Have you been hooked by the clean skincare trend? If so, you’re not alone – the clean beauty movement has really made its mark on the industry in recent years, with many people believing that this is the best route to take if you want to do what’s truly best for both your skin and the environment.
Unfortunately, while clean skincare may seem like a worthy concept, the way in which it plays out in reality isn’t quite so. Instead, there are a number of issues associated with this beauty movement, to the point where jumping onto the clean skincare bandwagon could see you doing more harm than good to your skin.
Ready to learn more? Join Celestolite as we explore the dirty truth behind clean skincare. We’ll also share some tips on how to ensure that the products you pick strike the perfect balance between being good for your skin and safe for the environment, even if they don’t come with a ‘clean skincare’ label.
What is Clean Skincare?
If there were a standardized and legalized definition for clean skincare, life would be much easier. Unfortunately, there isn’t, which is where the problems begin.
At its heart, clean skincare is a term that refers to products that only contain ‘clean’ ingredients. This means that not only should those products be free of harmful ingredients, but the ingredients that they use should be ethically produced. A minimal environmental footprint is important as well.
The Problem With Clean Skincare
When you first hear about how clean skincare products are formulated with safe and environmentally-friendly ingredients, it’s easy to be sucked into this trend. After all, isn’t that what we all want from our skincare?
Dig a little deeper, however, and you’ll discover a few issues with the clean beauty movement:
A Lack of Regulations
As we mentioned above, ‘clean skincare’ isn’t an official term. There aren’t any regulations surrounding the concept. This makes it difficult to ascertain which products count as clean, as well as which ones don’t.
This makes the term quite subjective. What may be considered ‘clean’ by one person could be classed as ‘dirty’ by another. This then leads to the next problem…
Misleading Marketing
Since ‘clean skincare’ isn’t a regulated term, it’s one that any brand can use in their marketing. As you can imagine, this has led to a lot of misleading marketing over the years, with many companies ‘clean-washing’ (the clean beauty version of green-washing) to make their products seem like something they’re not.
Potential for Irritation
Natural ingredients play a key role in clean skincare products. In fact, many clean skincare brands try to go down the all-natural route, using ingredients solely derived from nature.
Why is this a problem? Many natural ingredients are known for having an irritating effect on the skin. This is particularly the case when it comes to the high concentration of essential oils that are usually found in natural, clean beauty products. However, the assumption is that clean beauty products won’t upset the skin, so people are more blasé about using them. This can lead to some major problems for the skin.
The Assumption That Synthetic Ingredients Are ‘Dirty’
There’s no denying that natural skincare ingredients have a lot to offer. However, synthetic ingredients can have their perks too. In some instances, synthetic ingredients can actually be far better than their natural counterparts. They’re not only kinder to your skin but also to the environment. Producing an ingredient in a lab is often much more sustainable than growing that raw ingredient in nature. It uses fewer natural resources, while the ingredients produced are usually more stable and efficient than their natural alternatives.
What Does This Mean for Your Skincare Routine?
While the clean skincare movement might be a little ambiguous and not always very genuine, there’s nothing wrong with wanting your skincare routine to be safe for your skin, as well as for the environment. However, if you can’t trust those ‘clean’ labels, what are you meant to do instead?
Look for Gentle Formulas
One of the reasons why many opt for clean skincare products is that they don’t contain any harsh ingredients. Not only can certain ingredients, like parabens, have far-reaching health consequences, but there are plenty of other aggressive ingredients out there that can cause a lot of damage to your skin in the long run.
Cleansers commonly contain those types of ingredients, so start by ensuring that your cleanser features a gentle formula. Always go for a sulfate-free cleanser since sulfates are notoriously harmful to the skin’s natural protective barrier. A formula like the Celestolite Estrella Cleanser Mousse will cleanse your skin’s surface without leaving your skin barrier feeling compromised in any way. Even better, the main cleansing agents in this cleanser have been derived from coconut. This is generally considered to be a sustainable crop.
