5 Beauty ingredients you thought were clean

Clean Beauty is an up and coming industry with the potential to effect real, positive change. Unfortunately, many products branded as “clean beauty” contain hidden ingredients that negatively impact our health and the environment.

Here are five beauty care ingredients that you might not know are harmful to people and the planet.

1. Exfoliating microbeads — many face washes and exfoliating body washes contain a plastic substance called polyethylene or microbeads. Microbeads are touted as good for your skin because they exfoliate to remove dead skin cells. Unlike natural exfoliants like salt that biodegrade, plastic microbeads cause real harm to the planet. Although the beads are tiny, one container of facial cleanser can contain up to 350,000 beads! These beads accumulate in rivers, lakes, and oceans, causing plastic pollution.
2. Triclosan is “an antibacterial agent sometimes found in toothpaste, shampoo, soap, face wash, and hand sanitizer.” Not only does it have harmful effects on algae and aquatic bacteria, but it may also negatively impact human health.
3. Synthetic fragrances can be found in almost every beauty product from shampoo to bronzer and they may contain any combination of bad ingredients. The problem with fragrance in beauty and skin care products is that manufacturers aren’t required to say exactly what is in it. They can simply say “parfum” or “fragrance,” which could contain carcinogens, allergens, endocrine disruptors, or irritants.
4. Oxybenzone and octinoxate are ingredients commonly found in sunscreen and are known to have harmful effects on coral reefs and marine life. In January of this year, Hawaii officially banned the sale of over the counter sunscreens containing these ingredients, in an effort to preserve marine environments.
5. Last, but not least are Siloxanes, which are compounds found in many cosmetic and skincare products. Not only have they been found to cause harm to the environment through bioaccumulation in aquatic organisms, but they have also been linked with endocrine disruption and fertility issues in humans, making them a serious health concern.

It is disappointing to learn how few regulations there are governing the beauty industry and manufacturers claiming to be “clean beauty” brands can get away with putting harmful ingredients in their products. According to the Environmental Working Group “89 percent of 10,500 ingredients used in personal care products have not been evaluated for safety by the CIR, the FDA, nor any other publicly accountable institution.”

Thankfully, some companies are taking a stand to ensure that everything in their products are good for human health and the planet. Brands like Dr. Bronners and Drunk Elephant are paving the way in real clean beauty, ensuring that their products are free of any dangerous ingredients.

But how can serious clean beauty brands show customers that they are the real deal? Peer Ledger’s MIMOSI Connect empowers companies to uphold their social values and share proof of their responsible practices. We help companies prove not only what’s in the product, but where these ingredients came from. That’s not just good business, it’s good people and the planet.

References

1. Rebecca (April 18, 2016), 7 Cosmetic Ingredients that are Bad for the Environment, CV Skin Labs. Retrieved from https://cvskinlabs.com/7-cosmetic-ingredients-that-are-bad-for-the-environment/
2. Lisa Niven-Phillips (April, 2019), 6 Skincare Ingredients Which Are Harming The Environment, Vogue. Retrieved from https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/six-skincare-ingredients-which-are-harming-the-environment
3. Lisa M. Weatherly and Julie A. Gosse (2017), Triclosan Exposure, Transformation, and Human Health Effects, US National Center for Biotechnology Information, doi: 10.1080/10937404.2017.1399306
4. US National Ocean Service, Skincare Chemicals and Coral Reefs. Retrieved from https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/sunscreen-corals.html
5. Erin Miter Scanlon (January, 2021), Hawaii’s Ban on Oxybenzone and Octinoxate-Containing Sunscreen Takes Effect, Lexology. Retrieved from https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=dc777751-66bf-4b68-abe4-3176bb93a589
6. Victoria Hoff (Jun 01, 2020), The “Toxic 20”: Meet the Ingredients a Green Cosmetic Chemist Would Never Use, Bydrie. Retrieved from https://www.byrdie.com/toxic-beauty-ingredients-4782646
7. David Suzuki Foundation, The Dirty Dozen: Siloxanes. Retrieved from https://davidsuzuki.org/queen-of-green/dirty-dozen-siloxanes/
8. Green America, The Ugly Side of Cosmetics. Retrieved from https://www.greenamerica.org/green-living/ugly-side-cosmetics
9. Kathleen Hou (Jan. 24, 2017), The ‘Natural’ Skin-Care Line Sephora Can’t Keep in Stock, The Cut. Retrieved from https://www.thecut.com/2017/01/why-drunk-elephant-is-the-best-natural-skincare-line.html