Your Ultimate Autumn Skincare Guide
To keep your complexion glowing and hydrated throughout the autumn months, follow our ultimate autumn skincare guide.
Vanessa Noy
March 30, 2024
Clean or Green. Natural or Organic
What Is Clean Beauty?
We decode the Indie Beauty World
Confused by all the definitions around Clean Beauty? Let’s take a look at the most common terms used in beauty, keeping in mind these definitions can have different meanings in the mainstream beauty market to those of us familiar shopping within the natural Indie Beauty community.
Unfortunately there is no official regulatory definition for how the word natural or organic apply to everyday beauty products. While it is all well and good that we all have different interpretations of the same word, where does this leave us in terms of ensuring we are making good purchasing decisions when it comes to our skincare and wellness products?
Natural Skincare & Cosmetics
At The NATIVES Co. natural beauty refers to the formulation and its purity of ingredients. Formulations are derived from nature in the form of plant extracts, herbs, roots, flowers, oils and butters. These ingredients can be found on the land or at sea. We term “natural beauty” as natural formulations that are free from unnecessary synthetic ingredients. Products are made of 100% natural ingredients without toxic synthetics and preserved with natural derivatives that are well tolerated by the skin.
In an unregulated industry, many mainstream brands can use a very small amount of natural ingredients and can legally call their product “natural”, when in fact they are mainly using cheap synthetic fillers and preservatives. The word “natural” is the most overused word in the beauty industry!
Synthetic Free
A product labelled as “synthetic-free” contains no man-made ingredients, it is 100% made of naturally occurring elements or compounds.
Inspired by Nature
Mainstream beauty marketing will have us believe that “inspired by nature” is natural. Let’s be clear, these ingredients are NOT made in nature. Synthetic, science made ingredients that act as natural ingredients have been commonplace for decades. They do not have the purity and the long-term efficacy of real natural ingredients. Think synthetic Lavender Oil that is manufactured to smell like the real deal but contains synthetic alcohol, fragrance and possible skin irritants. Not natural at all.
Organic Ingredients & Products
Organic skincare is generally defined as skin care products which contain organically grown ingredients. These are grown to specific farming methods, including being free from pesticides. Organic products are desirable and viewed to be beneficial for the skin, as little to no harsh chemical ingredients have been used in the growing of the base ingredients. They are generally considered the most pure ingredients.
Look out for certifications such as COSMOS Certified, NATRUE, USDA and ACO (Australian Certified Organic). The standards set by these organisations are some of the most stringent organic standards for cosmetics internationally, giving the consumer peace of mind in products that carry the label. As a guide we look to the gold standard in certifications and the global leaders in this space, COSMOS Certified and NATRUE.
Clean
At The NATIVES Co. Clean beauty is products that are mindfully created and produced using ethically sourced natural and/or organic ingredients, that are non-toxic and tested on humans, not animals. At the heart of Clean Beauty is a core ethos where products are sourced, formulated and produced with the highest regard to our health and the environment.
In the beauty industry Clean beauty can be both natural and synthetic as it focuses on the safety of the end product and its eco-friendly and sustainable manufacturing practices. We define Clean Beauty as also being free of unnecessary synthetic ingredients.
Green
Green beauty refers to natural formulations made with true-to-nature or naturally derived ingredients in the lab. We look to green-beauty products that are manufactured by using sustainable and renewable resources. Green also denotes a Brands approach to its carbon footprint, waste and packaging; here we see Brands pay close attention to recyclable and certified cardboard, plastic-free bottles, recycled plastic packing alternatives, and the use of biodegradable fillers reducing carbon footprint.
Clean and Green go hand in hand, both encompassing eco-friendly ingredient sourcing and manufacturing that typically encompass the three pillars of sustainability – economic, environmental and social equity.
Greenwashing
Is when a company spends more time and in most cases money, marketing themselves as environmentally friendly rather than actually practicing what they preach and minimising their environmental impact. Greenwashing can be seen in many forms from words like “inspired by nature” and supported with suggestive imagery of green fields and blooming flowers yet they have only 1% natural ingredients in the formulation they are marketing.
Look to companies that are transparent with us as consumers about their sustainability practices across their social, economic and environmental impacts. If a company is going to market themselves as green, it is up to us as consumers to hold them accountable.
Pure
Refers to the purity of the ingredient, from the source to our skin. We consider the origins and source of how an ingredient has been grown, harvested and utilised prior to formulation for optimal purity, freshness and quality. Purity and quality of ingredients has a huge impact to the efficacy of the final product.
Laurel Skincare brand founder – Laurel, works directly with local organic farming communities in her local region to ensure that whole plants are harvested at the time of formulation ensuring only the purest and freshest plants are used in her formulations for maximum efficacy.
Potent
Natural skincare brands that utilise the best nature has to offer, perfected in formulations backed by science and validated with clinical tests and real independent trials by real women. Busting one of the biggest misconceptions that natural skincare does not work.
Brands such as AMALA and La Fervance prove that natural can and does deliver comparable results to some of the best mainstream luxury and premium skincare brands in the world. Taking to the luxury halls of Barney’s and the best spa hotels in the world, Vanity Fair hailed AMALA to rival the likes of La Prairie and La Mer proving that going natural can be luxe and effective!
LA FERVANCE Éclat Extraordinaire
Clinically tested, multi-use, high-performance luxurious face balm.
Eclat Extraordinaire will dramatically improve your skins hydration whilst visibility reducing wrinkles and restoring the skin's elasticity and firmness. Your skin will experience a lifting effect whilst also appearing more soothed and toned.
Best For: All skin types, well suited to addressing the first signs of aging and mature skin.
Volume: 50ml/ 1.69fl
Empowering YOU to Make Informed Purchases
Purchase well, consume less and make educated choices about the products you choose. Shop where you can trust the edit has been vetted. Choose brands that are transparent or that go the extra mile, for example; independent clinical trials are a great indication that a brand backs their own product!
Natural skincare is also not a sprint. Silicones and mineral oils in mainstream products tend to make your skin silken to touch. They do make us believe that our skin is softer, and that the product is working, but they do nothing for the health of the skin. Natural skincare on the other hand is about long-term skin health and balance. This can only be achieved by hydrating and nourishing the skin with ingredients that the dermis can best benefit from.
At The NATIVES Co. eco-friendly clean beauty is high performance, often scientifically proven, luxury skincare, makeup and wellness products. The ingredients and formulation, along with the efficiency of the product is equally important when selecting our edit of Indie Beauty products.
We have used our knowledge to create a list of toxic and unsafe ingredients that we can’t live with in our skincare, makeup and hair care products. Our Clean Code talks to 4 key pillars, Clean, Green, Pure and Potent. Defining our strict standards and ensuring only the best and most effective formulations make it to our shelves and ultimately yours. Use our Clean Code eco-stamps to shop a product’s attributes at a glance.
For us it’s hard to believe that any company would use an ingredient that could be potentially harmful to humans or animals, nor source and manufacturer in a lab and factory that wouldn’t want to improve the living standards of the workers and their community.
Clean Beauty is not a trend. It IS the future of beauty and we as consumers are empowered to vote with our purchases and by making good choices in the products we use for our skincare, makeup and body-care.
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