Clean Beauty – pure joy

are you clean No, not that… I mean cosmetics, of course. Purism is a trend. Despite this – or precisely because of this – it is not easy to find out which products are really as green and natural as they claim. What does clean beauty even mean? And how does that help you when shopping? Here you can find out why conscious and clean belong together more than ever today.

Photo by Motoki Tonn on Unsplash

Is clean beauty just another new trend?

Natural cosmetics have long since made the leap out of the alternative eco niche. It kicked off the cork slippers and let the health food store door slam shut behind it. Clean is hip. That shouldn't really come as a surprise: we are living beings, not machines. That's why we find nature much more appealing on the skin than high-tech and synthetics .

In the direction of synthetics, however, the cosmetics industry has overdone it quite a bit over time: PEG, nylon, silicones, parabens, synthetic dyes, plasticizers, consistency enhancers and so on. In the meantime, however, more and more of us are making the effort to look up what the technical jargon in the INCI list actually means. It quickly becomes apparent that a lot of it is not that exciting.

Now the cosmetics industry is adapting quickly. As soon as the trend back to nature crystallized, green claims on product packaging sprouted like mushrooms – even if it might only contain one percent of plant power. Almost everything in the drugstore now looks like pure nature, although most products contain substances like the ones mentioned above to a large extent. This presents us with a new problem. When eco was still out, there were only very, very few brands that took up the cause of “ nature ” , but you could rely on that. Today there are very, very many, but which ones are serious?

What defines clean beauty?

" Clean" or " green" are not legally protected terms , just like natural cosmetics. There are already certifications that confirm various standards. However, this is also a broad field. Because to do this, you would first have to know exactly what the individual seals say, which substances are permitted where and what quality levels there are. Because even well-known institutes sometimes allow surprising ingredients.

In addition, we all have our own ideas of what clean beauty means to us personally. It's just like eating. We are not all vegans. We might draw the line elsewhere, for example with aggressive or irritating ingredients. Perhaps even more important to you than the ingredients themselves is that they are sourced and packaged in an environmentally friendly manner. The possibilities are almost limitless. That's why I'm just going to tell you what clean beauty means at FIVE .

100% natural ingredients 🌿

FIVE products pamper you with carefully produced plant oils, plant hydrosols and other natural ingredients . We take care to preserve the natural properties of the plants they come from. For example, we prefer unrefined vegetable oils because many vitamins and nutrients are lost during refining. Even the preservatives and the essential oils that give our products their delicate fragrance are purely natural.

Waiver of questionable substances 🌿

With FIVE products you can be sure that they are completely free of parabens, PEG, silicone, synthetic colors, fragrances or additives . In contrast to many other natural cosmetics manufacturers, we go one step further and also do without aggressive alcohols and emulsifiers . The idea behind the brand was not just to produce natural cosmetics, but also to produce minimalistic formulas that are even suitable for over-treated skin – natural cosmetics of the next generation, so to speak. Because more and more women are struggling with sensitive skin due to too many ingredients . Incidentally, many ingredients are already superfluous because our formulations are mostly waterless. It says goodbye to emulsifiers, consistency enhancers, preservatives and more.

Vegan 🌿

Many people think that cosmetic products are vegan anyway. Unfortunately, this is far from the case. Animal ingredients are found in soaps, nail polishes and creams more often than you might think. That's why vegan cosmetics for animal welfare are one step ahead. Fortunately, animal testing for cosmetics has been banned in the EU since 2013. And now the BUT: This only applies to products and ingredients that are only used in cosmetics . Hello loophole...

Now something positive: With our recipes with a maximum of 5 ingredients, there is nothing to hide. And then there's the vegan flower that all of our products wear with pride. It stands as a sign that z ero animal testing or animal ingredients are really involved in the production. And vegan not only means cruelty-free, but also does not fuel factory farming. This is good for the environment at the same time.

A give and take 🌿

Natural cosmetics does not mean just taking from nature, but also treating it with respect. That has many facets. In addition to animal welfare, one of them is the ecological cultivation of our cosmetic raw materials. Organic ingredients don't just sound healthier. Certified organic quality means that the plants are grown free of genetic engineering and chemical pesticides such as glyphosate. So the hard-working bees can keep dancing from blossom to blossom.

Recyclable packaging 🌿

It is clear that plastic has no place in natural cosmetics. But plastic packaging is also an environmental problem. Because only a negligibly small part of it is recycled. That's why we prefer to wrap our precious FIVE products in glass . This can be processed much better, there is no risk of plastic components migrating into the product and it also looks really chic. But for glass to be really sustainable, it should be reusable. We are working on that.

We also eliminate the folding carton around our bottles and jars to save on carton . It always annoys me when a product comes with umpteen outer packaging.

How do you know what really is clean?

As I said, unfortunately there is no uniform standard set in stone for green, clean, pure and natural. Seals offer orientation, but here too the criteria are different. That makes it difficult to climb through. In addition, clean beauty means something different for each of us.

For me, step 1 is: develop a clear idea of ​​what you personally expect from cosmetics in this regard. What is important to you? Be demanding. After all, it's about taking care of your skin. And for an all-round good feeling also about taking on responsibility. As soon as you know what you want, it's time to shop consciously . To do this, it is essential to look at the list of ingredients. Annoying, I know, but only this will tell you without a doubt whether a product will live up to its green claim. Apps that reveal what is behind unknown terms are helpful. My favorite is Codecheck 's app .

My tip: Rely on brands that are transparent . For example, because they formulate their products with only a handful of ingredients. 😉 Of course I mean FIVE, but joking aside. In any case, I'm happy if our concept and our quality convince you, because I fully support it. But of course there are other brands that take clean and green seriously and offer good products. Be sure to value high-quality ingredients that protect and care for your skin instead of burdening it. Time to get clean!

high five,
Your Anna