An investigation of the alarmist misconceptions that clean beauty brands perpetuate most:
Author:Jessica DeFinoPublish date:Apr 10, 2019Let me preface this by saying I'm a big fan of natural skin-care. Huge. But I'm also a fan of facts — and when it comes to some of the alarmist claims in clean beauty brands' marketing materials, facts can sometimes take a backseat to fear-mongering. Like this oft-cited stat: "Chemicals in skin-care products take just 26 seconds to absorb into your bloodstream.
Even scientific research feels a little iffy when you consider the fact that controlled studies require a lot of financial backing; and those with the cash flow to support a 12-week study — the pharmaceutical industry and beauty conglomerates, for instance — aren't looking to funnel funds into research that disproves the safety or efficacy of their star ingredients.
Said savvy consumers are now turning their attention toward tactics like fear-mongering and "greenwashing" . Some call out brands that employ fear-inducing language on social media — RMS Beauty and Drunk Elephant are popular targets — as a way to advocate for the safety of modern medicine and man-made chemicals. Others believe that embellishing the truth about naturals only does a disservice to the larger clean beauty movement.
"The two main factors that will determine how much of an ingredient will absorb into the skin is the size of the molecule and its affinity for lipids," says Dr. Aanand Geria, a dermatologist at Geria Dermatology. "Ingredients that absorb into the bloodstream must be very small and lipid-soluble, which is often the case for essential oils and medical patches.
The Claim: Without Preservatives, Skin-Care Starts to MoldThe Truth: No, you're not rubbing mold on your face when you opt for preservative-free products. "If an oil-based product doesn't contain water, then a preservative is not needed in most circumstances," Dr. Geria clarifies. "Some oils even have inherent antibacterial and antifungal properties, such as lemongrass, eucalyptus, peppermint and orange oils.
The Claim: The Term "Fragrance" on Ingredient Labels Can Hide Dozens of Toxic ChemicalsThe Truth: The FDA requires beauty brands to list every ingredient inside a particular product on its box or label — but "fragrance," being proprietary, does fall through a loophole in that law. "The problem with 'fragrance' is that it's a convenient label to hide behind to avoid disclosing everything in the product," Dr. Altman says.
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