With clean beauty becoming a growing trend, it’s essential to understand how to choose natural and non-toxic skincare products. This guide will help you navigate the world of clean beauty and make informed decisions about the products you use daily.
Understanding Clean Beauty and Its Importance
Clean Beauty is a movement that focuses on using safe, natural, and non-toxic ingredients in personal care products. With nearly 50% of women already using clean beauty products and over 60% willing to splurge on them, it’s clear that this trend is here to stay. However, the beauty industry is self-regulated, and America’s cosmetic regulations for safe products are 81 years old. This means that consumers need to educate themselves to determine what the standards of safe beauty should be.
Ingredients to Avoid and How to Start a Cleaner Beauty Routine
Some ingredients to avoid in beauty products include parabens, which mimic estrogen in the human body and have been linked to reproductive organ harm, thyroid disruption, hormone-related cancers, and obesity. To start a cleaner beauty routine, begin by finding a natural replacement for your daily sunscreen, hand soap, body lotion/wash, and deodorant.
Greenwashing and the Importance of Checking Ingredients
Greenwashing is a widespread practice in the beauty industry, where companies label their products as “natural” or “organic” without any clear definition or regulation. It’s crucial to check the ingredients of products labeled as “natural” to ensure they are genuinely safe and non-toxic. Remember, not all natural products are regulated, and some natural ingredients, such as essential oils, can cause skin irritation.
Regulations and Differences Between the European Union and the United States
The European Union has banned over 1,000 chemicals common in personal care products, while the United States has banned just 11. The FDA has deemed some ingredients of concern, such as phthalates and parabens, as safe, but research suggests they may be potential endocrine disruptors. The European Union has banned the use of five parabens, while the United States allows 20 parabens or paraben-like chemicals. This highlights the importance of consumers taking matters into their own hands and researching the products they use.
