As a cosmetics enthusiast, I have built up a collection of products that really work for me and my skin. I had never thought about the science behind cosmetics — until I walked into a Sephora and was bombarded with signs promoting products deemed “clean.” This made me wonder if I needed to throw everything away and start over. Had I been using dirty makeup for the past decade?
The answer is no. There is no such thing as clean makeup, skincare or perfume.
Clean beauty certainly seems attractive. Who wouldn’t be on board with a term signaling health, morality, eco-consciousness and a lack of harm?
“Clean” is used very loosely. Some brands use it to refer to their efforts at sustainability, while others use it to refer to the natural ingredients in their products. In reality, there is no real definition or set regulations for clean beauty. Any cosmetic company can label their products as clean without having to prove that their products are any safer or better than others.
I am not here to condemn the use of clean beauty cosmetics. There is nothing wrong with the products themselves. The issue lies in the marketing by the beauty industry.
Clean beauty is built upon a strategy of fearmongering. Fearmongering is the act of creating fear for a particular thing when it is not necessary. In the case of clean beauty, fearmongering categorizes man-made ingredients as dangerous or untrustworthy and categorizes natural ingredients as safe, getting an automatic gold star.
Similarly to the clean eating movement, some ingredients are on the no-no list and others are natural miracle workers. However, most ingredients, in food or in cosmetics, are completely fine in moderation.
Clean beauty brands that pride themselves on their use of natural ingredients often contain “high concentrations of botanical extracts that are a leading cause of both irritant and allergic contact dermatitis and photosensitization.” The idea that man-made ingredients are bad for you and your skin is a manipulation tactic from the cosmetic industry.
There is a misconception that the chemicals in synthetic products are toxic. However,there are chemicals in both natural and synthetic products. In fact, there are chemicals in everything. Chemicals are not always good for you, but the idea that man-made substances are full of toxic chemicals while “clean” products are the epitome of safety is simply false.
“Clean” companies are deceiving customers into thinking there are benefits to their products when there are not and are often attaching a higher price tag to them.
Perry Romanowski, a cosmetic chemist, evaluated four clean beauty products and how much they actually cost to make and estimated the markups to be between 500% and 1,350%. These numbers are similar to common markups on standard makeup.
As consumers, we deserve honesty and transparency. College-aged students make up over half of makeup users, and they are paying more money for products that are not necessarily more effective. For our benefit, the FDA should clearly define “clean” and “natural” and should regulate the use of these words to limit misconceptions and mitigate the beauty industry’s power to manipulate their customers.
The best way to go about buying makeup, skincare or perfume is to go for what works for you and not what the beauty market or internet thinks you should buy. Every person’s skin has its own unique sensitivities, and buying products that fall under the unregulated umbrella of “clean” won’t necessarily tend to these needs.
