What are clean cosmetics?
Essentially, clean cosmetics are makeup and skincare that are safe to put on your skin. There are different definitions of what’s safe based on government regulations for a country, based on health experts and based on one’s own personal opinion. Usually, the fewer ingredients a product contains, the cleaner it is. Also, some ingredients are more regulated or potentially problematic than others.
Why do we care?
We care because our skin is our body’s largest organ and it is porous, meaning it absorbs what it comes into contact with. We don’t want to absorb things that aren’t good for us. We’ve learned over time that some ingredients contain heavy metals, some can be endocrine disruptors and throw our hormones out of balance. Things we put on our skin daily are particularly important—think lotion, sunblock, makeup, hair products, and deodorant—because we wear them often so their ingredients are actually able to build up in our systems.
How do I know if cosmetics are clean?
The short answer is you need to check the ingredients or buy from a source you trust. In the United States, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is in charge of any bans or restricts of ingredients. In Europe, the European Commission does this job. Here’s a look at the differences:
| US | EU | |
|---|---|---|
| Banned or Restricted Ingredients | ~30 | 1,600+ |
| Safety Approval | Nothing mandatory pre-market (except color additives) | Must undergo testing prior to being sold |
| Ingredient Approval | Allowed until proven harmful | Must be proven safe before allowed |
| Fragrance | No requirement to list elements making up fragrance | Requires disclosure of more than 26 fragrance allergens |
| Endocrine Disruptors | Limited regulation | Identifies, restricts, or bans |
| Heavy Metals | Trace amounts permitted with limited oversight | Strict limits & tight enforcement |
| Animal Testing* | Allowed at the federal level | Fully banned—for products and ingredients |
So knowing whether a cosmetic company adheres to US or EU standards is a simple place to start.
Beyond that, you can look for labels noting that products are clean. Places like Sephora have their own requirements for a product to qualify to be labeled that way in their stores. Some companies pride themselves on all their products meeting or exceeding any existing clean standards.
Another helpful tool is the EWG Healthy Living app. It lets you scan a barcode or search for a product and gives it an ingredients-based rating and even calls out any specific ingredients of concern. Think Dirty and Yuka are similar apps. It’s worthwhile to note that companies have to apply, undergo a review and pay fees in order to become verified so it’s not necessarily true that a product isn’t clean if you don’t find it.
Where can I find them?
All of House of Colour’s products adhere to the EU standards. (You knew I was going to say that, didn’t you?) Any consultant can provide you with a full list of product ingredients if you ask. Shop them HERE. Remember to use your consultant’s client code to get studio pricing. Just ping them if you don’t have it.
As mentioned above, Sephora’s clean label is helpful. Here are a number of companies that pride themselves on their clean standards. The challenge here is that many are only sold online and thus color matching can be a challenge. Great ones often have testers or samples you can order to get a shade match.
- ILIA Beauty
- Kosas
- Saie (common clean makeup brand at clean retailers)
- Tower 28 (sensitive-skin focused, commonly labeled clean)
- Merit (clean, minimalist makeup positioning)
- Westman Atelier
- RMS Beauty
- Beautycounter
- Primally Pure
What “clean” doesn’t mean
A product advertised as clean doesn’t necessarily mean:
- 100% natural ingredients
- No synthetics whatsoever
- Fully organic formulations
- Absence of all controversial chemicals
- Cruelty-free (that’s a separate certification)
If those elements are important to you, you’ll need to do a little research before making your purchase.