CLEAN BEAUTY: WHAT DOES THAT really MEAN?
Your products say: organic; chemical free; natural— so we believe they are clean and safe, but are they?
Clean Beauty. It’s one of the biggest buzzwords these days, but is clean beauty really possible? Whether you’ve heard this term on a cosmetic commercial or spotted it on the label of your newest facial cleanser, you’ve probably been wondering what the meaning of “clean beauty” really is. With the help of several board-certified dermatologists research, we’ll break down the myths and facts about this buzzed about beauty trend that is rapidly gaining momentum and revenue. We will dive in on clean beauty, from the latest innovation in ingredients and brands to look out for, to the environmental impact of your products and why conscious consumers, led by Gen Z and Millennials are driving the change.
Let’s start with the definition of clean beauty. What does it really mean? That seems to be the million-dollar question. After reviewing a lot of different literature, it turns out, there is no clear definition. The main reason behind this is that the beauty industry is not regulated by any governing body, they surprisingly are not under the auspice of the FDA so they are basically free to define themselves however they’d like. Kind of shocking, right? That said, clean beauty is open to interpretation. “Claims such as natural, clean, green and, hypoallergenic have no set definition as yet and without a standard, can be misleading and open to misuse,” says Annee de Mamiel, founder of de Mamiel skincare and a pioneer of plant-based beauty. “Terms like chemical-free are silly because all ingredients are chemicals, whether they are from nature or synthetic” Rose Marie Swift, founder of leading organic line RMS Beauty agrees,” Initially the terms “natural” or “organic” were used to describe products that came from nature. As soon as marketers learned that consumers liked the idea of non-synthetic products, the words began to appear on all sorts of products whether they were truthful or not.”
Shockingly, the last time any regulation was passed was in 1938! Under the outdated Cosmetic Act of 1938, companies aren’t required to use safe ingredients, list all their ingredients, test their products, use good manufacturing practices to prevent contamination, or even recall products they know are dangerous. This is because the products and ingredients are not subject to FDA premarket approval, except for color additives. Because of this, companies get away with labeling them as “fragrances”. With this loophole, fragrances often include hundreds of chemicals lacking safety information. This puts the responsibility on us to really look deeper into the ingredients in the products we are using. One would obviously have to be a chemist to be able to fully interpret a label, but we thought providing a list of toxins to be on the lookout for on your next beauty run might be helpful. Keep your eye out for:
*Formaldehyde
*Fragrances
*Phthalates
*Polyethylene glycol
*Siloxanes
*Triclosan
*Ethanol-amine
*Oxybenzone
*Octinoxate
*Talc
*PF and PFC
*Teflon
*Resorcinol
*Parabens
All these chemicals have been linked to cancer, hormone disruption, skin irritation and allergies.
This is not shared to cause alarm, but knowledge is power, and we can feel good about taking steps to better understand exactly what we are putting in and on our bodies! Think of this list as a jumping off point to our curiosity and learning about less desirable ingredients and clean beauty. Please take the time to do your own research on the list provided to inform your choices about what feels right for you.
The good news is that companies are starting to pay attention. Consumers are beginning to make thoughtful choices. The global wellness industry, according to the non-profit 2018 Global Wellness Economy Report, grew in value from $3.7 trillion in 2015 to $4.2 trillion in 2017, an increase of 12.8 percent. “The wellness economy has grown at nearly twice the rate of global economic growth, the report confirms. Personal care and beauty accounted for $1.082 billion in 2017. Victoria Buchanan, senior futures analyst at The Future Laboratory says that “two things have charged the recent change, an obsession with wellness and detoxification, both in terms of diet and products, is fueling demand for stripped back clean ingredients. Consumers are becoming more knowledgeable about possible irritations caused by synthetic ingredients in fragrances and preservatives and are reading labels more carefully, a habit picked up from the grocery aisle”.
More great news for us is that companies are responding on the own. They are making commitments to make safe, clean products that deliver real results, free of ingredients linked to harmful health effects. Moreover, they are committed to care for the overall environment by prioritizing ingredients and sustainable packaging that are ethically sourced of plant-based origin, and cruelty free. The following are companies that we have test driven their products and find them to be both “Luxe worthy” as well as meeting the clean criteria:
*Drunk Elephant
*Beauty Counter
*Tata Harper
*Milk Makeup
*Maria Nila
Also, the website: Lovelyskin.com carries a robust array of clean brands.
If you’d like to delve further into this topic HBO Max’s: “Not So Pretty,” a four-episode documentary on the beauty industry, brings scientists, lawyers, activists and experts together to help shine a light on this ever-important topic.