If you keep up with what’s happening in the beauty industry, then you’ll know that clean and ethical beauty has been the rave for some time now. But what exactly is clean beauty? Clean beauty products are free of toxins, parabens, synthetic fragrances, PEGs, Phthalates, and many more ingredients that we will discuss later on.
Clean and ethical beauty is made with the health of the human body as its priority. No animal is harmed during the making of ethical beauty products. It is totally against ethical standards to test products on animals and use anything inside or outside their body to meet “beauty standards.”
With clean and ethical beauty, you get all-natural ingredients that give the same- if not better- results as products with chemicals and animal fats and animal testing.
Today, our sole focus is informing you about the benefits of clean and ethical beauty and ingredients used by conventional beauty. So let’s begin!
Benefits of clean and Ethical Beauty
- No harmful toxins and preservatives are in the products.
- All naturally harvested and farm-grown ingredients that are human friendly.
- No hidden ingredients – you get precisely what you pay for.
- Clean products are sustainable.
- Better for your skin and body in the long-term.
- No skin inflammation, irritation, allergic reactions, or diseases.
- Helps save the environment.
Ingredients Strictly Avoided in Clean and Ethical Beauty
Parabens
Purpose: In regular skincare, parabens are used to extend the shelf life of the product.
Label: Parabens are also ingredients named; ethyl, methyl, propyl, and butyl.
However, this is extremely harmful to your body. It increases the chances of breast cancer because it imitates estrogen, resulting in endocrine disruption.
But is a longer shelf life really worth it? Parabens cause skin irritation, toxicity (neural, reproductive, and immune), and disruption in the body. Doesn’t really sound like an attractive deal to us.
Phthalates
Purpose: Phthalates are used in cosmetics and skincare with the motive of penetrating the ingredients deep in the skin.
Label: Phthalates are also known as ingredients named; dibutyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate, BPA (Bisphenol).
Phthalates are banned in Europe, but the US does not have strict rules and regulations for ingredients used in the beauty industry. Phthalates are incredibly toxic and damaging to the reproductive system of both genders. It can cause fertility issues and affect male genital development.
Fragrance
Purpose: To hide a product’s natural scent or add scent to a naturally unscented product.
Label: Fragrance will mostly be labeled as Parfum, Fragrance, odor.
The first red flag with fragrances is that you will never fully know the ingredients used in perfume as they are considered top secret. Perfumes contain harmful chemicals that can cause irritation, allergic reactions, and hormonal imbalance.
With continuous use of fragrant products, you expose yourself to immunotoxicity as well. Even some “fragrance-free” products contain some scent in them to get rid of the natural odors that have an off-putting smell.
Those ingredients mentioned above were just 3 of the most common toxins that are found in conventional beauty products. Other harmful ingredients are:
- Formaldehyde
- Siloxanes
- SLES, SLS, ALS
- Petrolatum
- PEGs
- Phenoxyethanol
Summing Up
This should be enough to convince you to switch to clean and ethical beauty. These chemically rich products may show fast and pleasing results, but they do more harm than good. With clean and ethical beauty, you sign up for 100% honesty, 100% transparency with ingredients, no disguised ingredients.
Most importantly, it keeps your body healthy. With clean beauty, you do not have to compromise on your health to achieve good results. With clean beauty, you help save the planet and stop animal testing.