What is Clean Beauty (and Why Does It Matter)?
Clean beauty is a buzz phrase these days. You've probably heard about it in the news or through a social media influencer. People are talking about how great it is to have "more natural" products, or companies that eliminate [fill in the blank with a number] harmful or questionable ingredients from their product line, choosing to use safer ingredients instead.
In fact, the clean beauty market is estimated to be worth $6.5 billion US dollars as of 2021 (1), with a rapid projection rate as demand from consumers continues to increase.
So, what is clean beauty anyway, and why are so many people looking for products with clean claims?
There are a lot of definitions for clean beauty but here are the general things consumers look for:
- Transparent ingredient lists
- Natural and organic ingredient claims
- Non-toxic ingredient claims
- Vegan
- Cruelty-free
- Free from common allergens (gluten, soy, etc.)
- Environmentally friendly/sustainability efforts
- Less plastic use
These are all great things to look for, but when 1 in 3 beauty products on the market are now labeled as "clean", they may not be very helpful for the average consumer, especially when 68% of American CEOs and other leaders (and 58% of European leaders) admit to greenwashing their products (2). (More on greenwashing to come in a future post!) For this reason, it is important for the consumer to become more conscious of what they're shopping for by doing their research.
First, it's important to remember to always turn the package over and read the ingredient list. (If you're browsing online, find the full ingredient list.) The higher the ingredient is on that list, the higher its concentration level within a product. A label always lists ingredients based on concentration. Often, the first ingredient will be water, in which case, you'll also want to take note of the preservative system used.
Although studies have linked parabens to breast cancer (3, 4), they are still common in many beauty products. For many products, phenoxyethanol has taken the place of parabens but still may cause plenty of health concerns for the skin and children (5). Also, "preservative-free" claims with any products containing water are false and should be replaced on the shelf. I know I'm not the only one who would like a bacteria- and mold-free beauty experience.
Preservatives aren't the only thing to keep an eye on. With over 10,000 chemicals used to manufacture beauty products currently allowed in the US, and 90% of those having never been tested for safety, there's a large number of concerning ingredients. That doesn't mean that chemicals are bad. It's a myth that a product can be "chemical-free" since every element, compound, and solution are made up of chemicals. That said, it can be overwhelming to start reading through lists of ingredients without a good idea of what to spot, which is why I recommend the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics as a good starting point for learning which chemicals pose the greatest harm to our health.
Remember, small steps are the best steps for sustainable changes. Don't try to swallow all the information at once. There's a lot to remember when starting to make clean changes.
What if you cannot find an ingredient list? Safe to say that company isn't transparent and it's best to avoid purchasing that product line. Transparency is the biggest key to finding authentic clean beauty and personal care products, and to giving consumers full awareness of what they're buying. And conscious consumers always turn over the ingredient list, even if they've purchased that product before, because labels change.
Second, when it comes to good ingredients, prioritize certified organic ingredients. With so many claims out there on the market, it's helpful to know which companies are using certified organic ingredients. This is because there is zero regulation on marketing claims. "All-natural", "non-toxic", "natural", "green", and so many other claims are simply that – claims (6). Companies that use certified organic ingredients ensure that those plant-based ingredients found in their products are free from many toxic residues, including pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and rodenticides. When certified organic ingredients cannot be gotten, say due to supply chain issues, look for non-GMO ingredients.
Third, keep an eye open for third-party testing while shopping for clean beauty products (7). Since allergens are on the rise in the US, in addition to the health concerns posed by such beauty ingredients like pigments, companies that specify that they third-party test their products to be free from gluten, soy, heavy metals, phthalates, BPA/BPS, or even possible fluorinated compounds, are showing that they are looking after consumer welfare. They go above and beyond to make sure that human health takes priority, but not at the expense of animals, either. Many companies who third-party test also are cruelty-free - just make sure you look for the Leaping Bunny certification rather than a mere cruelty-free claim.
If you do not see much of this information on a product's packaging, or you've not heard of a certification or company alliance before, try checking out the brand's website for further information. If you still have questions, send them an email asking for specifics. Ask all your questions! Brands emphasizing transparency will give you their time and answer to the best of their ability, sometimes pointing you to other resources for further information.
In the end, you should be completely comfortable making a purchase from a company based on the like-minded values you share.
Finally, take a look at the packaging itself, avoiding plastics whenever possible. The beauty industry uses 120 billion units of single-use plastic packaging per year (8), much of which ends up in landfills and oceans. With the giant floating plastic islands clogging our waters and filling up waterways, and concerns about the effects of plastics on marine life and birds, it's safe to say that we have a problem on our hands. So many companies make packaging pretty, which is easy to do with plastics, and it's so much lighter to ship when using plastics. Yet more research is showing that plastics are leeching hormone-disrupting chemicals into our beauty routines (9). They also may negatively affect active compounds like peptides by absorbing or denaturing them (10), reducing the effectiveness of the product as well as increasing health risks.
This is especially important for women, who use 12 products per day on average, which contain an average of 168 ingredients. (For men, it's about half these numbers, but growing from increased product use.) Women of color face increased risks associated with higher use of more toxic ingredients such as those found in hair straighteners, nail products, and skincare (11). (For a quick breakdown of some of these risks, consider checking out HBO Max's Not So Pretty.) Since hormones govern a large part of women's health, disruption to the natural rhythm of hormone cycles can create such dysfunction like estrogen dominance, a concern that may lead to breast cancer (12).
Are we starting to see a pattern here?
The term "clean beauty" might have come in during the 1990's with "clean eating", but the science is showing that it has long-lasting effects on reducing body burden, which in turn helps improve overall health.
Here is how I define clean beauty: It is a mission educating consumers about the ingredients in their products in order to positively impact human health and the environment. It is an effort made by companies to bring better, safer products to an industry that's inundated with thousands of toxic chemicals. And it is a movement by the public to take back their health and consumer rights by demanding full transparency on labels and in the business practices of manufacturers, brands, and agencies that more often put profits before people.
I'd love to hear from you on this topic! What do you look for when shopping for clean beauty, or is this the first time you've heard about this movement?
Sources:
(1) https://www.statista.com/statistics/1303754/market-value-of-clean-beauty-worldwide/
(2) https://theconsciousinsider.com/clean-beauty-statistics-trends-market/
(3) https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/10465/
(4) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22744862/
(5) https://www.safecosmetics.org/chemicals/phenoxyethanol/
(6) https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetics-labeling-claims/organic-cosmetics
(7) https://www.fortinet.com/blog/industry-trends/the-value-of-third-party-testing
(9) https://ecologycenter.org/factsheets/adverse-health-effects-of-plastics/
(11) https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/cosmetics/index.cfm
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