More and more women – and men, too – are making a shift towards more conscious consumption, and the cosmetics sector is no exception. The “clean beauty” philosophy is all about applying the principle of “less is more”. These skincare products tend to stick to the ingredients that are truly necessary and avoid substances that might raise a critical eye, such as microplastics or mineral oil. In many cases, clean beauty products are also vegan skincare products.
What does clean beauty mean? What’s new about clean beauty cosmetics?
“Actually, 'clean' isn't really all that new – not for BABOR, anyway.”
(Andrea Weber, Head of Research & Development)
What is new is the level of uncertainty that has emerged on the market. There is still no universally accepted definition of the term “clean beauty”. That often leaves it open to misuse as a marketing tool. That said, what clean beauty is really all about is creating pure, “honest” skincare products, ensuring safety for the user and the environment, delivering genuine efficacy, and being transparent about ingredients and manufacturing processes.
Clean beauty: Which ingredients are considered questionable?
Determining which ingredients are deemed questionable depends on where you live. Within Europe, the European Cosmetics Regulation regulates the use of key cosmetic ingredients, such as UV filters, preservatives, and colorants. The list of banned ingredients currently includes more than 1,300 substances. The situation is quite different in the US, where no such official list exists. There, the market operates on the basis of self-regulation by means of regular market monitoring. Meanwhile, the US cosmetics industry has come up with its own definition of the term “clean beauty”. For consumers, this makes it particularly difficult to make speedy online purchases of globally available products.
Why is clean beauty becoming more and more relevant?
Aided by substantially more information, consumers are paying ever greater attention to transparency when making product purchasing decisions. This holds true for food as well as for an increasing number of products from other industries, including cosmetics. More and more consumers report having sensitive skin that is prone to irritation. Apart from excessive skincare routines, the reasons for a rise in sensitive skin can also include an increase in environmental stressors, such as particulate matter or blue light from digital devices. Clean beauty now offers transparency and care for sensitive skin.
Are facial creams without chemical additives better tolerated?
In fact, there are no cosmetics without chemical additives because even natural ingredients have a chemical structure, which means they are also chemical substances in the broadest sense. That’s what makes the clean beauty philosophy – meaning cosmetics without chemical additives that aren’t really necessary – so practical and achievable. These clean formulas are better tolerated by people with sensitive skin because overall, the more ingredients you add, the more likely your skin is to react. Since there is no universal definition of clean beauty, and since the choice of which substances to avoid varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, it’s essential to ensure transparent communication in the context of clean beauty.
What is the difference between clean beauty and natural cosmetics?
Clean beauty is not at all the same as purely natural cosmetics! While natural cosmetics use plant-based and natural ingredients exclusively, clean beauty focuses on transparency and maximising consumer trust when it comes to purchasing high-performance cosmetics. The maxim “less is more” applies to both. A product is considered clean when its ingredients are as minimal and as safe as possible. The term “clean” doesn’t stand for “better than”, but rather for “free from” or “without”, such as cosmetics without microplastics and paraben-free cosmetics. More broadly, it’s important to understand that synthetic ingredients can also be sustainable and harmless, much the same way that natural ingredients can be environmentally harmful and objectionable.
Environmentally friendly cosmetics: Are clean beauty cosmetic products sustainable?
Much of the packaging used by the cosmetics industry throughout the world is non-recyclable or non-biodegradable. Eco-friendly packaging in cosmetics is a real challenge because it’s very difficult to find a sustainable, eco-friendly option that also looks attractive. Nonetheless, clean beauty products also focus special attention on packaging, so they can be beneficial to the environment.
We are fully confident that making minor changes can mean all the difference, and with our DOCTOR BABOR CLEANFORMANCE series, we’re taking a step towards a brighter future: We use recycled paper from sustainable forestry with the FSC seal for the packaging of our CLEANFORMANCE products. Our primary packaging materials are made of glass and even the tubes are made of 30% recycled plastic. Every single one of our formulas is free of microplastics. And since BABOR production is already CO2 neutral, the environment loves the DOCTOR BABOR CLEANFORMANCE clean beauty skincare line just as much as you will.
Clean beauty: Which ingredients does BABOR refrain from using?
As a German company, BABOR has been synonymous with outstanding quality, sustainable development, and a conscientious use of resources for a lot longer than just the last few years. Everything is produced at our company headquarters in Aachen, Germany. The DOCTOR BABOR CLEANFORMANCE clean beauty series includes vegan care products with just the right balance of performance, naturalness, sensory experience, and quality. CLEANFORMANCE represents a high performance product line featuring “clean” formulas with up to 98% ingredients of natural origin, combined with an innovative pre- and probiotic complex.
Our mission is to move closer to 100% natural origin in our formulas without sacrificing efficacy and appealing textures. That’s why we do allow the use of synthetic ingredients in extremely minimal amounts and only when they are necessary. We are committed to exclusively using ingredients that foster healthy skin and support the integrity and efficacy of our formulas.
BABOR CLEAN BEAUTY GUIDE
I´ll take mine...
WITHOUT
PARABENS
WITHOUT
SILICONES
WITHOUT
GLUTEN
WITHOUT
LACTOSE
WITHOUT
MICROPLASTICS
WITHOUT
MINERAL OILS
WITHOUT
SYNTHETIC FRAGRANCES
WITHOUT
ANIMAL-BASED INGREDIENTS
Healthy beauty: Vegan cosmetics
DOCTOR BABOR CLEANFORMANCE
DOCTOR BABOR CLEANFORMANCE stands for clean beauty, because the cosmetics are microplastic-free, silicone-free, paraben-free, lactose-free, gluten-free, and produced without mineral oil or synthetic fragrances. This clean beauty line is a celebration of the dewy look and a complexion that radiates with a subtle glow – as if kissed by the morning dew. Pre- and probiotics support healthy skin and impart a natural glow, strengthening the skin barrier and working together like a mini protective shield to protect the skin from environmental stressors. The product line comprises 100% vegan beauty products. An extract of red maple bark safeguards the skin thanks to its powerfully regenerative antioxidant properties that result in greater elasticity and resilience. This extract is the very first fully sustainable and clinically tested cosmetic ingredient derived from recycled red maple bark.
