Why Clean Beauty Needs To Die in 2020
- Ashley Worsham
- Jan 9, 2020
- 3 min read
If you’re like most people, you’re starting to make resolutions for the new year and have a fresh start for 2020. Clean out your closet, go to the gym, drink more water, use less plastic. One thing that we all need to forget about and not fall prey to is “clean” or “natural” beauty and skincare. It’s nothing but another marketing gag to get you to buy more.
The terms “clean” and “natural” are not FDA regulated so they can have varying definitions from brand to brand and have no legal meaning. They are vague terms that are confusing to consumers and misinterpreted as safe.
Products with these labels do not mean that they are any more gentle for you than products with synthetic ingredients. In fact, clean products may actually be harsher since they usually contain essential oils, botanicals, and strong fragrances that are more irritating to the skin. Allergies and irritation to these natural ingredients are much more common than other ingredients the EWG is demonizing (who are not scientists, chemists, or doctors by the way). People can develop allergies to anything, even “clean” products.
So, let’s talk about a few ingredients that the media is criticizing.
Propylene glycol
Gwyneth Paltrow’s company Goop, infamously said, “Do you want antifreeze (propylene glycol) in your moisturizer? We’re going to guess no.” Umm, are you kidding me? Ethylene glycol is the ingredient used in antifreeze and is toxic if consumed. Propylene glycol, on the other hand, is FDA regulated and is actually used as a sweetener in many foods and alcohols. This is because it has a very low rate of causing skin irritation, a very low toxicity rate and can be excreted properly by the body. They are not the same.
Propylene glycol can be found in prescriptions and over the counter products. It is a penetration enhancer and humectant. A humectant is an ingredient that attracts and retains water whether it be on your skin or in the air. It has many benefits to the skin and is not antifreeze.
Petrolatum (petroleum jelly)
Petrolatum is a dermatologist favorite. It is the superior humectant, emollient, it’s non-allergenic. In other words, it is very safe. It can even be used to protect wounds and burns from infection since it provides a natural barrier. It’s not the devil, I promise.
Preservatives
Many companies are removing the tried and true preservatives that we’ve been using for decades because of the stigma against them. Not only that, but they are replacing them with worse alternatives or leaving them out altogether. This only makes it worse for the consumer because the expensive product that you just bought will have a much shorter shelf life and you risk getting an infection if you use it after it has expired, or you could develop contact dermatitis (skin irritation or allergy) or photodermatitis (sensitivity to the sun) from the new preservative or lack thereof.
Preservatives are the most important ingredient of these three. They ensure the safety of the product and are necessary to protect against harboring bacteria and fungi, as well as protect the active ingredients from spoiling. Allergic reactions and skin irritation caused by preservatives are also very rare.
Takeaways
So next time you walk into Sephora, remember that the green leaf on the bottle means nothing because they’re choosing what “clean” means. According to their site, clean beauty means, “feel-good formulas bursting with powerful ingredients for glowing skin” (sephora.com).
Just because it says natural, doesn’t mean it is because anybody can say that. And just because it says organic doesn’t mean it’s a safe skincare or beauty product because organically derived ingredients can still be toxic or allergenic. They’re “greenwashing” their products to look like the better, safer, gentler option when that is just not the case. When “clean” means evidence-based, non-irritating, non-dye, and non-fragrance, then I’ll buy into it.
Sources
Deza G, Giménez-Arnau AM. Allergic contact dermatitis in preservatives: current standing and future options. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol. 2017;17(4):263–268.
Califf RM, Shinkai K. Filling in the evidence about sunscreen. JAMA. 2019;321(21):2077–2079.
Giménez-Arnau AM, Deza G, Bauer A, et al. Contact allergy to preservatives: ESSCA* results with the baseline series, 2009–2012. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2017;31(4):664–671.
Purnamawati, Schandra et al. “The Role of Moisturizers in Addressing Various Kinds of Dermatitis: A Review.” Clinical medicine & research vol. 15,3–4 (2017): 75–87. doi:10.3121/cmr.2017.1363
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