Clean vs. Natural Beauty - Why We Prefer Natural

What is clean beauty?

Clean beauty can be confusing. That’s because there’s actually no real definition of what “clean beauty” means. That leaves both customers and brands to interpret what it means to be a clean beauty brand on their own, and often times, your standards for “clean” may not actually match those of brands that call themselves “clean.”

Many recognize that “clean” beauty means products that are “free from” or formulated without a list of potentially toxic ingredients. But that list can look different for every brand and retailer.

Ultimately “clean” is a marketing term and there is actually no regulation behind brands claiming to be “clean.” This puts the onus on the customers to do an unrealistic amount of research if they want to be able to trust the products they purchase.

How is natural beauty different?

At Andalou, we believe the power of nature is all we need to make great beauty products. So as a natural brand, we naturally avoid any chemicals that might cause harm to humans or our environment simply by using ingredients derived from nature. While not all clean beauty brands are natural, for us, natural beauty is clean beauty by nature.

How do I know how natural a product is?

To figure out just how “natural” a brand or product is, look for a callout of percent nature-derived on the packaging. A brand that’s transparent will have their percentage of natural ingredients clearly displayed on their packaging. For Andalou products, look for this symbol on the back or on the side of our packaging: 

(Spoiler: most of our products are formulated with 98-99% naturally derived ingredients)

Another one of the best ways to figure out if “clean” or “natural” products align with your standards is to get familiar with retailer standards. For example, Whole Foods Market bans 180+ ingredients from their beauty and body care product offerings. You can see all the ingredients they ban here. So, you can trust that any beauty product you’re buying at Whole Foods meets these standards.

There’s a lot of fear mongering out there in the beauty world. That’s why we strive to make naturally derived products that you don’t have to question. We’re hopeful that in the near future, our industry will have higher standards and regulations so that you don’t have to be the one to do all the research or be skeptical about the products you’re consuming. For now, keep practicing that skepticism!