The Truth About “Clean” Skincare and “Artificial” Ingredients

“Clean beauty” doesn’t have a real definition.

It’s a marketing term you will (hopefully) soon start to disconnect from, if not outright want to have nothing to do with.

Somewhere between clickbait-y and overdramatic skinfluencer posts and brand campaigns, this term stopped meaning “safe” or “sustainable” and started meaning “good” and “correct”.

By default, everything “artificial” became bad.

And that shift sold billions of dollars worth of “clean” products.

You can imagine what that meant for those of us that care about what works, what delivers results, and gives us that glow.

Only one problem for team “clean”: your “clean” products are likely not clean at all.

At least, not in the way you might think.

“Clean” beauty is a nonexistent term.

There are no standards, no regulations, or laws for this term.

Different stores and brands make their own lists of what is “clean”, then push whatever sells the most.

Same as: “Chemical-free.” “Non-toxic.” “Plant-based.”

These terms all sound like safer alternatives, but most of it is copywriting.

Take “Non-toxic” for example.

From thousands of skincare products I’ve put on my face, I wouldn’t classify a single one as toxic.

Would you put something toxic on your face?

So why make a fuss about “non-toxic” when every product allowed on the shelves must be non-toxic?

I saw people tossing products that worked for them because another label said “clean.”

Then they bought new stuff with the same formulas, just different words on the box.

That’s the part that I have a huge problem with.

Your skin doesn’t care if something grew on a farm or was made in a lab.

It cares if it’s safe, stable, and won’t nuke your barrier.

This post is simple (and, for once, short).

It goes through what’s worth avoiding, what’s fine, and how to build a routine that isn’t run by a marketing department.

And a light spoiler regarding a future post – most routines nowadays are built by marketing departments.

Natural ≠ automatically safe.

Synthetic ≠ automatically bad.

Your skin cares about safety, stability, dose, and formulation – not “vibes”, dude.

Here’s a quick reality check:

Poison ivy is natural. Urushiol – a.k.a. the oil that causes the rash – is a plant compound that triggers allergic contact dermatitis in most people.

On the other end, something like petrolatum (petroleum jelly) is one of the most effective ways to lock in water, with studies showing huge reductions in transepidermal water loss (TEWL), which is why derms use it on compromised barriers. 

Essential oils and fragrance mixes are among the top causes of cosmetic contact allergy. “Plant-based” doesn’t mean “non-reactive.” If your skin is irritated, fragrance (natural or synthetic) is a common first cut.

I had sections written out for mineral oil, silicones, and parabens, but didn’t want to bore you out of your mind, so I took them out.

But the point is, none of them are toxic.

Or, rather, everything on this planet is toxic to us – but it’s the dosage that makes the poison.

Water – the thing that we can’t go without for more than a few days or else we’d die has a dosage level after which it becomes toxic to humans.

What to take from this: don’t judge an ingredient by where it comes from. Judge it by evidence – luckily today we have plenty of data for most every ingredient used in cosmetics – by purity, and how your skin behaves.

A lab can make an ingredient more consistent and stable (fewer impurities, predictable dose), which is great for sensitive skin and for formulas that need to stay safe over time.

If a product works for you and is well-formulated, you don’t need to replace it because a label says “clean.”

That said, pick products that support structure, function, and defense – i discuss these concepts in this post – and don’t be afraid of a synthetic ingredient if it does that job well.

Again, I discussed most concepts in this section in the “How to Build A Skincare Routine” post, so if you’ve read it, feel free to skip this part.

Your skin doesn’t think about ingredients the way brands present them.

And it definitely doesn’t separate them into “clean” or “dirty.”

It just reacts to how they’re used and whether the formula keeps its system stable.

Your skin runs like a little biological operating system.

Every process – i.e. hydration, repair, defense – is happening at the same time.

When you overload it with too many products or swap formulas every week, it doesn’t benefit from further stability.

Brands and skinfluencers talk about actives like buttons you can push – use X to brighten here, Y to smooth there.

But your skin doesn’t work like that. It works in feedback loops.

A moisturizer with silicones or petrolatum might not sound “clean,” but if you happen to have extremely dry skin and are constantly exposed to heavy winds in the colder months, you can bet your butt it’ll keep your barrier calm and water locked in.

THAT is something your skin will interpret as being “safe”.

Meanwhile, a “natural” product full of essential oils might smell expensive but your skin might interpret it as an attack, and go into full panic mode.

It’s not about moral purity.

It’s about function.

It’s about what helps your skin regulate itself instead of forcing it to glow or look younger.

So before you cut an ingredient because of what some schmuck yells about on TikTok, ask your self:

• Does your skin actually mind it?
• Did you get a bad reaction because of it?

If the answer to both is a simple “no” – don’t chuck it.

Fear is a terrible strategy.

Although it’s one constantly used by marketers and brands to sell you more and more crap you don’t need.

The best way to combat this is to focus on function.

Function always wins.

So, since I dedicated a good part of this post on rants (though, in my opinion – very necessary rants that have helped thousands of my readers finally focus on what matters), I’ll leave you with a few practical tips before closing off.

If the first ~1100ish or so words of this post got you to at least re-consider this whole “clean” beauty stuff, then here’s a few tips to not overthink your routine.

1. If your skin is calm, don’t change anything.

Stability = progress. You don’t need to “upgrade” a working routine.

2. Avoid products that sting, burn, or stay tight after use.

Those are barrier stress signals, not proof a product is “doing something.”

3. Read ingredients for what’s in them, not what’s missing.

“Free from” labels don’t protect you. Proper formulation does.

4. Add new products one at a time.

Give each one at least two weeks before deciding if it fits. That’s how you learn what your skin actually responds to.

5. Stop mixing “miracle” actives on a whim.

Retinoid + exfoliant + strong vitamin C is idiocy followed by inflammation.

You don’t have to care about ingredient origin stories.

You only need to care about whether a formula keeps your skin stable and safe long enough and makes sense with your goals.

Everything else, i.e. the fear-based marketing, buzzwords, and endless switching – just burns time and money.

Before you buy another “clean” product ask yourself this:

Does it actually make your skin better, or just make yourself feel better for buying it?

That’s it.

And if you’re confused about your routine and just want to buy it because it’s “clean” – don’t.

Read my post on building an effective routine first.

That’s it for this post.

Thanks for reading.