Navigating the beauty aisle can often be confusing and overwhelming.
With organic, cruelty-free and natural often used as differentiating labels, it can be hard to decipher what it all means.
Sitting within this category of buzzwords, clean beauty, already on the rise in early 2020, is predicted to become even more prevalent.
However, with so many different labels, making sustainable choices and staying informed becomes increasingly difficult.
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We caught up with professional beauty therapist and natural skincare expert, Belinda Hughes, to talk about what precisely clean beauty means and how we can make a transition towards clean beauty, always staying informed and ensuring we’re making more educated choices.
What does clean beauty mean?
Simply put, clean beauty refers to products that are safe for both people and for the planet, with an emphasis on non-toxic and plant-based ingredients as well as transparency in the sourcing and manufacturing of products.
While ‘non-toxic’ can often be a woolly term, non-toxic products are those that are formulated without phthalates, parabens, petrolatum, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and other chemicals of concern.
Instead, they rely on natural sources of vitamins and antioxidants essential for nourishing the skin. When you’re using these natural ingredients, it’s like eating whole foods, you have to take the good stuff and your body knows what to do. You don’t need fancy delivery systems, just having lipids in a natural formula is the delivery system for a product to do its job.
How can we transition into using clean beauty products?
Many brands, like Burt’s Bees, already offer clean beauty products – enforcing a strict standard of no parabens, SLS, phthalates, synthetic fragrances, petrolatum, and sustainability within their production process.
Start by being conscious when purchasing products and thoroughly read the label.
Clean beauty brands will be transparent with what is going into their products, as well as have other environmental and earth-friendly certifications, such as Leaping Bunny and TerraCycle.
Ingredient-wise, look for brands that focus on natural butters and oils and more plant-based ingredients, such native Australian actives like Kakadu Plum which is very high in Vitamin C.
Clean beauty also looks at transitioning back to basics, focusing on achieving good, healthy skin. It’s also important to have a healthy lifestyle incorporating diet, exercise, natural supplementation, and hydration for healthy, glowing natural skin.
