A Closer Look
If you missed my last clean beauty post, make sure you read that here. It’s a great place to start and help you get acquainted with terms surrounding clean beauty, what it is, and why you should care. In this post, I’m breaking down some of the cosmetics regulations that make clean beauty so confusing. Nope…it’s not just you. I’m left scratching my head more often than not when it comes to this topic. I truly don’t want to confuse you more, but I think it’s important to present the facts. And, the fact is… what you see on a label… is not always what you get. When I started the research, I was stunned by what I found. Hopefully, this information helps you when you are searching for products to clean up your own beauty routine.
Problems With Clean Beauty
There are many problems with the beauty and cosmetics industry. But there are three main issues surround clean beauty…
Lack Of Regulation
If you read post #1, at this point, you might be wondering how companies and beauty brands get away with putting harmful ingredients into products. The answer is…there’s a lack of regulation. The last cosmetics law passed by the FDA was in 1938…that’s over 80 years ago!! It’s not as big of a problem in other countries though. In the EU, there are over 1,300 products banned from use because they are questionable or proven harmful. The US only has 11 products banned. Total. Isn’t that scary!? It gets worse…
Reliance On Company Ethics
If you go to the store, buy a product, put it on your skin, have a severe reaction, and report it to the brand or company. The brand/company has no legal obligation to report that incident to the FDA. And even if a report is made to the FDA (which has to be done voluntarily by the company/brand), the FDA has no authority to pull the product from production or even issue a recall. So it’s up to the companies to make an ethical decision to either recall products or make cleaner products from the get-go. Hmm… do you think most companies will pull a product from the shelves when they stand to lose a boatload of money? I’m guessing no.
False Labeling
One last issue I wanted to address… false labeling. On top of all of this, companies are not required to include all of the ingredients on the label. For example, when you see “fragrance” or “parfum” on a label. That fragrance could include over 300 ingredients. But since it’s considered a trade secret, it does not have to be listed. And in contrast, products labeled “unscented” could actually have fragrance. Which is absurd!! How are you supposed to be careful about what you’re putting in or on your body if you’re not even provided all of the information!? They can also label their products as “clean,” “natural” or “organic” and the products still contain harmful ingredients. Perplexing, I know. In other words, what you see on the label…is not always what you get.
Ready to learn more? Make sure you check out this post with the top 10 ingredients you should avoid for cleaner beauty. Plus, some of the most popular clean beauty brands here.
You can check out all of my clean beauty posts here. Have you started cleaning up YOUR beauty routine? Share the changes you have made in the comments below.
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