We’ve created an a to z guide to clean beauty brands because in today’s age we hear the term “clean beauty” thrown around like nobody’s business. Everyone is hopping aboard the clean beauty train, aiming to appease consumers, increase sales, and if we’re lucky, actually help the environment. I say “if we’re lucky” because truthfully, the beauty industry lacks regulations and standards for companies making clean beauty claims. Lack of regulation is only one of the 9 major problems with the beauty industry, but that’s a topic for another time.
The a to z list below compiles a handful of the most trusted clean beauty brands amongst consumers and retailers like Sephora and Ulta.
1. What Does It Mean To Be Clean?
2. A to Z Guide to Clean Beauty Brands
So, what does it mean to be clean? Unfortunately, there is no standard definition of what it means to be clean as various sources have different definitions.
After researching the Washington Post, The Good Face Project, and Harper’s Bazaar, here’s what we found to be the underlying definition of clean beauty. Clean beauty products are products created with priority of human health in mind, excluding harmful chemicals and ingredients from the product during creation. These harmful chemicals and ingredients include but are not limited to parabens, BHA, and formaldehyde releasing ingredients.
Briogeo is a leader in clean hair care in the industry, setting new standards for product ingredients and product results. Briogeo’s products are “clean, natural, and powerful,”.
The brand stands proudly on products that are free from harsh sulfates, silicones, phthalates, parabens, DEA (diethanolamine), and artificial dyes. Additionally, Briogeo runs their products through clinical trials before hitting the shelves to ensure consumers are seeing real benefits from the products they purchase.
Some of Briogeo’s staple ingredients in their hair care products are b-vitamins, bamboo leaf extract, argan oil, almond oil, biotin, ginger, shea butter, and more. Check out their best selling product lines: don’t despair, repair!, scalp revival, curl charisma, farewell frizz, superfoods, blossom and bloom, be gentle, be kind, and b. well.
Glow Recipe broke into the beauty space in 2014 and has made quite the name for itself in the beauty space. The brand is founded on community, inclusivity, individuality, and sustainability values.
Glow Recipe’s formulations are gentle and efficacious with the “highest quality ingredients including antioxidant-rich fruit extracts and clinically proven actives,”. Not to mention, their formulations are clean, vegan, and certified cruelty-free. Glow Recipe’s “The Never List” details all of the ingredients they pledge to never formulate with. You can find the list here.
Some of their best selling products include their watermelon glow niacinamide dew drops, their plum plump hyaluronic serum, and their watermelon glow PHA + BHA Pore-Tight Toner. Take Glow Recipe’s Skin Quiz or browse their product line by skin concern to see which product you may adore in your skincare ritual.
Ilia recognized makeup can serve a greater purpose for our skin. Thus, their mission is to “protect and revive our skin with clean, skin-centric beauty,”. Now, how do they accomplish that? Ilia is creating hybrid skincare products by packing in active levels of skincare ingredients that work to protect the skin against environmental stressors like SPF into their products.
Ilia products are cruelty-free and are formulated without gluten, parabens, phthalates, petroleum, mineral oil, BHA/BHT, propylene glycol, PEG, cyclomethicone, and chemical sunscreens.
Additionally, Ilia is a part of 1% for the planet, donating 1% of their super serum skin tint sales to environmental causes. Their first environmental cause is reforestation, with the goal of planting 1,000,000 trees in Brazil and Ecuador by 2023.
Check out their best selling limitless lash mascara, their best selling and award winning super serum skin tint SPF 40.
Kosas Cosmetics is also breaking into the hybrid skincare space, formulating makeup products with active levels of skincare ingredients to clinically improve skin health. In order to make products that hydrate, soothe, brighten, plump, and protect they use standout ingredients like niacinamide and squalane in their skin improving foundation and hyaluronic acid and peptides in their wet lip oil gloss.
Kosas is committed to creating products that are free from harmful ingredients by abiding by EU, Sephora, and Credo Clean standards. Kosas has banned over 2,700 ingredients including but not limited to parabens, talc, aluminum, silicones, suflates, aluminum, petrolatum, and undisclosed fragrances.
Not to mention, Kosas is made by and for people with sensitive skin thus, clinical safety testing is conducted by Kosas on all of their products. Kosas is a great option for those of all skin types (including sensitive!) who want to promote skin health through their daily makeup ritual.
Tula’s motto is “better safe than sorry” which is why they pour clinical research, scientific studies, and clean ingredients into their products. Tula’s best known for their probiotic and prebiotic skincare (check out the difference between probiotics and prebiotics here!).
With over 1,600 ingredients on their “no” list and certified cruelty free, you will find products free of harsh ingredients like parabens and mineral oils and instead packed with safe, effective ingredients like vitamins and ceramides.
From their cult favorite cool and brightening eye balm to their cult favorite purifying facial cleanser, Tula does not disappoint.
While this is not an exhaustive a to z guide to clean beauty brands, it highlights what you can and should be looking for in beauty product ingredients to ensure you are protecting the health of your body, skin, and hair.
Learning what ingredients to stay away from and which to look for enables you to decipher which beauty brands are clean while shopping. If you need help, refer to this a to z guide and see what ingredients these leading clean beauty brands use and which they stray away from.
Looking for clean beauty brands that do not formulate with harmful ingredients is the first step to protecting yourself. The next step is looking for eco-friendly beauty brands that protect the environment too!
Written by Lauren Conklin
