What is clean beauty? If you frequent the Sephora website, you might notice a few green emblems that say “Clean at Sephora.” What does this mean? In matters of food and life, we’ve seen many people start making a transition to a cleaner, more organic way of living. This is now being mirrored with our favorite beauty products. The beauty industry is huge, as it’s currently valued at over $500 billion. As brands continue to push out more clean products, it’s no surprise that the 2020s will be all about clean beauty.
What is clean beauty?
This can be categorized as anything that is safe for use by people. In order for it to fully check off all the boxes, it would also have to be safe for the planet. Clean beauty is so important because of the umbrella it casts over our daily life. While you might be thinking of beauty products like foundation, concealer, and powder, you’d have to expand your list to products that are made for your hair, skin, and nails as well. Because we use these products daily, they can affect our overall health.
You might be tempted to think that every product you find on shelves is good for you, right? Wrong. If we told you that countries like Canada and many in Europe have banned over 1,300 ingredients from being used in beauty products, you’d think they’re doing something right, right? Now, we’ll tell you that the FDA has only banned a whopping 11 ingredients from use in the United States. That can only make you wonder about the other 1,290 ingredients that our northern neighbors have banned that we continue to use every day.
Some of the bad ingredients include names you’ve probably heard before like phthalates, parabens, and formaldehyde. Phthalates are used to preserve the scent of a fragrance, but they’ve been linked to breast cancer. Parabens stop bacteria and mold from growing on your products, but they’ve been tied to reproductive health issues. Formaldehyde, a known human carcinogen, is still a byproduct of some keratin treatments. And, with many brands and companies overhauling their products to remove these ingredients, the future is looking even cleaner.
Clean at Sephora is just one step. This growing list of products is free of 50 potentially dangerous ingredients. While some brands are choosing to release a few clean beauty products overtime, even more clean beauty brands have popped up. There’s Bite Beauty, Juice Beauty, and Ilia. If you’re one of the many Amazon-obsessed consumers of the world, Teen Vogue recommends 12 clean beauty brands you can shop on Amazon. Having a clean beauty stamp of approval is great, but always be sure to check the ingredients.
Clean beauty is one step that helps us know that our products are healthy for both us and our planet. Some might be fooled into believing that health solely comes from internal health, but topical health is just as important. Your skin is lined with pores – pores that are meant to absorb products into the body. Go back to some of your favorite products. How many do you apply daily? Weekly? Based on some of the ingredients, there’s a chance that you’re introducing your body to some harsh chemicals.
We’re waking up and opening our eyes in 2020. While we might have to say goodbye to some of our favorite products, nothing is better than being confident in our health. Clean beauty is about to take over the next decade.
