There’s appeal in a term like “clean beauty.” But despite evoking thoughts of sustainability, global responsibility and all-natural ingredients, clean beauty doesn’t necessarily mean any of those things. In 2025, over a third of beauty products carry this label—a number predicted to increase by 12 percent by 2027. Yet, nearly half of consumers are not up-to-speed with the label’s meaning, and more than 60 percent are expressing new concerns about supply chain transparency. It’s clear that a little education on what clean beauty truly entails is long overdue.
Featured Experts
- Rose-Marie Swift is the founder of RMS Beauty
- Janine Hopkins, MD is a board-certified dermatologist in Monroe, LA
- Tina Alster, MD is a board-certified dermatologist in Washington D.C.
All-Natural = All Good?
“Normally, a product labeled as clean will be a product that doesn’t contain known toxins,” says RMS Beauty founder Rose-Marie Swift. “Instead, they contain ingredients that are naturally derived wherever possible.” But that doesn’t always mean they’re the best choice for your skin.
When a product carries a label that says clean or ‘all-natural ingredients,’ we have a tendency as shoppers to view that as particularly safe,” says Monroe, LA dermatologist Janine Hopkins, MD. “But all-natural doesn’t mean every ingredient is good for you. I mean, cancer is natural.”
A lack of regulation allows brands to define clean beauty on their own terms, which can lead to misleading claims. Additionally, natural ingredients often include common skin irritants, such as essential oils and citrus extracts. “There’s also the issue of over-processing the skin,” says Washington D.C. dermatologist Tina Alster, MD. “I see a lot of patients that are using clean beauty products. But they are using so many products in their regular routine that they’re seeing a degraded skin barrier and irritation.”
At the end of the day, the term clean is more of a marketing label than a regulated standard. “We need to be vigilant as consumers that the ingredients are not just natural, but safe and effective.”
Clean Beauty Should Be Certified and Transparent
So, how do we make sure that the products we’re buying are actually clean?
Third party certifications like Leaping Bunny, Cruelty Free and Fair Trade can go a long way towards helping consumers find the right clean products. These hold brands to a standard, helping demystify the marketing language behind words like “clean” and “natural.”
Additionally, with more consumers becoming interested in the supply chain, brands are taking the opportunity to demonstrate their accountability up and down the chain. That includes partnering with organizations like ClearForMe, which is dedicated to ingredient transparency, and brands like Tata Harper, who record their small farm production in easy-to-track batches.
As clean beauty continues to evolve, its impact depends on more than just a label—it’s about education, transparency, and making sure brands walk the walk, not just talk the talk.
