What Is Clean Skincare?

Most of us prefer clean living for our homes, bodies, skin, and the environment. In the past decade, with more information and research at hand, people have taken clean to higher levels with foods, cleaning products, fabrics, haircare, and skincare.

What defines clean? How do we know what is clean? Can we trust a brand by its label? Should we take it a step further by researching? 100%!

Clean can have different meanings for every individual. The core of clean beauty is based on non-toxic and safe ingredients, along with transparency. Organic doesn't equal clean just as synthetic does not mean unclean. The process to attain each component of a product can make what we're using dirty. 

Another misconception is that clean is automatically cruelty-free. Not true. At all. We need to give some marketing tactics a major side-eye. This is not where the sun needs to be blocked.Since the beauty (cosmetics, skincare, haircare) industry is lightly regulated, we have to go to school, in a sense by researching with our companion, Google. Finding a brand that we love and trust can take years to discover. Unless a brand is truly transparent while backing up all claims, it might be best to look elsewhere.

On the Instagram of Environmental Working Group (EWG), actress and host, Liza Koshy discussed clean beauty with Nneka Leiba (VP of EWG's Health and Living Science Team) said, "There's no legal definition of clean beauty. Here's what clean beauty means to EWG. Products made without ingredients that can harm our health. And products that let you know what's in them." 

EWG recently held CleanCon 2020 where they focused on clean beauty. One of the speakers, Gregg Renfrew, Founder of BeautyCounter said, "Clean means disrupting an industry that is wildly outdated."

For a list of EWG's dirty ingredients, go here.

One toxic ingredient can cancel the cleanliness of an entire product. It could be a toxic preservative. Many new preservatives are being added to skincare. Rescue Skin uses a preservative called Caprylhydroxamic Acid which is an amino acid derived from coconut oil that replaces parabens.

A few other preservatives are still being researched while some on are the fence as to their safety. For example, phenoxyethanol is a preservative used in many products today (not in Rescue Skin). Additionally, it is sometimes used as a fragrance. According to EWG, it has between a 2-4 rating, depending on usage.

Preservatives are needed to keep skincare fresh and from bacterial contamination. Yet, preservatives such as parabens and formaldehyde releasers are the main ones we need to be weary of.In a study published by MDPI's Molecules, it found, "The antimicrobial efficacy is considered the main function of a cosmetic preservative. However, the inherent toxicity of these ingredients is a problem that the cosmetic industry should be concerned about. Therefore, it is necessary to continue the search for non-toxic and effective preservatives."

Why are they allowed in products, if they're harmful? Good question. We would all like to know. We have to remember that the beauty world is softly controlled. It's a task to constantly be on the lookout, but it's for our own well-being."FDA doesn’t have special rules that apply only to preservatives in cosmetics. The law treats preservatives in cosmetics the same as other cosmetic ingredients.

Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), cosmetic products and ingredients, other than color additives, do not need FDA approval before they go on the market," according to the FDA.

This is not to shame anyone for using what they use. We all learn as we go and as we age. Nothing wrong with trying out fresher and cleaner skincare. It can be a sacrifice, but our skin is worth it!From Our Skin Care to Yours,

RxESCUESKIN