It seems like every time I turn around, or bat my lashes, there is a new trend or buzz word in beauty. It used to be a trend would come and stay awhile, giving everyone a chance to learn something new and try it for themselves to deem if it had staying power. Now, especially with social media, a new trend happens before I ever get a chance to fully understand the movement before it becomes passé. I can’t keep up!
The new news in beauty used to be All-Natural. That quickly turned to Clean Beauty. Well, wait…what’s the difference? What is Clean? Can you be clean and all natural? However now, we are living the old commercial slogan of “move over bacon…”, here comes Sustainable Beauty. What does it all mean or do we even need to care? The short answer is yes! Read on to find out why.
First things, first. Natural Beauty.
When you are buying a makeup, skincare or haircare product that claims to be all-natural, you are assuming a few things. I say “assume” because believe it or not, the FDA does not regulate the term natural or organic. The term in the beauty and personal care industry implies that is does not contain any toxic ingredients or irritants such as fragrance, dyes, and certain preservatives like parabens. Additionally, the formulations utilize naturally derived ingredients that I like to call ‘of the earth’…naturally grown and harvested plants and plant extracts that have shown to have great benefits to the skin and hair. Natural does not mean it is hypoallergenic (it won’t cause irritation). Poison Ivy and Poison Oak are natural but no one is making eyeshadow out of them…obviously a ridiculous analogy but you get the point. Below are some of my favorite all-natural products that really work, utilizing those inherent benefits, to deliver results.
Saie Mascara 101 | Well People Bio Booster Oil | cocokind MyMatcha All-Over Moisture Stick | rms Beauty Oil
Clean Beauty – Was it Ever Dirty?
No one has ever formulated a harmful beauty product on purpose. We are just getting smarter! With every passing year, we are wising up to the fact that the products we put on our skin can and do have an impact on our health. Simply put, clean beauty products do not contain ingredients that are harmful or potentially harmful to our health. They can contain those natural ingredients and extracts described above but this category also pairs them with synthetically made ingredients that have been deemed safe. Deemed safe by who? Clean Beauty isn’t regulated by the FDA (seeing a pattern here?) but luckily, there has been a lot of research done over the years to eliminate ingredients that are known carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, etc. so you don’t have to worry if the products are safe to use. In my own words, Clean Beauty has married the benefits of the natural world with the research of the science world to make some crazy efficacious and safe products!
Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm | Glow Recipe Niacinamide Dew Drops | Ilia Multi-Stick | Kosas Tinted Face Oil
Sustainable – The Latest and Maybe Most Crucial
So now that we are feeling good about Natural and Clean, here comes Sustainable Beauty just to muddy the waters. In reality, this is the next wave that I expect to really have staying power because these products are good for the people and also for our planet. Formulas utilize natural and clean ingredients and are produced using smaller carbon footprints. Also look for the products to be Vegan, Cruelty-Free, Non-Toxic and have eco-friendly packaging. The packaging piece is hard – the industry just has not caught up to this movement yet. However, brands are being creative by offering refillable options or using PCR, which means post-consumer recycled content that is already in the waste stream. I reached out to Victor Casale, co-founder of MOB Beauty, to get his thoughts on sustainable beauty, which he described as “products that recognize the importance of using ingredients, packaging materials and product use formats that support the progression to a circular economy”. Vic mentioned that sustainable beauty uses biodegradable materials and stays away from any silicones – ingredients ending in ‘-one’, such as dimethicone, amodimethicone or ending in ‘-siloxane’, such as clycopentasiloxane and polydimethylsiloxane. If you see those on your ingredient list, they stick around in the environment long after you will! Sustainable is truly the where the industry is headed and there are some amazing brands leading the way!
MOB Beauty Clay Eyeshadow | Kjaer Weis Primer | MOB Beauty Cream Lipstick | Tata Harper Brightening Essence
Hopefully this has clarified a bit of what each category is, even though they can and do overlap. Regardless if you use natural, clean, sustainable or maybe none of the above, I encourage everyone to read and understand their ingredient labels. Just like it is crucial to know what we are putting in our bodies, it is equally important to know what we are putting on our bodies!
