CLEAN BEAUTY MAKEUP ARTISTRY 

WHAT IS CLEAN BEAUTY?

 

Clean Beauty means different things to different people. For my team and I, it means products that do not contain substances that are known to be harmful to human health and development. We support and recommend brands and products that are safe, sustainable, and ethically sourced with 100% of their ingredients being fully disclosed regardless if they are legally required to or not. Yeah, that’s a whole other issue…

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ARE ALL NATURAL AND ORGANIC PRODUCTS SAFE?

 

Not necessarily. The labels “organic” and “natural” do not have legal definitions in the cosmetic industry. Companies can say that a product is organic when there are no certified organic ingredients in it, or if there are only a couple. Many beauty products also make claims about health: “hypoallergenic,” “non-toxic”, “natural,” or “doctor-approved” may come to mind. Unfortunately, without a unified industry standard or regulatory oversight, a lot of these marketing terms are meaningless.

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Furthermore, many harmful substances such as heavy metals occur naturally in the earth including in some of the ingredients commonly used in beauty products such as minerals, clays, and colorants. These substances are considered to be “contaminants” but since they are naturally occurring in certain ingredients (not actual ingredients themselves) they are not disclosed on labels. In fact, unless suppliers or manufacturers test for these contaminants specifically, there is no other way of verifying whether a products contains them or not.

 

WHY DO I NEED TO READ LABELS? ISN’T THAT WHAT THE FDA IS FOR?

 

Unfortunately, no. The FDA does not currently oversee the safety of personal care products, nor does it have the authority to recall products containing ingredients known to be harmful to human health. Learn more here.  

 

ARE ALL CHEMICALS BAD?

 

Actually, no. Chemicals are getting a bad rap these days but they are not all harmful. Our body is made up of chemicals, and so is everything else, including food and water. Toxic chemicals are bad for us - chemicals that can harm cells or organs, cause neurological damage, and/or alter important biological systems (like the endocrine system, which regulates our hormones). It’s important to know the difference so you can make more informed choices. 

 

WHAT’S WRONG WITH USING FRAGRANCE AND DYES TO MAKE PRODUCTS LOOK AND SMELL NICER?

 

We believe that every ingredient in a product should have a specific purpose related to either efficacy or performance. For example, colorants are necessary for color cosmetics, but there is no functional reason to dye skin care or shower products.

Masking fragrances made with cocktails of undisclosed ingredients (often listed as “fragrance” or “parfum”) are also problematic — over 3000 chemicals can be classified in this single ingredient without being specifically disclosed, many of which are known to be harmful to our health.

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