Taking A Deeper Look Into "Clean Beauty"
We have all heard of clean beauty, we see it in specific sections at Sephora, Ulta Beauty, and our favorite beauty stores. But the question I’m here to answer is: “What is clean beauty, and what is it not?”
I am a clean beauty makeup artist and holistic health coach and it is one of my many passions to share this important information with as many people as possible. So many people are unaware of the truth behind clean beauty, and I am hoping this won’t be the case for long.
Clean beauty is defined as beauty products that are free of specific ingredients like sulfates, parabens, phthalates, significant amounts of synthetic fragrance, and more. What most people don’t know is that the beauty industry is not regulated by anyone. What does this mean? That each beauty company has the ability to create its own rules and products with no one to report to. This includes the clean beauty community. Clean beauty does not always mean the product is truly clean, just free from a small number of harmful ingredients. Most of the products sold at our local beauty stores are filled with toxic ingredients and chemicals that are known carcinogens, wreak havoc on our hormones and fertility, and can cause respiratory issues over long-term use. Most of the clean beauty products sold at our local beauty stores are still filled with toxic ingredients, so it’s important to know what to look for and what to avoid. I believe becoming your own advocate allows you to decide for yourself if a product is safe for YOU, rather than taking a company’s word for it.
Let’s take a closer look at some ingredients that we should absolutely avoid in our beauty products :
Talc - potential to be contaminated with asbestos (rat poison) known carcinogen and instigator of lung disease. Usually found in powder products like setting powders, bronzers, blush, etc
Fragrance - this is an umbrella term for over a hundred different chemicals that a brand is not required to disclose - known to be endocrine disruptors, disrupt our hormones and negatively affect respiratory health. Another word you may see is “parfum”. Found in liquid and cream products like setting sprays, moisturizers, primers, etc.
Lake - dyes that are carcinogenic.
Parabens - mimic estrogen, toxic to the reproductive system, and toxic to the immune system and skin
PEG - endocrine disruptor and DNA damage
Blue 1/ Red 27/ Red 7 - there are so many of these written differently, they are pigments made from coal tar, may be contaminated by heavy metals, and are carcinogenic.
These are just a few of the many ingredients to avoid in your clean beauty and beauty products. It can be overwhelming at first, but I promise there are some amazing brands out there that are not using these harmful ingredients in their products. I will be sharing my favorite brands and products in future blog posts. Additionally, I love utilizing the switch natural app to help me scan my beauty products. Since there is such a long list of ingredients we need to watch out for, this app takes the guessing out of it and allows you to scan the products you are interested in and also tells you why each ingredient should be avoided. The app also provides you with a shop for quality swaps that have already been scanned by the app, so you can find better options and brands directly.
If you notice any of these ingredients in your current beauty products I highly recommend swapping them out for a better option from a brand that is creating great quality products. When we support brands that are doing their part in the beauty industry we are voting with our dollars, and creating the standard for more brands to create better quality products without harmful ingredients.
The fact that we even need to create the term clean beauty says a lot about the industry, shouldn’t beauty products already be free of harmful chemicals?
Many people are wearing makeup daily, meaning they are using these products daily, and yet so many women are also dealing with hormonal imbalances, this is not a coincidence. Our environment and habits directly affect our health, take a closer look at the products you use regularly. I am sharing this information because we no longer need to be unconscious of it.
If you found this post helpful, please share it with someone you love. I will be back with more clean beauty tips and brands to use instead in my next post.
