levels of coverage.
A coat or two of mineral makeup is exactly what you need to achieve a minimalist makeup look. Add a dab or two of cream blush to put color back into your face and then be on your way.
You don’t want to look like you’re trying too hard, but you also need something to battle the sleepless newborn stage. For medium coverage, apply concealer where necessary (under the eyes and to cover dark spots and acne)—and then finish with a few swift coats of mineral makeup.
You’re all about evenness and tone—and your Instagram pictures are flawless. To achieve a more airbrushed look, start with an all-natural concealer and finish with a liquid foundation. To level up, add a primer, highlighter, and bronzer.
While clever ad campaigns may convince you that one type of foundation is far superior to another, we believe the answer to this question is much deeper—and it lies in you. Understanding your unique skin type and skin needs is key to unlocking the best organic foundation choice for your body. Remember, you could use the exact same foundation brand as your sister or friend and get completely different results.
Trust your intuition. Pay attention to your results. Evaluate all your current skin needs and goals—and choose the foundation that is most likely to get you where you want to be. And don’t be afraid to do a little experimentation along the way.
At Toups and Co, we create liquid foundations and mineral makeups that are health-driven, good for your skin, and don’t include any nasty chemicals or artificial ingredients. If you’re ready to refresh your skin with something new, we hope you’ll give one of our products a try.