Clean Skincare Truths: And the Brands That Actually Deliver
Nowadays popular culture is obsessed with perfectly plump dewy skin that radiates like you just had the best sex of your life, or in a way that suggests you were born that way. With the market being inundated with skin care brands and products that all boast some lofty—and usually false—promises it’s hard to know where to begin when starting a skincare routine or switching up an existing one. Once upon a time I was someone who didn’t really need to do much maintenance on her skin. As a teen I washed my face with a cream Clearasil cleanser, used the brands exfoliating pads when I felt it necessary, and naively slathered my face in some good ol’ Vaseline afterwards. Yupp Vaseline, because Tyra Banks said she did it I thought I should too. Did I mention I was naïve?
Oddly enough though, that routine worked for me for many years. Before I had money to do otherwise, and before I ever heard the terms toner, serum, and eye cream, I took my skin for granted. I didn’t always practice good habits like removing makeup before bed, wearing sunscreen—regardless of being outside or not-- and I damn sure wasn’t paying attention to the list of ingredients in a product. Then in my 23rd year on this earth everything changed. I had been on the birth control NuvaRing, and living in NYC with my then boyfriend, when I began experiencing crazy mood swings, depression, and joint pain. Because I suspected that the BC was the cause of my newfound personality, I ceased use. Good news was that my joint pain and mood swings subsided, but my skin completely lost its shit! The same skin that had previously garnered compliments from strangers and skin aficionados alike, that was low maintenance yet looked pristine, suddenly became a pimply piece of work that I was not equipped—mentally or emotionally, to keep up with.
My skin was dry, blemished, and insanely unbalanced. Let me elaborate. When I say “blemished” I’m not talking about little white heads or general congestion that you can find underneath your skin. I mean real, legit, cystic acne. Those bumps that linger under the skin for weeks without coming to a head. The bumps that throb so bad you wince when that hoodie you’re putting on brushes against it. The bumps that bring on so much embarrassment and shame, that you cancel plans because no matter how much foundation you throw on, you can’t unsee the constellations formed on your face. I tried everything from Neutrogena, to Exposed Skincare, to countless tea tree products from The Body Shop…and honestly I can’t tell you what combination worked the best, but I can tell you it wasn’t any ONE thing or brand. I think the biggest contributor for me was time, and definitely learning more about the ingredients that were going on my skin, and the possible effects they were having on it. It’s possible too that the longer I was in NYC the more my skin became accustomed to the extremely polluted air and congestion. That was a difficult time for my though, and it took about a good six to eight months for my skin to really calm down and get back to a new normal, and I’ve been obsessed with skin care ever since.
It’s been seven years since that awful skin period, and honestly my skin has never looked better. It surely takes work, consistency, and money to get it this way, but I’m totally and utterly hooked on taking care of my skin and I think everyone should feel not only confident in the way their skin looks, but how it functions, and the do’s and don’ts in order to get it to the place you want it to be. So here are the biggest takeaways in order to set yourself up for enviable healthy skin. Avoid the following:
Alcohols (Ethanol, Isopropyl, Alcohol Denat, Methanol)
Essential Oils (Limonene, Citronellol, linalool, Ylang Ylang, Bergamot etc.)
Parabens ( Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Butylparaben, and Ethylparaben)
Fragrances
Different brands will have their own ethoses and feelings regarding those ingredients above. Some will claim to ban all of them, some maybe one or two, and some will even go so far as to say they are a “clean” brand while including any or all of the sensitizing ingredients above. So lets quickly talk about the “clean skincare” movement, what it means, and what you still need to look out for. The American beauty industry is ridiculously unregulated-- with the last piece of regulation being passed in 1938, therefore there is no government interference or accountability for brands, and its practically a free-for-all, do whatever the hell you want thing out here. So technically, any brand can claim to be “clean” or “nontoxic” with virtually no process of verification to go through to confirm that status. Literally, brands can use any adjective they’d like to represent or “greenwash” their brands including clean, natural, eco-friendly, vegan, etc. There isn’t a standard so we have to be our own health inspectors, since we don’t have a government doing it for us. The majority of brands that use the term “clean”, use it to convey that there are minimal or less sensitizing ingredients, a shorter list of ingredients, or that they use plant-based ingredients. That being said however, not every brand that is “clean” contains products in their line that are actually clean.
What I mean by that is, you can have Brand X claiming to be a natural and plant-based skincare line, but while their face wash contains no sensitizing or irritating ingredients, their toner and moisturizer is filled with fragrances and essential oils. Because this can all get confusing and somewhat irritating (no pun intended), I choose to abide by Drunk Elephant's standard of clean, which for them eliminates essential oils, drying alcohols, silicones, chemical sunscreens, fragrances/dyes, and SLS (sodium laureth sulfate). Though they have coined this as the “suspicious 6”, there are still other brands, and certainly other products out there that abide by the same code, so you don’t have to be solely reliant on Drunk Elephant.
When it comes down to it, you really just have to do your research on products, and never trust their marketing when it comes to deciding what to get. Always read the labels just like with your food, and get acquainted with the scientific terms for a lot of these ingredients – Paula’s Choice is an excellent source when it comes to providing background on lots of those. So now that you know a little more about what “clean skincare” really means, here are some Lemon-Love approved brands that can get you started on your journey, or up your game if you’re already familiar.
The Budget One: ACURE
MVP Product- The Oils
The Obsessively Researched One: Maelove
MVP Product- The Glow Maker Serum
The Revolutionary One:Youth to the People
MVP Product- The Cleanser
The One You Don’t Know but Should: Jordan Samuel Skin
MVP Product- The Retinol and Facial Mist
The Instagrammable One: Herbivore
MVP Product- Blue Tansy Mask
The Holy Grail One: Drunk Elephant
MVP Product- TLC Serum