What Is Clean Beauty and Why Is It Important?

Wearing makeup every day might give you a boost of confidence, but do you know what it does to your body? Makeup can seep into your skin and affect your health, as well as harm the environment. This guide explains the concept of clean beauty and why it’s so important for everyone to learn about.

Take a deep dive into the beauty world and learn more about your preferred products. It might lead to a healthy change in your routine or affect how you make purchasing decisions when you’re back at the store.

What Is Clean Beauty?

When people define clean beauty, their answers have nothing to do with germ-free eyeshadow or sanitizing lipstick. Clean beauty is all about the ingredients that go into everything in your makeup bag and even other places like your shower or nightstand.

The beauty industry produces things like lotions, shampoos and perfumes along with makeup essentials. Traditional ingredients and chemicals play a significant role in making products affordable and profitable, but they aren’t always good for consumers or the environment. Clean beauty creates the same results from all-natural ingredients and organic alternatives.

What Ingredients Aren’t Clean?

It’s impossible to pick out clean beauty products without learning about the traditional elements that inspired the new trend. Check out a few of the most common beauty ingredients that clean routines avoid.

Artificial Fragrances

Your lilac conditioner or jasmine perfume could contain cancer-causing carcinogen additives because of the artificial fragrances. Using them for years allows your body to absorb high amounts of the carcinogens and potentially increases your risk of developing cancer.

Parabens

A recent study found that teenage girls who used makeup containing parabens had higher urinary paraben concentrations than those who don’t. Parabens can disrupt your hormones, so keep an eye out for them while you’re deciding how to create your bridal routine or upgrade your daily look.

Phthalates

Adult women maintain higher phthalate levels than men because the ingredient is in many beauty lines. Although they’re nontoxic at low levels, using them long-term could disrupt sex hormone production and even affect your reproductive abilities.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS)

Sodium lauryl sulfate is a surfactant. It cleanses and foams easily, but may cause recurring skin irritation for people with sensitivities. 

Formaldehyde

Companies mix formaldehyde into things like nail polish, soap and deodorant to prevent bacteria from growing between uses. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found that it can trigger asthma-like lung irritation when used long-term, so it’s something to consider when purchasing new products.

How Does Clean Beauty Improve Your Health?

Avoiding commonly used chemicals will remove potentially harmful ingredients from your daily beauty routine, but how else will the effort improve your health? You’ll notice these immediate differences after switching to chemical-free alternatives.

It Moisturizes Your Body

Some irritants and chemicals will dry your skin even if they’re in lotions. It depends on your skin type and existing sensitivities. Switching to an organic alternative like coconut oil will naturally hydrate and nourish your skin without risking any dryness or red splotches.

It Eliminates Toxins

Human bodies can’t handle consuming toxins every day. Even if you change products every few years, your body still accumulates dangerous amounts of additives and may experience harmful repercussions.

It Prevents Harmful Reactions

Merchandise passes rigorous testing before they hit the shelves at your local beauty store, but that doesn’t mean they’re safe for everyone. People who already have intense amounts of toxins in their body from years of product use or unknown allergies could suffer immediate reactions because the ingredients aren’t natural.

Is Clean Beauty Good For the Planet?

Many environmental groups tout the use of clean beauty routines because it’s good for the planet. Here are a few ways you can save the earth by checking ingredient lists while considering new personal products.

It Can Be All-Natural

Chemicals are easy for companies to access and mass produce, but making them isn’t always sustainable. Relying on significant amounts of electricity, water and even coal to keep production factories running harms the planet. All-natural resources can be much less demanding.

It Decreases Water-Based Pollution

Showering, washing your face and rinsing soap off of your hands flushes used beauty ingredients down the drain. They eventually reach local waterways and pollute the environment with chemicals that aren’t biodegradable.

Switching to a clean beauty routine makes your home more sustainable because it houses fewer chemicals. Instead, you can rely on ingredients found in nature or things that are biodegradable to reduce your carbon footprint.

It May Come From Green Companies

Buying green products means supporting more companies with sustainable initiatives. Research revealed how 25 corporate and state producing entities created over half of global emissions since the beginning of human-induced climate change. Individuals will make a slight difference, but funding corporations who strive to improve the planet is a much better way to live an eco-friendly lifestyle.

Consider a Clean Beauty Routine

Adopting a clean beauty routine is important because it improves your health and the environment. You’ll avoid life-threatening diseases, allergies and an expanding carbon footprint by checking for chemical ingredients before buying any personal-use products.