What's the Big Deal About Clean Skincare? Part 1: Your Health

Right now, "clean" beauty (and grooming) is all the rage. Sometimes it seems like every blog and magazine is talking about it, which in our view is just fantastic! But like with anything that gets a lot of media coverage, we know some people are starting to wonder if it's all just hype. The rise of clean, green everything is seen by a lot of people as a thing for earthy-crunchy types at best, and a marketing gimmick at worst—and we won't even get into how some people actually believe that skincare products can only be really effective if they have toxic junk in them. (We're on a mission to change that, for sure!) 

So here's a post that will hopefully help answer the big question: Why choose clean skincare?

For health reasons, for one thing. (Protecting the environment is another, but we'll cover that in another post!) When it comes to food and skincare, a huge percentage of consumers believe that if something is allowed to be sold in stores, it must be safe. The unfortunate reality is that less than 12% of the cosmetics on the market have even had their safety assessed, and in many cases no one even knows the potential health effects of the various chemicals in them.

Many ingredients used in everything from sunscreen to baby shampoo (yes, baby shampoo—even the famous one from that big brand that starts with a J!) have been linked to cancer, neurological impairment, and even asthma, to name a few scary possibilities. Some other ingredients might be known to be safe for one-time use, but no one has looked at whether it's safe to use every day for years on end, which can lead to ingredients building up in the body over time. 

Believe it or not, skincare companies are responsible for assessing the safety of their own products. Talk about a potential for a conflict of interest! And the huge conglomerates that own so many of the most common skincare brands we see in stores end up setting the standard for everyone else. But with huge, anonymous companies making both the rules and most of the products, it's no surprise that we've ended up in a place where words like “herbal” and “natural” have no legal definition. Even hair straighteners and skin whiteners can make these claims, while being some of the most toxic products on the skincare market.

This lack of regulation is one of the main reasons why clean skincare is so important. More and more brands are dedicated to making effective skincare options that we can know for sure aren't even a little bit toxic, and some (like us) even go through the rigorous process of getting their products certified as in being in line with super-strict USDA Organic standards. 

Meeting a higher safety standard often comes with higher production expenses, since natural and organic ingredients that are known to be safe generally cost more than synthetic ones that might be toxic. And that often means we have to charge more for our products than brands that don't make that effort. But greater safety for humans and the natural environment is worth it, isn't it? 

Here below are some links where you can learn more about why clean skincare is so very important.