Clean beauty. You’ve probably heard of its natural ingredients, recyclable containers, and the increased confidence that comes from purchasing products that help the planet and all of us living on it.
Not just a feel-good fad, the clean beauty movement produces more than the latest and greatest, Instagram-worthy products that look, smell and feel like sunshine in a jar. It’s creating a new wave of informed beauty consumers and strengthening platforms where discussions about all that is healthy, happy and beautiful take place.
Professional makeup artist and two-time North American Hairstylist Awards Makeup Artist of the Year Florencia Taylor (@florenciataylormakeup) says this shift to sustainability is positively impacting the beauty industry because of the demand from well-informed and environmentally conscience consumers. “Now more than ever, educated customers are asking questions of the beauty industry and are demanding information and transparency with products,” she explained. “I believe this is creating an overall better industry – for both consumers and the environment.”
Online beauty forums and social media communities provide platforms for beauty lovers to share tips, compare notes, and read and write detailed reviews. As these communities grow, consumers are becoming increasingly savvy and vocal about beauty products, praising brands that embrace clean standards, and calling out misleading product labels that contain buzzwords like “natural”, “organic” and “plant-based”.
“Brands are now realizing that platforms such as social media and blogs have created an opportunity for consumers to access and share more information. Educated, informed consumers are sharing information about harmful ingredients, products to avoid, misleading marketing, and personal customer experiences,” explains Florencia.
The availability of ingredient information is making shoppers increasingly choosey with their purchasing power, and beauty brands are responding.
Many brands like O’O Hawaii and Acure, are gaining customer loyalty by creating products with minimal harmful ingredients, such as parabens and mineral oil. Major beauty industry events are also responding to this growing consumer demand. Cosmoprof North America, the nation’s largest industry event for beauty industry manufacturers and distributors, has introduced a new Discover Green section dedicated entirely to green, eco-friendly, clean, organic, and/or natural beauty products. Beauty lovers are encouraged to explore this event and emerging clean beauty brands at cosmoprofnorthamerica.com.