-I feel that consumers -- we're becoming more conscious
about what we are putting onto our skin,
what we are putting onto our hair, what we are ingesting.
When I think about clean beauty,
I think of us becoming more aware and conscious
of what you are consuming as a buyer in the market.
-"Clean beauty" is the new buzzword in cosmetics.
-Guilty-free, paraben-free, gluten-free,
fragrance-free, silicone-free.
-Formulated without formaldehydes, phthalates,
parabens, sulfates, and talc.
-Everybody has different standards,
and there's no common definition or regulatory standard
that defines what is clean.
And so, it's still really on consumers to try
and navigate all of that.
-In the U. S.
, the Food & Drug Administration provides very little oversight
when it comes to ingredients used in cosmetics.
According to the FDA's website --
Essentially, it's on the companies
to ensure the safety of their products.
-When customers come into our store now,
they are definitely looking at ingredients.
So, they are picking up the packaging,
they are asking about ingredients.
They might come in and know a certain ingredient
that they're looking for.
-You'll here people kind of conflate words like "organic"
and "natural" or "vegan"
or even "small-batch" or "plant-based."
So, to me, clean beauty is something that is really,
at its root, non-toxic and safe.
-The ingredients clean beauty buyers avoid show
that consumers are looking for transparency
in products and awareness in what's in them,
and that can get even more confusing
when there are so many labels.
There is little evidence that most ingredients
in cosmetics are toxic.
-She knows Love Beauty and Planet shampoos
are made with ingredients she can feel good about.
-Some ingredients, like sulfates and shampoos, are not harmful,
but have been associated with eye and skin irritation.
-If you love your color,
go sulfate-free with EverPure Haircare from L'Oreal.
-Several large retailers have begun to adopt clean beauty
as a way to label ingredients.
Sephora has a clean checkmark,
meaning the product does not contain sulfates,
parabens, or formaldehydes.
In 2019, Target introduced a bright, green Target icon,
letting shoppers know the product is formulated
without a group of unwanted chemicals.
The icon now appears on over 4,000 products.
-I have mostly cornrows and beads.
-Before the term "clean beauty" emerged, women of color
were using common ingredients to make their own products.
-When it comes to natural hair --
-Yeah, when it comes to natural hair --
-Yeah, women have been, like,
in the kitchen for, like, over 20 years.
-We've been doing it forever. -Yeah.
Yeah.
-I think we've been doing it forever, and I think, like,
even some of the brands we have in our store
have such, like, great origin stories.
-I would say outside of the cosmetics,
all the cosmetics are paraben-free, most are vegan.
But when it comes to truly green,
more naturally derived products,
I don't think that we made a conscious decision to do that.
Like, we knew, when it comes to natural hair,
we want products that are really safe on our hair,
and when it comes to our skin,
we want products that are really kind to our skin.
-So, I feel like women of color -- [Laughs] -Yeah.
And that's probably why it was hard for us
to kind of define clean,
because now, that's the buzzword,
but we've been doing it -- -We've been doing it.
Yeah. -Yeah.
-Yeah. -So.
[Both laugh] -Clean skincare, despite not having
a firm definition, is probably the new standard.
-Clean skincare has really expanded,
and I think what's great is that now,
you see, you know,
products that are formulated for every type of customer,
every type of skin type, every age.
But it's still not quite mainstream,
and I think you're seeing more and more brands, again,
like, understanding there's market interest,
and so, they're just following suit
because that's where they see the market going,
and I think with that, you'll also hopefully see --
we're already seeing now, actually, better price points,
more accessibility, more inclusively,
and that will become more and more the mainstream.
-[Chuckles]