Navigating the clean beauty maze
Standing on a busy New York City corner dressed as a cactus, Mike Indursky, the founder of Hear Me Raw, asks passers about their skin care regimens and clean beauty.
Despite proclaiming they buy clean products; many are surprised that ingredients, such as crude oil, are in several of their favorites. The interviews underscore the confusion surrounding clean and conscious beauty—a segment without a clear definition and scant regulation in the U.S., according to Indursky.
Hear Me Raw was created by Indursky, who has worked at L’Oréal, Bliss, Burt’s Bees and Unilever, and his daughter Emma. They created the plant-based and refillable line to “be better for people and the planet.”
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APTO Skincare, sharing data from Kline, said the clean beauty market in the U.S. grew almost 10% in 2022 with a strong future ahead. Some consumers trust labels while others turn to blogs and social media for guidance, said Danielle Lindeman, senior marketing specialist. “As a result, there can be a wide range of what people consider clean skin care.”
The words clean, natural, organic and better for you are all bandied around in marketing today without any way to check claims. “You see the words ‘made with,’ or ‘free of’ and ‘pack with,’” said Okay Pure Naturals marketing director Chris Lopez. Several retailers have their definitions but what constitutes clean is still a fuzzy concept.
No matter how “clean” is defined, consumers say they are on the hunt for formulas with fewer questionable ingredients. There are more than 6.1 million posts on TikTok and Instagram combined that use the hashtag #cleanbeauty. Statista reports that 70% of consumers across all generations seek products that are conscious and ecologically friendly. Spate research noted that clean beauty amasses 5.3 million monthly searches.
“Consumers are understanding more than they used to about ‘clean’ but there is still a lot to learn,” said Sonia Summers, founder of Shielded Beauty. “So many brands call themselves clean now that it’s become baseline for consumers; simply saying your products are clean just isn’t enough anymore.” She added that consumers demand healthy ingredients, but they also want efficacy.
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Product testing to validate safe ingredients is one way brands are differentiating from those with unsupported claims. “Clean has become a term often misunderstood and misused within our industry,” said Logan Bilderback, vice president of marketing at Beauty Partners LLC, which markets Nailtopia among other brands. “What truly matters is how brands offer ingredient transparency to their consumers and whether the formulations undergo rigorous third-party toxicology reviews to ensure safety.” The desire for clean has been accelerated along with greater attention to ingredients people are applying to their bodies, Bilderback added.
Allison Carey, vice president of marketing for Raw Sugar Living, an early entry in the clean segment, agreed that consumers are learning more about what ingredients are good or bad for them.
“Clean is still a broad term that can be defined and interpreted in many ways,” Carey said. “Over the past 10-plus years consumers have become much savvier and more educated on ingredients and their benefits.” The current definition of clean beauty, according to Indursky, falls short and needs to evolve.
Without regulations, cleanwashing still exists, although a law passed late last year was a step in the right direction. APTO Skincare’s Cross sees an opportunity to take education and transparency to the next level. “We firmly believe that beauty brands and experts should work hand-in-hand to empower consumers with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions.” Technology, such as generative AI, will help, she added.
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Ulta Beauty, Walmart, Target, Sephora, Walgreens and CVS are among the retailers that identify clean products in stores or online.
Walmart, for example, uses a Made Without List curated with the help of state and federal regulations. According to Creighton Kiper, vice president of beauty at Walmart, there are currently more than 1200 ingredients on the MWL, and more than 900 clean beauty products offered under its clean beauty initiative. “Nearly 80% are under $10,” he said, an important point because clean is sometimes associated with being more expensive.
Is Clean Enough?
Looking ahead, brands will need to do more than remove certain ingredients, experts said.
Raw Sugar’s positioning has hit the mark with retailers and is now in more than 2,000 doors at CVS and 4,000 at Walmart. The brand added to its body wash and liquid hand wash categories with a Grow Pro Shampoo and Conditioner. In kids, the brand rolled out Slime Goo, a slime-like body wash that turns bath time into playtime, she said.
Nailtopia, she added, is adapting to the new reality that clean is evolving beyond a simple label by providing verifiable information and embracing responsible, cruelty-free approaches to remain competitive and meet consumers’ preferences.
APTO Skincare checks off all the boxes that retailers are looking for under the clean banner. No parabens, sulfates, phthalates, propylene glycol or synthetic fragrances that could be problematic are used. The company eliminated secondary packaging and switched from plastic to aluminum for bottles and post-consumer recycled materials for tubes.
Retailers have noticed an uptick in cases of sensitive skin. Unitech Medical’s CamWell botanical skin care products are suited for sensitive skin but also for cancer patients, according to Grace Li, the company’s CEO.
The company’s portfolio includes evidence-based natural solutions. CamWell Hand to Heal and Herb to Soothe maximum strength creams are oncologist-formulated, clinically studied natural clean skin care designed to help cancer patients naturally manage skin side effects of cancer treatment. All CamWell botanical skin care products are vegan, gluten-free, cruelty-free, nut oil-free, BPA-free, paraben-free, harsh chemical-free and made in the USA, Li said. The range is well-suited for stores with pharmacies where many patients or their caregivers frequent for other medical needs.