As beauty consumers have grown more informed about the ingredients in their products (and whether or not they might be harmful), as well as the environmental damage that comes from non-recyclable packaging, it’s clear that the industry is under more scrutiny than ever.
As a result, some brands are starting to shift their focus to address these exact problems.
These changes have brought with them an array of new terms, like “clean,” “green,” “natural,” and more, but with limited oversight from the FDA and other governmental bodies, there is quite a bit of confusion about what they all mean.
Despite that, the desire for safe, effective, and environmentally responsible products isn’t going anywhere.
We’ll hear buzzwords such as green beauty, natural beauty and clean beauty being used interchangeably by brands, consumers and beauty insiders alike. People are now more concerned than ever about health and the environment, and it’s leading them to question what’s actually in the products applied directly to the skin. And retailers know that consumers are increasingly looking for beauty products and cosmetics that aren’t laden with potentially harmful ingredients.
For example, Sephora launched “Clean at Sephora” an initiative in which the beauty retailer badged over 2,000 products as "clean," in this case meaning free of ingredients like sulfates, parabens, formaldehyde, phthalates, and mineral oil. Beauty retailer Ulta also launched "Clean at Ulta Beauty" an in-house certification that products are free from a list of ingredients such as phthalates, parabens, talc, and formaldehyde, including skincare, makeup, and hair brands.
Misinformation and ‘greenwashing’ has become widespread so it is now more important than ever to educate ourselves and wise up to what clean, green and natural beauty entails and what they have to offer.
Clean Beauty
Clean products are those without toxic ingredients. Beauty brands use the term "clean" to signal that products don’t contain certain ingredients that they consider controversial or unsafe, like parabens and talc.
In essence when a brand claims to be ‘clean’ its products are non-toxic and considered safe to use but not necessarily natural or green. Their focus will be to formulate products using ingredients which are proven to be safe.
You’d think producing safe formulas would be a no-brainer, however, you’ll be surprised by the number of products available in the mainstream beauty sector which contain toxic and carcinogenic ingredients. A clean beauty brand strives to formulate products which are not harmful to your health.
Natural Beauty
Natural means the ingredients are sourced from nature. Such brands make use of botanical oils, extracts and butter, natural salts and everything in between.
Truly natural brands will usually strive to be clean, as often they’ll use carefully selected non-toxic natural ingredients (note – not all-natural ingredients are safe!) and having one natural ingredient amid a list of toxic, synthetic ingredients does not make the brand/product natural.
Green Beauty
Green beauty products that are made sustainably and will not harm the earth through their manufacturing or recycling. It will focus on sourcing its ingredients and ensuring its business practices are environmentally sustainable and socially responsible.
For instance, a reef-safe sunscreen with biodegradable packaging would be labeled green.
In brief summary, you could say:
- Natural Beauty – Ingredients sourced from nature.
- Green Beauty – Sustainable and environmental responsibility towards the planet.
- Clean Beauty – Products containing non-toxic ingredients both natural and/or synthetic.