what is clean beauty? its important role in a healthy self-care routine

As a natural toothpaste brand, natural+clean self-care is a topic that’s close to our heart. We know we’ve mentioned this before, but your mouth is like a window to your holistic health...which is why it took nearly four years to carefully curate the ingredients in Davids Natural Toothpaste.

But also know that self-care doesn’t stop at oral care. From skincare and haircare to makeup and beyond...clean beauty is a massive component part of clean self-care. We know it can be overwhelming to sift through all the options and determine which beauty products are actually as “clean” as they claim to be.

So, we want to take some time to outline a few things: what it means to be a “clean” product, clean beauty collectives we love+trust (and pair well with Davids!), and the importance of a “progress over perfection” mindset when it comes to clean self-care.

After all, your skin is your largest organ, and it works to protect you from bacteria, pollution, light radiation, temperature, and so much more...every single day. That’s exactly why we think it’s so important to strive to use clean beauty products...in tandem with clean toothpaste, of course!

what makes a product “clean”?

The word “clean” in the beauty and self-care industry has no official regulatory definition...which definitely makes things confusing! On a basic level, a product is “clean” as long as it does not contain ingredients that harm our bodies or the planet. It’s important to mention here that “clean” and “natural” are two separate things. Natural often means clean (take Davids as an example), but clean doesn’t often imply natural.

We like to take our definition of “clean” a bit further than the basics. In our book, to be “clean”, a product must:

contain safe ingredients for nature+you.

What does this actually mean? It means that the product does not contain any proven or suspected toxic ingredients. (We’ll dive further into this later in the article.)

undergo mindful creation+production.

From ethically-sourced, safe ingredients to cruelty-free testing and ethical production...the way a product is made plays a huge role in determining if it’s “clean” or not. Mindful creation+production ensures safety+care for all humans, animals, and nature involved.

At Davids, our ingredients are not only safe and ethically-sourced, but they’re also 98% USA origin ingredients...and derived from nature.

promote transparency+progress.

We believe that clean self-care brands should always promise transparency and progress (not perfection). This is something that really sets clean brands apart from conventional brands. You’ll find that clean brands (like us!) openly discuss our ingredients, processes, and goals for improvement.

On top of that, we strive to promote the “progress over perfection” mindset for you, too! We never want you to feel overwhelmed by the transition from conventional to clean products. Rather, we hope to give you the tools+support you need to learn about...and strive towards...clean self-care, without feeling discouraged or frenzied.

why is it important to seek out clean products?

We mentioned above that clean products shouldn’t harm your body or the environment. So what are some of the ways conventional products can harm human bodies and the planet?

The truth is, the United States regulates the conventional beauty and self-care industry very minimally. To give you an idea of what we mean by “minimally”, the US has only banned 11 cosmetic ingredients...while Canada has banned over 500, and the EU has banned over 1,300.

To give you a sense of the potential harm of these ingredients, this goop interview of Gregg Renfrew, the founder of Beautycounter, explores toxic ingredients commonly found in conventional US beauty products. Some of these ingredients include suspected hormone disruptors, carcinogens, and common allergens.

It’s also important to note that even if an ingredient is not “suspected” to be harmful, many of the ingredients in conventional beauty and self-care products simply haven’t been investigated enough to make claims about safety...yet they’re still used. We see the same pattern with the ingredients in conventional toothpastes.

That’s why at Davids, we make sure to use ingredients sourced+derived from nature (we know the sources, too!)...and avoid questionable ingredients such as fluoride, SLS, and other synthetics.

We’re happy (and always here) to recommend brands that share similar values, so you can feel like your entire self-care routine is clean. So, without further ado...here are a few value-driven beauty collectives that we love.

clean beauty collectives we love

These collectives have a very high standard for selecting beauty products, and we made sure to highlight what makes each of them unique.

CAP Beauty is all about high vibrational beauty and lives by the philosophy, “Beauty is Wellness. Wellness is Beauty.” They believe (like us) that ingredients sourced+derived from plants+nature have the power to create positive change, inside and out. 

Credo Beauty only features brands that avoid the 2,700 ingredients on The Dirty List®. They’re extremely passionate about “thinking outside the bottle” and ensuring the highest standards in the beauty industry...yet never lose sight of the importance of fun (no overwhelm here!). Plus, 90% of the brands they feature are women-led!

The Detox Market is a clean beauty safe haven. Romain Gillard started the company after learning about the harms of conventional self-care products from a friend who was diagnosed with breast cancer. They offer very individualized help for your clean beauty journey...as it looks different for everyone!

Beauty Heroes places a unique emphasis on quality craftsmanship...that handpicking and hand-blending small batches...is greatly undervalued. Through Project Blue Beauty, Beauty Heroes shines the spotlight on brands that actually leave the planet better than they found it, rather than just minimizing their impact.

goop Clean Beauty Shop is an innovative, forward-thinking clean beauty collective...you’ll find everything from clean SPF moisturizers to high-tech LED light masks aimed at supercharging your complexion. goop has always been a place that welcomes hard conversations, provides a judgment-free zone, and sparks curiosity. As they like to say, “we go first so you don’t have to.”

This is not a comprehensive list, but it provides plenty of product options to create (or continue) a well-rounded and clean self-care routine.

progress over perfection

We encourage you to think of clean products as an opportunity to transform your self-care routine...and practice mindfulness! Along with these amazing recommendations, the EWG Skin Deep database and mobile app make it easy to determine the safety of thousands of products.

Remember, the goal isn’t to immediately overhaul your self-care routine but to make safe, gradual swaps for products that have your best interest (and the planet!) at heart. We encourage you to use your dollars to vote for the brands that really care. Together, we have the power to change the market...so that in the future, we won’t have to wonder whether or not our self-care products are safe.

As always, Davids is here to provide you with natural, safe toothpaste you can trust.

buy now.