Is Clean Beauty Actually Worth It?
Clean Beauty is a major buzzword that you’ve likely seen pop up amongst your favorite skincare labels. However, clean beauty is not a new concept! Emerging as a key player in the rapidly growing skincare market over the past 15 years, clean beauty rhetoric can now be found in almost every skincare brand you see on the market.
There is no specific definition of what types of products qualify as clean, and with the Food and Drug Administration having limited regulation on cosmetics, the industry is very much self-regulated.
So how do you, as a consumer, tone down the noise of “clean beauty” and really discover if forking over a few extra cash is actually worth it for “clean beauty?”
That’s exactly what we’re discussing in this article!
What is Clean Beauty?
Clean beauty is essentially a better choice for your skin, but it’s important to acknowledge sometimes, the label of clean beauty can be seen as a marketing ploy to opt for the costlier products.
Essentially, the idealistic definition of clean is defined by you, the consumer.
Clean beauty can just mean never compromising your health for the best result. It’s being informed of ingredients that are suspected cancer-causing agents, hormone disruptors, and skin irritators.
Clean beauty can also mean finding products that care for the overall environment, sourcing ingredients ethically, without cruelty, and often sustainable or renewable.
The journey to finding what products work for you can often begin with finding a brand with a good ethos. Brands like our client, Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty or Kate Sommerville’s, are especially active with rigorously vetting and researching what works for various skin types, races, cultural backgrounds, and so much more of what makes you, YOU.
Finding Clean Products.
If finding clean beauty products to live a healthier lifestyle for yourself is important to you, then don’t necessarily focus on the “clean beauty” sticker that may come on a product. Instead, take a look at the ingredients in the products to determine if they’re really “clean.”
When looking for proper skin products, the important list of offenders to avoid include: parabens, phthalates, resorcinol, PEGs, ethanolamines, chemical sunscreens, BHT, PFAS, and heavy metal compounds.
Parabens (a type of preservatives that include words ending in “-paraben” on labels, such as “ethylparaben”) and chemical sunscreens, in particular, are chemicals that are classified as endocrine disruptors because, just as the name suggests, these disruptors mess with the body’s endocrine system that affects our metabolism, mood, and reproductive processes.
Although these disruptors are introduced in small doses, over time, these disruptors have impersonated our hormones and been linked to metabolic problems, long-term health damage, reproductive problems, and cancer.
What ingredients are potentially cancerous?
The main carcinogen to be conscious of is formaldehyde, which is a common preservative for makeup, hair care, body products, fragrance, and skincare.
Unfortunately, formaldehyde is never listed on labels; what is listed instead are chemicals in formulas that release formaldehyde. Things like: 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3 diol (bronopol); diazolidinyl urea; DMDM hydantoin; imidazolidinyl urea; sodium hydroxymethylglycinate; and quaternium-15.
As harrowing as it is to hear, all of these ingredients are completely legal.
Although used in very small doses, like endocrine disruptors, these carcinogens have a considerably long-term and cumulative exposure effect on anyone consuming it in food, using it on their personal care products, or any other products you may come into contact with.
Cutting Out the Noise.
As we mentioned earlier, when searching for “clean beauty products,” it’s best practice to do more research on companies that may claim the “clean beauty” stamp.
That’s because products that use words like natural, green, eco-conscious, and non-toxic could sometimes not have the meaning you think as the term is defined by the company using it.
Furthermore, the lack of regulations in the beauty industry allows companies to not be as transparent as they should be. However, that doesn’t mean transparent companies do not exist.
Due to “call out culture,” brands have decidedly become more transparent.
Brands like Goop, Rare Beauty, and Kate Sommerville have organically shaped brands that aim towards inclusively creating consumer-driven products absent of long-term health effects.
Yay for honest brands, are we right?!
So…is Clean Beauty Actually Worth It?
Personally, we think if you’re pushing to live a clean lifestyle, then clean beauty is worth diving into. However, as we shared, the companies that tout clean beauty aren’t always what you think they are!
Take the time to do your research and make sure you’re investing in products like Rare Beauty or Kate Sommerville as they were really created to help you achieve a clean, healthier lifestyle!