Clean Beauty, Natural vs. Synthetic: Is One Better than the Other?
You have probably noticed over the past few years that more and more products, especially skincare and body care products, are labelled “clean beauty”. Frankly, I thought that it was a more contemporary moniker for the term “natural” that arose in the 1970s, especially after natural as a descriptor was deemed to be meaningless. Some believe that clean beauty is also a meaningless term. But in my reviews, I often use “clean beauty” to describe products, especially if the brand uses that term.
One of the key reasons, I believe, that terms like natural and clean beauty have arisen over the years is because the U.S. has a relatively lax process for evaluating and allowing ingredients in our cosmetics and personal care products. It is much much less stringent than the procedure in the European Union where many more potentially harmful ingredients are banned in cosmetics, personal care, cleaning, and food products. I think terms like clean beauty were developed as road maps for consumers who are looking for guidance when shopping for products that are applied to their skin since so many of the ingredients in them are absorbed.
But in a world with seemingly finite resources, is there a role for synthetics? For instance, in perfumery, synthetic versions of natural ingredients have become more common since the second half of the twentieth century. Deriving ingredients from animals has become less desirable. And some plant-based ingredients are more difficult to find, cultivate or harvest. But on the flip side, some fragrances have begun to leave out alcohol, a common ingredient that’s been used in perfume for centuries.
So, what’s the deal with natural and synthetic ingredients? Is one better than the other? Is one less irritating to sensitive skin than the other? It seems to me that there really is no absolute winner. The best thing is to read the ingredient list, look up the ingredients that you don’t know and try to figure out which ingredients don’t suit you or your family.
About 10 years ago, I learned that peppermint oil, a natural ingredient, irritates my lips and makes them drier, so now, I avoid products that contain it. Other people can’t handle lavender oil or other essential oils. And I’m sure there are synthetic ingredients that I should be on the lookout for as well.
An Informative Article on the Subject from The New York Times
On Wednesday, Elizabeth Paton published “The Dirt on Clean Beauty” in the Style section of the New York Times. I found it to be informative, and I hope you will, too. Click on the link below to be taken to the article. And let me know what you think in the comments.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/04/style/clean-beauty.html
Excellent points, Allison. Part of the problem is that cosmetics, skincare, body care is largely unregulated in this country, and as a result “clean beauty” has become a catchall for many manufacturers who include a few “clean” ingredients amid their many chemical compound (including endocrine disruptors and other known unhealthy ingredients) and call them clean, or natural, etc. As you point out, natural ingredients can also be harsh and your intolerance of peppermint lip balms is a good indication that natural products can be irritating, as well. It would be helpful if more brands would engage in greater transparency, but in the absence of a highly regulated industry there will always be companies who don’t take it upon themselves to be transparent.
Reading the ingredients list and learning about them is all we can do here in the U.S. when it comes to personal care and cosmetics
There’s controversy over the name “clean beauty” just like Lola mentioned. There’s no regulations so any company can call themselves clean. We as consumers need to teach ourselves what we want to use in our lives.
Reading the ingredient lists is key!