- Clean beauty refers to skin and haircare products that are free from any artificial or potentially toxic materials.
- Switching to a clean beauty regimen helps with sensitive skin issues and is better for the environment.
- South Africa has a wide range of locally-made natural, cruelty-free and organic to add to your shopping list.
Anything you hope to put on your skin – especially the face – you’d hope for it to be as pristine and healthy as possible.
You’d think all cleansing and moisturising products are clean in all senses of the word, right?
But what many don’t realise is that many skincare and beauty products still contain artificial products like colourants, fragrances and preservatives that can wreak havoc on your skin, especially if you’re sensitive.
This is where clean beauty comes in.
Clean beauty can mean different things to different people but essentially the overall consensus is that buyers are hoping to erase added artificial products like parabens, sulfates and silicones from their skincare routine.
TRUELOVE spoke with Durban-based dermatologist Dr Mamelo Ntsele who gave us her insight into the rise of clean beauty
"Clean beauty is actually not well-defined because it's different depending on in which country you're in. Remember, in South Africa there isn't much regulation in terms of cosmetic products because they are not medical ... So, anyone can just come up with a cosmetic product and put it on the shelves or sell it even as a private individual.
"Clean beauty is basically more focusing on naturally sourced products that have no toxins in them and typically you also consider the environmental impact of products themselves and usually they will be well-labeled and you'll know the ingredients and you can follow them in terms of where the ingredients were sourced and how they were sourced.
"Were they responsibly sourced in terms of are they tested on animals and clean products will not be harmful to the environment. They'll not be tested on animals so there are certification bodies that can certify in terms of it's an animal-friendly product."
Clean beauty is all about using products made with natural ingredients including plat-derived materials like shea butter and coconut oil, just to name a few.
READ MORE | 6 locally made and cruelty-free beauty ranges to shop now
The benefits of clean beauty
The big thing to remember when purchasing your skincare and beauty products is to get familiar with the ingredients and many contain ingredients with names as long as sentences leaving you confused as to what you're actually putting on your skin.
Clean beauty is so popular because you know exactly what you're putting on your skin.
Dr Mamelo says, "Once you have too many ingredients and they are more chemical - you know when they write the chemicals and not exactly tell you is in the product, then if you have reactions you don't know what it is exactly that you're reacting to.
"So, the advantage is that with clean products, you tend to have a list of the actual products that are in the product and the ingredients. And then if you're having reactions, you know exactly what it is that you're reacting to as opposed to the other products that are - I'll say unclean but it's very wishy washy because there's no clear regulation but sometimes a patient will react to things but those harmful products are not even declared."
Is your beauty product clean?
Although clean beauty still an unregulated term, there are a few ways to figure out whether your go-to face wash or moisturising lotion is considered clean.
Here are a few buzzwords to look out for when shopping for skincare that leaves you worry-free from artificial materials that can cause allergic reactions and irritations.
Natural: these contain minimally processed ingredients taken from plants and nature
Organic: organic ingredients take natural to a new level of clean – these ingredients are from farms that do not use artificial substances like chemical pesticides and the plants are not genetically modified.
Vegan: These products don’t have any animal byproducts like beeswax and don’t have any ingredients sourced from animals.
Cruelty-free: if your favourite skincare brand boasts cruelty-free, then it means that none of their products are tested on animals at any stage. Plus, it can mean that any ingredients taken from an animal did not harm them in any way.
Green and sustainable: These products are made from renewable energy that don’t harm the earth or contribute to any carbon emissions.
You only want the best for your skin, particularly if you’ve been dealing with conditions like acne and hyperpigmentation.
Here, we’ve listed a few locally-sourced clean beauty brands that you can add to your shopping list:
Suki Suki Naturals
READ MORE | Suki Suki Naturals founder Linda Gieskes-Mwamba excited about reaching 10 years in the beauty space
