Here's how you can clean up your beauty act

Find out what clean, cruelty-free and paraben-free makeup really means

There are so many buzzwords in the beauty industry at the moment that it can be quite difficult to decipher and define them - especially if we are trying to make better choices. Clean and cruelty-free beauty are hot topics at the moment, along with vegan and paraben- free skincare but what does all this really mean?
CLEAN
Clean beauty is in the process of being defined, with many brands and industry leaders having differing opinions on what is deemed 'clean'.

Sephora, in the United States, has a great initiative on their website where you can choose products in the 'clean' beauty category. As a market leader, this shows Sephora is recognising the increase in demand for, and awareness of, these products. In order to receive the 'Clean at Sephora' classification, the product must be free of, "sulfates SLS and SLES, parabens, formaldehydes, formaldehyde-releasing agents, phthalates, mineral oil, retinyl palmitate, oxybenzone, coal tar, hydroquinone, triclosan and triclocarban."

Some of the brands to receive this seal of approval that are also available in the UAE are Rahua, Origins, Ilia, Caudalie, Boscia and Briogeo. If you wish to stay away from the aforementioned ingredients, I recommend you give these products a try.
CRUELTY-FREE
Many major brands state that they do not test on animals unless required by law. This can sometimes be misleading.

If purchasing a product that has not been tested on animals is important to you, then bear in mind that any beauty product that is sold in China is likely to have undergone animal testing as their government currently requires this by law. Recently, an article was published in South China Morning Post (on October 3, 2018) that outlines proposed changes to this law which is great news for animal and beauty lovers - both in China and internationally!

Charlotte Tilbury, who recently visited Dubai, has discussed her commitment to cruelty-free manufacturing with her eponymous brand. Her line is the perfect example of being able to achieve high performance glamour in an ethical way. Other cruelty-free favourites available in the UAE are CoverFX, Becca, Too Faced, Marc Jacobs Beauty and Tarte (although there are many more!). The website www.crueltyfreekitty.com is an up-to-date resource to keep tabs on your favourite brands' animal testing status.
PARABEN-FREE
Paraben-free is one of the buzzwords that you may have heard about while at the cosmetic aisle of the store. Parabens are definitely on the list of ingredients that industry experts recommend you avoid. As a preservative agent, they have been used to increase the shelf life of our beauty (and food) buys since their introduction in the 1950s. However, they have also been linked to breast cancer as they are said to be a hormone disruptor. Parabens are believed to do this by mimicking oestrogen, which is associated with increasing the risk of breast cancer.
VEGAN
According to the animal rights organisation PETA, "Cruelty-free means that the product was developed without any animal tests, while vegan means that in addition to never being tested on animals, the product does not include any animal derived products." These could include things like beeswax, lanolin and honey. So, if you are a vegan and want this to apply to your cosmetics too, be sure to watch out for these ingredients on labels.

As the beauty industry continues its phenomenal growth and many new and exciting brands enter the market, it's important to do a little research to ensure you are making the right beauty choices for you. Gone are the days when natural or animal-testing-free products didn't perform. In 2018, the options are endless and these beauty heroes pack a serious punch.
wknd@khaleejtimes.com