Are you aware of the ingredients used in all of the bottles and containers that fill your bathroom shelves? As ever, awareness is key to leading a more fulfilled, healthy and happy life. Over the past decade, the beauty industry has had to fast adapt to change with the rise of global demand for cleaner and more sustainable and ethically packaged products – all for the better don’t you agree?
First things first though – what is the difference between clean beauty and natural beauty? It’s simple really, natural products can also still be toxic (think poison ivy!) whereas clean beauty is non-toxic, meaning there are no ingredients in its formula that have been linked to harmful health effects. Clean beauty products will be completely transparent with every single ingredient listed. So, from the food that we eat to the cleaning products that we use, to the beauty products that we place on our skin, educating yourself on the ingredients in your beauty kit is the best way to make well-informed decisions and purchases that are cruely, chemical and toxic-free. At Goodness Cart, you will find nothing toxic in the brands that we stock; we have filtered absolutely everything so you can rest assured that you are making the best choices when you stock up on beauty brands for yourself and your family. Some things to look out for before making your all-important beauty purchases:
- Always make sure your beauty products are cruelty-free and not tested on animals in any way, shape or form. Check that your products are certified by PETA and the Leaping Bunny Association which is the International gold standard for non-animal tested consumer products. It has a rigorous selection process and they are very selective with the brands that they list as cruelty-free. For example, some brands may claim to be cruelty-free, but their ingredient suppliers are not, making them effectively not cruelty-free. Look out for the little bunny logo on the brand’s packaging or you can also double-check on the Leaping Bunny or PETA websites.
- Another way to check that your products are ‘clean’ is to check the ingredients listed on the packaging – it should be free of parabens and phthalates at the very least.
- If your beauty item states ‘fragrance’ as an ingredient, warning lights should now start to flash, especially if the exact fragrance ingredients are not listed. Companies can hide any ingredients in this category that they would rather not list., sneaky huh?
- If you are making an SPF purchase, the only active ingredients should include titanium dioxide or zinc oxide and nothing else. Chemical sunscreens can be irritating to the skin and have also been linked to hormone disruption.
Sadly, this area of the beauty industry is still largely unregulated with not much legal definition of clean and natural beauty. It’s hugely concerning that a product can be marketed as natural when maybe only 1% of it is. With this in mind, we aspire to be a game-changer when it comes to informing our customers exactly what is in the products that they are purchasing. Keep conscious of your next beauty haul. Your health and your body will thank you for it.
