5 skincare ingredients to avoid for a cleaner beauty regime
Why more people are hopping on the clean beauty trend. Check out plant-based ingredients, sustainable beauty products for your skincare and beauty routine
Text: Shannon T
The world of ‘clean beauty’ can be a confusing one. With a growing number of clean brands enter the beauty industry daily, be it for personal care, skincare, haircare or makeup, trying to decide what really is clean and safe to use, along with skincare ingredients to avoid, can be a minefield.
The mystification around clean beauty starts with the phrase itself. While rising in popularity, it has endless definitions. It can be a combination of ‘green’, ‘natural’, or ‘organic’, each word holding little weight without a clear definition, resulting in a segment of the beauty world that is often misleading. At The Soothe, we see clean beauty products as those made without ingredients that have been shown to harm or potentially harm human health.
Potentially harmful beauty ingredients
Navigating your way to truly clean beauty products for healthy skin can be difficult because of the minimally regulated beauty and personal care industry. At present, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States has banned only 11 chemicals from cosmetics; in the European Union, more than 1,300 chemicals known or suspected to cause cancer, birth defects, genetic mutation or reproductive harm have been banned. This means that beauty companies that operate out of the US are legally free to continue packing potentially harmful ingredients into the beauty products we use every day.
If you’re looking to take steps to clean out your cabinet and your skincare routine of potentially toxic ingredients, but have little time to research and find the information necessary to make informed decisions, a good place to start would be at the (quite frankly) mind-boggling product label.
How to read a beauty label
We often see claims like ‘organic’, ‘hypoallergenic’ and ‘all-natural’, and for many, these are deciding factors on whether to purchase. But did you know that the FDA has no standard definition for them? This means that these claims are not regulated, and companies have full control over how they want to define them. In other words, they can just use them as a bid to capture the conscious consumer’s attention.
The order of ingredients listed are also important. They are generally listed in descending order from the greatest to the least amount present in the product which can tell you a lot (essentially, whether an ingredient you want to avoid is in high concentration). The open-jar symbol tells you how long a product can be used for once it’s opened. Look out for the numbers ‘6M’, ‘12M’ or ‘24M’ where ‘M’ stands for months, serving as a good gauge for when you should start throwing these products out.
Importantly, a clean beauty label should be transparent in listing all of its ingredients and if possible, the source — for example, if you read the ingredient “glycerin”, there might be the addition of the words “plant source” listed in the ingredients list. Or “olive oil (non-GMO)”. It does not necessarily have to be natural, vegan or preservative-free. Rather, the focus of switching to clean beauty products should be on eliminating as many potentially toxic ingredients from your beauty regime which research suggests may be potentially carcinogenic or hormone-disrupting to the human body.
5 skincare ingredients to avoid
With scientific research on cosmetic ingredient safety continually evolving, we strive to keep up with its findings. Here are five skincare ingredients to avoid in your skincare routine when looking for beauty products for healthy skin.
1. Formaldehyde
Commonly found in many beauty products such as nail polish, eyelash glue, shampoos and makeup, these low-cost and fast-acting preservatives can irritate the eyes, nose and throat, and cause skin problems for many with sensitivities. Awarded “Contact Allergen of the Year” by the American Contact Dermatitis Society in 2015, cosmetics typically contain low levels of formaldehyde (which helps protect against contamination from bacteria, allowing a product to be stored for longer) that don’t tend to cause concern for normal skin, but with so many products containing this skincare ingredient, it all adds up.
2. Parabens
(Methyl-, Propyl-, Butyl-, Ethyl-Paraben)
Considered endocrine disruptors, these they are commonly found in sunscreens, shampoos, makeup and body soaps and have the incredible ability to interfere with our body’s hormones, regulating our moods, metabolism and reproductive processes. Linked to severe and long-term health damage, they should be a cause for concern especially when it comes to the likes of baby wipes for children with their still-developing systems.
3. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES)
Commonly found in shampoos, toothpaste and cleansers, these are effective foaming agents, helping products to create a rich lather. They also act as a cleansing agent. Prolonged exposure and skin contact can be irritating to the skin, eyes, mouth, lungs and scalp, with some more sensitive skin types finding it can clog pores and cause acne. If you experience irritation, see if sulphate-free products may make a difference.
4. Talc
Although there is no definitive answer as to whether the use of talc in products such as setting or pressed powders is a concern in cosmetics, it poses a risk for irritation in more sensitive skin types. The main concern with talc is the respiratory and lung problems repeated inhalation can cause, leading to symptoms like asthma, bronchitis and even talcosis, which is the inflammation of the lungs that can lead to stiffening or even lung failure.
5. Triclosan
Already restricted in countries like Canada and Japan, this antimicrobial ingredient can be found in dish soaps, body washes and toothpaste. The FDA claims many findings are still insignificant, but there are some other studies that claim triclosan makes bacteria resistant to antibiotics, which encourages the growth of ‘superbugs’ (and we really don’t need any more of those!). For now, the FDA leaves claims very inconclusive, therefore, the reason why Triclosan is banned is because they can’t ascertain that it is safe. Claims such as ‘antibacterial’ or ‘odour-fighting’ on product labels often indicates the presence of Triclosan or Tricocarbon, its chemical cousin.
About Chuin Wei
With a keen interest in clean beauty as well as propaganda relating to the cosmetics, meat and dairy industry, Chuin Wei started a conscious beauty site where she had the privilege of interviewing clean beauty founders about the ‘how’s and whys’ of their brand, ingredient sourcing and product formulation. She is currently a product strategist in a homegrown company whose portfolio includes numerous beauty and F&B brands.