Understand Ingredients
When it comes down to it, the only way to really know how ‘clean’ a skincare product is is to take a look at its ingredient list. This will tell you so much about a product, so long as you understand what those various ingredients are, where they come from, and how they work. Yes, this will require quite a bit of research on your part, at least to start with. However, it soon becomes second nature!
Start by learning more about which ingredients are and are not sustainable. Palm oil and sandalwood, for example, are popular ingredients, yet they’re known for contributing to a loss of environmental diversity. Even bakuchiol, which is a favorite ingredient in clean skincare products as it’s usually touted as a natural alternative to retinol, has led to the over-harvesting of an endangered plant.
This brings us back to what we discussed earlier – about how some synthetic ingredients can actually be better than their natural alternatives. With that said, the best products will combine both, just like we do here at Celestolite!
Turn to Science
It’s so easy to be misled by some of the jaw-dropping claims that various clean skincare brands make. With promises that those clean ingredients will have a transformational effect on your skin, it’s understandable why many people, especially skincare newbies, fall for these myths.
Again, knowing your ingredients will go a long way in preventing you from being misled in your skincare choices. However, when doing research into ingredients, always look into the science behind them rather than believing unproven claims.
Let’s use vitamin C as an example. It’s one of the most popular ingredients around, and for good reason! However, naturally extracted forms of vitamin C tend to be extremely unstable and unreliable. Turn to the latest science and you’ll see that 3-O-ethyl ascorbic acid is currently one of the most highly recommended forms of vitamin C. Not only has this vitamin C derivative been proven to be safer and more stable, but studies also point to how it’s more effective than many of the alternatives. That is why we’ve used this form of vitamin C in the Celestolite Nova Bright Glow-C Serum.
Keep Your Skincare Routine Simple
If you’re worried about overloading your skin with harmful ingredients while also having a detrimental impact on the environment with your skincare choices, there’s a simple solution: keep your skincare routine short and sweet. The fewer products you use, the lower your chances of applying an irritant to your skin. You’ll also be keeping your purchases to a minimum, meaning less of an environmental impact.
Of course, there’s a limit to how short your skincare routine can be. There are a few steps that are absolutely essential, with cleansing being one. Other than that, all you really need to use to maintain an already healthy complexion is a moisturizer and a sunscreen. You could even combine both of those products into one single step. How? With a formula like Celestolite’s Nova Bright Skin Cream (SPF 30). It’s a two-in-one product that functions as both a hydrating moisturizer and an SPF 30 sunscreen.
Take a More Holistic Approach to Skincare
If you care about keeping your skincare routine clean, this approach should really apply to other areas of your life too. Living a lifestyle that’s as clean and holistic as possible will reflect in your skin. It will give you a much brighter, clearer, and healthier complexion.
How do you go about living a clean lifestyle? Start by assessing your diet. You’re probably aware of which foods would be considered clean, as well as which wouldn’t. Fresh fruits and vegetables, wholegrains, lean proteins, nuts, and seeds will all greatly benefit your health. They’ll do lots of good for your skin as well! Of course, try to source these locally and eat as seasonally as possible in order to reduce the environmental impact of your diet, too.
Exercise is also a big part of living a healthy lifestyle. Try to spend time outside in nature while exercising. Having that time immersed in greenery will do your mental health lots of good, too.
Speaking of mental health, this is something else that you should be prioritizing. Your mental state has a significant impact on your complexion, so work on keeping your stress levels low. Adequate quality sleep is something else that will give your mental health, as well as your skin, a boost.
Summary
If you’ve been hopeful about the clean skincare trend being everything that you’ve been looking for, you might be feeling a little disappointed now. There are so many issues associated with the clean beauty movement, making this a trend that you shouldn’t automatically buy into.
At the same time, there’s something to be said for wanting to keep your skincare routine as safe as possible, for both your skin as well as the environment. Although ‘clean’ beauty labels can’t be trusted, there’s nothing wrong with doing your own research into a product and its various ingredients to ensure that it lines up with your own standards and ethics.
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