Is your skin care truly clean? A data-backed checklist

Audio By Carbonatix

Consumers today are increasingly searching for clean skin care products, and retailers are stocking their shelves with options. More skin care brands now offer clean products, but what does clean really mean? In the United States, “clean” is an unregulated term with no universal definition. Beauty brands do not need to meet a specific criterion to call their products clean. Without regulation, the clean label can quickly become meaningless.

As more brands market clean products, it’s harder for consumers to trust that products align with their expectations. Beauty brands can prove their clean credentials through transparent ingredient lists and trustworthy certifications like “certified organic.”

If consumers know what to look for, they can determine what products are clean and what products to avoid. Ogee created the checklist below for shoppers to verify whether or not a skin care product is truly clean before buying.

#1: Look Beyond Front-of-Pack Marketing

Skin care products often feature labels like clean, natural, green, or nontoxic on the front of packaging. These marketing terms are eye-catching and popular, but they don’t necessarily mean what they claim. These trendy terms are popular in advertising because they are unregulated. Brands don’t have to meet certain criteria to say they are clean or natural.

When choosing a skin care product, don’t take marketing at face value. Look for science-backed evidence that supports these claims. If a brand doesn’t provide any, their products most likely don’t align with clean standards.

#2: Read the Ingredient List, Not Just the Claims

The ingredient list proves whether or not a skin care product is clean. Review the ingredient list to ensure there are no synthetic ingredients, harsh chemicals, toxic fragrances, or hidden additives. Shoppers today don’t need to become experts in ingredient safety to vet beauty products. They can simply copy and paste ingredients into reputable checkers like EWG to easily verify ingredient safety.

While ingredients are important, so is product formulation and function. Natural and organic ingredients aren’t necessarily safe for skin care. Some natural or botanical ingredients, particularly essential oils, can be irritating for skin, especially at higher concentrations. Certain popular natural oils, like coconut oil, are comedogenic and clog pores. These oils may not be suitable for skin care.

Brands can also use ingredients with clinically proven benefits, but that doesn’t guarantee that their formula is beneficial. If the formula doesn’t contain enough of the key ingredient, it won’t be effective.

#3: Look for Third-Party Certifications

Third-party certifications help shoppers determine if a clean beauty brand is what they claim to be. If a skin care brand has a third-party certification, it means an independent, reputable organization determined that their ingredients, sourcing, and/or operations meet the certification criteria.

There are numerous trusted certifications that clean skin care brands can obtain such as certified organic, Cosmos certification, EWG Verified, Made Safe, and Ecocert. Shoppers can look for brands with certifications that align with their values and expectations.

#4: Focus on Ingredients With Clinical Support

Skin care products are often bought to target specific concerns like aging, redness, acne, and uneven texture. Knowing what ingredients are effective helps consumers choose the best product for their specific skin care needs.

Look for ingredients with clinically proven benefits. Transparent, reputable brands will choose science-backed ingredients and provide research to verify their claims.

#5: Pay Attention to Skin Barrier Health

A healthy barrier is the foundation of skin care. Environmental stress and using products with harsh chemicals, irritating synthetic ingredients, or too many active ingredients can harm the skin barrier. Numerous dermatological concerns are caused or exacerbated by an impaired skin barrier, including acne, dry skin, redness, and dermatitis.

If the skin barrier is compromised, targeted skin care products like retinol will be irritating instead of effective. Choosing clean, nonirritating skin care products can help repair the skin barrier. Prioritize gentle, hydrating products with ingredients that support and restore the skin barrier, like ceramides. These products can be used daily and will improve overall skin health long term.

#6: Evaluate the Brand's Transparency

Transparency builds consumer trust and loyalty. Reputable clean skin care brands make it easy for consumers to understand what’s in their products and why. To determine if a brand is transparent or not, look at what information they make available to the public. Transparent brands should explain how they source ingredients, as well as their formulation philosophy, manufacturing standards, and testing practices.

As consumer education grows, transparency determines whether or not shoppers buy a skin care product. When choosing what brand of lotion to buy, 40.2% of consumers say that natural ingredients are the most important factor, followed by whether the brand respects the environment and uses recyclable packaging, according to a NielsenIQ analysis.

The Future of Clean Beauty Is Evidence, Not Buzzwords

Shoppers are no longer taking marketing claims at face value. Findings from an NSF survey show only 9% of American consumers today trust voluntary labels. Shoppers are increasingly learning how to vet clean skin care brands and have more tools to do so. They can easily research products online and scan ingredients using apps and databases.

As consumer demand for clean beauty products grows, shoppers are holding brands accountable. They expect beauty brands to support their claims and look for evidence before buying.

The Best Checklist Starts With Asking Better Questions

Asking the right questions can help consumers make better-informed purchasing decisions. Before buying a new skin care product, savvy shoppers should verify marketing claims, read the ingredient list, look for third-party certifications, check for clinically proven and functional ingredients, and review brand transparency.

The clean beauty industry is growing, but it’s also becoming more transparent. Consumer education has shaped today’s growing demand for transparent, science-backed clean skin care products. Beauty brands are adapting as more brands use clean yet clinically proven ingredients and provide transparent sourcing and ingredient lists. As younger generations influence demand, the clean beauty industry will continue to evolve to meet new evidence-based standards.

This story was produced by Ogee and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.