Clean beauty is a term that has been floating around for quite some time and has now made its way to the Middle East, and quite frankly we’re ecstatic! With people here in general becoming more conscious about what they are putting in their body, it was only a matter of time before they started looking into what they are putting ON their body.
The skincare and cosmetic industries are barely regulated, meaning companies creating these products can not only add in a whole bunch of harmful ingredients, but can also claim to be ‘natural’ on their packaging without actually being so.
Let’s be honest, the word ‘clean’ is vague, so what does it actually mean in the world of beauty? The definition of clean beauty in this day and age are products that don’t have ingredients in that are damaging to our skin and health, like aluminium and parabens, to name a couple.
Now this is the part that can be a little overwhelming because there are over 1400 personal care ingredients that are banned or restricted by the European Union, meaning thousands of products worldwide can still contain a bunch of these harmful ingredients.
I know what you’re thinking, there is no way you are going to memorise 1400 ingredients, or stand in Sephora for 7 hours going through each ingredient list, and rightly so! The clean beauty industry is becoming more and more advanced with each day that passes, so we would recommend you get to know your clean brands, and we are here to help you do that!
Beauty Counter have gone out of their way to create what they call the ‘never list’. This list consists of 17 ingredients that should definitely be avoided – and you can even download a tiny cut out of the list to carry in your purse just incase – genius!
So, what harm do these toxic ingredients cause exactly? Whilst there aren’t in-depth studies on the use of harmful ingredients in skincare and cosmetics, there have been studies on the effects of certain ingredients that are still freely used in everyday products, so you don’t need to be a genius to put two and two together. Negative reactions like skin irritations can happen overnight, whilst there are also other more serious long-term affects that have been reported.
One damaging ingredient on the ‘never list’ is lead. This is a neurotoxin, meaning it will damage your nerve tissues over time, and that’s the key message here – OVER TIME. Due to the fact that a lot of repercussions related to your health are not instant, they can easily be ignored until there is an actual issue, so our advice is to invest in your health for the long term. That isn’t to say you have to go cold turkey and throw out the entire contents of your makeup bag this second, but try adding in some products with high quality active ingredients rather than those that are not going to agree with you, because your skin and body will thank you for it in the long run.
We are surrounded by toxins in our everyday life, most of which we cannot control, so we figure let’s take advantage of those choices we can control.
Sabrina & Lucy Xx
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