“Clean” is one of the many buzzwords in the personal care and skin care space, but is it just another of the industry’s made-up slogans? Let's bust some myths and some moves. Warning: It might get confusing.
BUST A MYTH: Clean beauty is natural beauty
Not necessarily. Some people think “clean” is a regulated industry certification. Wrong. Here’s the truth: The beauty industry is self-regulated when it comes to using the “clean” label, so clean beauty brands can throw around this terminology with no oversight from the lab coats. In short “clean” has no clear definition, it could mean natural but it could mean vegan, organic or even simply that a brand avoids certain ingredients. As you can see it’s a bit of a minefield for the consumer when buying their “clean” products.
What we do know is if the label is a word-soup of mind-bending jargon that demands an A-level in chemistry to decipher, it’s probably not clean. If you’re a clean-seeking, ingredient-conscious customer you can scan your barcodes with the Good Face app and make an informed decision about what you’re putting on your skin.
Here at Fussy we believe clean is about using ingredients that are good for your skin or positively contribute to the function of the product whilst not harming the planet. And a label you can actually understand, you can read about our full ingredients list here.
BUST A MYTH: Cruelty-free means vegan
Cruelty-free means that the product was developed without testing on animals, while vegan means that the product does not contain any animal-derived ingredients. So a beauty or skincare product can be cruelty-free but not vegan, and vice versa, so keep an eye out for this. Told you it might get confusing.
All of our ingredients are cruelty-free and we are currently obtaining leaping bunny certification, so you can rest assured that we never test on animals, only smelly people.
BUST A MYTH: Chemical-free means natural
Nope. Even water is a chemical (H2O) so be wary of the term “chemical-free”; it's misleading because all ingredients are chemicals, whether they are natural or synthetic.
BUST A MYTH: All types of “natural” product are created equally
Much like clean, the term natural isn’t regulated at all. Many products that claim to be natural actually contain chemically modified materials, some of which have synthetic components.
It’s important that consumers really look under the hood of the “natural” businesses they support. Take palm oil for example; it’s a natural ingredient but last year alone Greenpeace reported that in Indonesia, areas the size of up to 300 football fields were being cleared from rainforests each hour for palm oil production. Not so eco friendly! So make sure you look at the bigger picture, beyond just ingredients and instead consider the full impact on the environment.
At Fussy, we believe that “natural” means every raw material is derived from plants and as sustainably sourced as possible. To underline this commitment we are currently B Corp pending and constantly reviewing our supply chain to ensure it’s as squeaky clean as possible.
BUST A MYTH: Parabens are really bad for my health
Parabens, artificial fragrances and the ‘F’ bomb formaldehyde, are filthier than Lil Wayne’s lyrics and, of course, should never be found in clean beauty products (depending on your definition). Don’t worry though, you won’t find any of those in our natural deodorant.
BUST A MOVE: Fussy is natural, cruelty-free, vegan and...dare we say clean.
At Fussy we stand for people, planet and armpits. This means creating high performance products that consider human and environmental health, that never use toxic ingredients, are always natural and sustainably sourced. Pass us the halo!
Ready to make your move, click here to join the refill revolution.
