138. The Clean Beauty Myth: Toxic Ingredients, Greenwashing, and the Truth About Tallow with Emilie Toups

Most of us choose skincare by the front of the bottle, trusting words like clean, natural, and grass-fed. But many of those labels have no legal definition, and our skin is not the sealed wall we think it is: what we apply every day can make its way into the body.
In this episode of Rooted in Wellness, I sit down with Emilie Toups to explore how to see past greenwashing and choose products the skin actually recognizes. We talk about why "natural fragrance" is still fragrance, what lab testing revealed about imported "grass-fed" tallow, and why going unscented for three months can change how your home smells to you.
Emilie Toups is a mom of five and the founder of Toups & Co Organics, a skincare and makeup brand that began with a batch of tallow balm made in her farmhouse kitchen for her daughter's eczema. Nearly a decade later, Toups & Co has thousands of loyal members and sources its tallow from local, regenerative, grass-fed farmers. She and her husband have built the company without outside investors.
What We Discuss:
(8:45) Why "natural fragrance" on a label is still fragrance.
(9:38) Rapid fire: why Emilie thinks retinol is overrated.
(14:07) What two decades in the cosmetic industry taught Mona about fragrance.
(17:12) Why fragrance is so hard to give up and what changes after three months unscented.
(20:00) Why your skin behaves more like an organ than a wall.
(23:22) The doctor's ultimatum that sent Emilie looking for another way to heal her daughter's eczema.
(34:09) Whether tallow can carry toxins and why the source matters.
(37:16) What lab testing revealed about imported "grass-fed" tallow.
(49:17) Why "clean beauty" labels can mean almost anything.
(51:24) The one ingredient to avoid that weeds out most greenwashed products.
(53:32) Why Mona still found parabens in her urine 20 years after cutting them out.
(55:39) Why not all seed oils belong in the same category for skin.
(1:01:00) What to do when you are doing everything right and still not seeing results.
(1:06:47) Three ingredients to put back on the shelf when shopping for aging skin.
(1:15:27) How a family with five kids eats an ancestral diet without cooking all day.
(1:21:18) Why Emilie stopped keeping snacks in the pantry.
Exclusive Listener Offer: New customers get 25% off the Toups & Co online shop with code MONASHARMA at toupsandco.com/pages/mona-sharma-x-toups-co One use per customer.
Learn more about Mona Sharma:
Download Your FREE Guide, 12 Wellness Tips to Unlock Your Best Health Now: Ready to reclaim your vitality? Download Mona’s 12 Wellness Tips and take actionable steps to transform your health, energy, and mindset. Get started at monasharma.com/12tips
Visit Mona’s website: monasharma.com
Follow Mona on Instagram: @monasharma
Learn more about Emilie Toups & Toups & Co Organics:
Website: toupsandco.com
Instagram: @toupsandcoorganics
Facebook: Toups and Co Organics
Pinterest: @toupsandco