Clean beauty : a real trend or a temporary fad?

Clean Beauty is still a young concept, but one that is increasingly common in the cosmetics world. What’s behind this name? We will try to understand this in this article.

What is clean beauty?

You’ve probably already heard, read and/or even uttered this phrase… For a number of years now, Clean Beauty has been a sought-after concept for consumers who are increasingly aware of the dangerous nature of certain ingredients used in cosmetics. However, the rather evocative title (literally “clean beauty”) is hard to define precisely… Clean by its image? Its composition? Its ecological impact?

Because Clean Beauty is still in its infancy and there is no charter or consensus to define it, it is not yet clearly defined!  After our research, here’s how we see it:

Clean Beauty is a movement. A movement that advocates certain ingredients and active ingredients that are harmless to health, as well as total transparency in the composition of cosmetics. In its philosophy, this “clean beauty” is not seeking perfection but effective cosmetics with no harmful effects!

Added to this is the fact that this trend praises cosmetics from which the superfluous has been subtracted.

At the root of this movement is consumer concern about the presence or absence of aggressive ingredients in cosmetics. Well-being is a new objective, as evidenced by the development of its industry..

Environmental pollution, stress, the harmful effects of bisphenol (parabens, etc.) are all factors that lead cosmetics users to monitor and carefully read the composition of the products they consume. So this concept is not just a commitment adopted by women, men are taking part too! In fact, if you’re interested in men’s love of cosmetics, you should know that the editors of Groupe Berkem have devoted a whole article to the subject in “Men’s cosmetics, a hairy sector!“.

Clean beauty and organic: what’s the difference?

Reading this article, it’s easy to wonder just how close the concepts of ‘organic’ and ‘clean beauty’ really are… There is indeed a difference. Organic products are labelled and promote ingredients from organic farming. Its aim is to promote naturalness and environmental impact.  Clean Beauty (no label) does not necessarily seek to draw on this type of agriculture, as it is more concerned with efficiency. Even if the ingredient is not organic/naturalit is “permitted” as long as it is non-toxic.

The concept may seem similar, but the ambitions of the two approaches are very different. In this sense, Clean Beauty is also different from so-called cosmetics: natural, vegan, green,etc

What can you do to get a clearer picture and be part of this trend?

In the absence of a defined and accessible charter, it’s difficult to understand everything and to find help. For consumers, however, there is a solution – several in fact: mobile applications.

Yuka, INCI Beauty, QuelProduit (formerly QuelCosmetic), Think Dirty, EWG’s Healthy Living, Clean Beauty, etc. There are plenty of applications to help consumers decipher the composition of their favourite cosmetics! So consumers are free to try out one or more of these applications.