CLEAN BEAUTY

Clean Beauty

Clean beauty is a term many brands use to market their products. Such makeup and skincare products claim to be free of toxic chemicals that can damage your skin including parabens, heavy metals, and phthalates. They also claim to be cruelty-free, gluten-free, and vegan. However, there is some controversy surrounding clean beauty products because many speculate that product labeling isn’t as transparent as it should be with many products still containing synthetic ingredients.

What is Clean Beauty?

Clean beauty refers to cosmetics and skincare products that are natural and do not contain any harmful ingredients, such as:

• Parabens
• Phthalates
• SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate)
• Artificial fragrances and colors
• Aluminum compounds
• And much more

According to the American Chemical Society, 85% of personal care and beauty products include parabens. Parabens are preservatives that increase the shelf life of a product preventing yeast, fungus and bacteria from growing. But this ingredient can trigger allergic reactions and skin irritations. Phthalates, on the other hand, are used to increase the longevity and durability of plastic and are often found in moisturizers, hair sprays, and shampoos. Continued use of products formulated with phthalates can lead to problems with your lungs, liver, and kidneys.

Sodium lauryl sulfate, often found in cleansers, is used to thicken and stabilize cosmetics so that the products achieve a smoother application. The ingredient, that is also used in cleaning products to remove residue and oily stains, strips the skin of its natural oils which causes irritation, dry skin, and allergic reactions. Reading this, it can often be hard to believe that these ingredients are in products that you apply to your skin and body.

This is why clean beauty has become so prominent over the last few years. Dermatologists have petitioned for beauty, skincare, and personal care products to be 100% natural, organic, vegan, eco-friendly, and cruelty-, paraben-, and sulfate-free. They further advocated for product labels to be 100% transparent and clear to the consumer.

The Problem of Greenwashing in Clean Beauty

Unfortunately, the beauty industry is prone to greenwashing, which is the process of misleading consumers by claiming to be natural, organic, or eco-friendly when they are not in fact any of those things. It is a marketing tactic many brands use to increase their sales. Because of this, clean beauty products might not be as clean as you think. A big reason for this is that there is no regulatory body that governs and checks how ‘clean’ products actually are.

Besides that, there is no legal definition of clean beauty to ensure brands use the right ingredients or omit harmful ones. Definitions of clean beauty also depend on the brand you are purchasing the clean beauty or skincare products from. Although some products do not contain harmful ingredients for example, they may still have been tested on animals or are not eco-friendly. But to that particular brand, their products are still clean and can be marketed as such. So, be sure to thoroughly research the brand and product before purchasing to ensure their products are clean.

Our final words...

Clean beauty has been a huge topic of conversation over the past few years with dermatologists and the public advocating for natural, organic, and green products as well as transparent labeling. But the bottom line is that with many beauty, skincare, and personal care products that claim to be ‘clean’, you may not always get a product that is as ‘clean’ as you wish it to be. So, make sure you research the brand, their ethos, and their views on clean beauty, as well as the product ingredients before you purchase.