Clean Beauty

The law requires that the safety of all ingredients is assessed when developing a product, irrespective of their source, and their use in cosmetic products must be safe. ‘Clean beauty’ can be used to refer to natural ingredients; however, whether ingredients are natural or man-made has no bearing whatsoever on how safe they are. Also, the name of the ingredient, whether long and complex or short and memorable, has no bearing on how safe it is either.

Anything, whether natural or man-made, has the potential to be harmful if used in the wrong way, even water or Vitamin A for example; too much or too little can cause severe harm in both cases.

Natural and organic ingredients are not always better for the environment than man-made ones. In fact, the source of an ingredient, whether it is from nature or from a laboratory, has no bearing on whether it is safer or whether it is better or worse for the environment. What is important is the way in which the ingredient is produced and whether this is sustainable.

Although nature can provide inspiration as a source of new ingredients for cosmetic and personal care products, natural resources are not always sustainable. For example, the excessive harvesting of plants from the wild can lead to a reduction in their numbers in nature or to a loss of natural habitat and biodiversity.

Scientists can produce man-made replicas of many natural ingredients from oils to fragrances. These are the same in every way as their natural counterparts and behave the same when put on the skin. In fact, man-made ingredients can often be even purer than natural ones, since they are produced under very strictly controlled conditions.