Oh clean beauty, I love you. I really do. And if you’ve been keeping up with my seasonal makeup bag posts, you’ll know just how much I love it. It’s a growing trend that just keeps growing. Fortunately, it’s making it a lot easier for us to get our hands on the less toxic products in the world that won’t cause our skin a bunch of harm. But with every trend, there always seems to be a catch. So today we’re going to dive into everything you need to know about clean beauty before you spend a minor fortune on a new makeup collection. Get ready. It’s going to be a wild ride.
Where Did Clean Beauty Come From?
Essentially, it’s a byproduct of the detox trend from the last few years. Everything from detoxing your body to your bathroom to your home has paved the way for clean beauty with GP taking the lead. It probably doesn’t help that US is awful when it comes to regulating their beauty products. With less than 15 ingredients banned from US cosmetics compared to the EU’s ban of more than 1300 chemical, consumers are being more mindful with their purchases. Thus, we now have clean beauty everywhere. Where the consumers go, the industry will follow.
What Is Clean Beauty?
This one question is the THING behind today’s post. It’s the one thing you NEED to know if you’re going to go clean. Because it’s the one everyone is stamping on their products to sell you their lie.
Remember years ago when low-fat was what you needed in your life. Fat was the enemy and your pantry was only going to be packed with all the low fat goods. Now consider the same of clean beauty. It’s a TREND for a reason. And everyone and their brother wants to jump on board. So if you’re looking to figure out what clean beauty means, it’s going to depend on who you are asking. The standards that Sephora uses vs The Organic Bunny vs Credo Beauty are all different.
The Science Side
I’m a big fan of products that put their money where their mouth is so to speak. And while using natural products is lovely, science is just as amazing. You need both if you want to get the glowing skin + the beneficial ingredients. The one thing I think easily gets lost in the hype of all the clean beauty mojo is that there are lots of natural ingredients that irritate the skin too.
Clean beauty is new and there’s still quite a bit of research to be done. So please don’t let someone’s fear mongering push you over the edge to spend TONS of money on products that don’t perform just because they are clean. It’s not just about things being natural. It’s about products that get the job done AND are better for you.
What People Aren’t Telling You
Let’s be honest: there’s so many clean beauty products that are awful. Just because it’s clean doesn’t mean it’s actually going to get the job done. While I love brands like Beautycounter, W3ll People* and Lily Lolo*, no brand is perfect. Clean beauty is no different than traditional beauty. They just up the price because you pay for what you aren’t getting in your product. It doesn’t mean that price tag equates quality.
Also, a clean beauty label doesn’t mean the product is any better for you. Clean beauty is very much a TREND word right now and marketing companies are capitalizing on it. If you’re unsure of whether or not a product is actually worth a crap, the EWG has a site that lets you search products and gives them a score breakdown. You can discover everything from how toxic it’s going to be on your endocrine system to how likely it is to cause cancer and more. Think Dirty is also an amazing app for any other household products.
Where the hell am I supposed to shop?
So if everyone is lying to you, not all products that say they are clean are really clean and you don’t want to spend a fortune, where do you shop? What a good question dear reader! I will always be a fan of testing before buying. When I’m in Atlanta, I love to pop into Aillea. But a large majority of the time, I buy online. Sephora carries a few of my favorite brands like Farmacy (my spf & vitamin C*), Ilia (my favorite foundation* & mascara*) and Lashfood (my go to mascara primer*). The Detox Market* & Credo Beauty* have a ton of amazing brands as well. And if you’ve got more in the budget, The Organic Bunny is always amazing and curated with only the best.
Personally, I tend to hop between a few depending on the best deals I can snag when I’m buying. But I’ve done a full round up of how to save money on clean beauty that you can read. It’s my guide to stacking up prices and getting the best deals. Plus, there’s always The Detox Market monthly subscription box if you’re looking to be more budget friendly and try several brands.
For now, congrats on making the jump into clean beauty! There are so so many products to try and I hope I can help make navigating it a bit easier. I’m obsessed with beauty that performs at the highest level. And I’m looking forward to sharing everything I continue to find and love!
What about you? Have you fallen in love with clean beauty? Do you feel like there’s something else you wish you’d known when you jumped in? I’d love to hear from you! Be sure to leave me a comment and let me know. Until next time. Xoxo, Savvy
