Clean beauty is a top trend for 2022

There’s a huge movement churning up the beauty segment and it’s about a return to all things natural. Folks are purging their cosmetic kits to get rid of anything that is artificial or chemical-based, especially parabens and sulfates, and are going with labels that employ a natural philosophy. This takes off from the increased awareness to go healthy in these times and it’s making shoppers and beauty lovers, too, more conscious of what they apply. Enter clean beauty, a trend that promises to stay away from harmful stuff including artificial fragrances and colour, often with vegan ingredients and reusable packing. And clean beauty is becoming extremely popular of late, whether in make-up or your daily cosmetic grabs. Summing the trend in a few lines, cosmetic dermatologist Dr Renita Rajan, says, “Beauty is getting to be clean, conscious and compassionate. As much as customers want effective high-performance products, they now place equal importance on eco-consciousness.”

Hollywood loves it

Several stars such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Emma Watson, Reese Witherspoon and more, are fans of the clean beauty movement. Kim Kardashian has been an advocate for it and so Kylie Jenner, who came up with clean beauty formulations that keep in line with the rising growing demand for the clean beauty trend.

In demand: Products free from ingredients such as sulphates, parabens, fragrances…

Already a huge fad in the West, there are a number of reasons that prompted the trend back home. Sheil Jain, founder of a beauty brand, explains, “When we first started, clean beauty wasn’t the focus. But then we were in for a stark revelation! A deeper dive into cosmetics industry, showed us women absorb up to 5lb of cosmetic chemicals annually, which was scary! People do not realise the damage they are actually doing to our skin with this. A large amount of chemicals are used in cosmetics and only a small percentage of that is safely evaluated. This started the push to use only the best ingredients. So, the cleanest of everything means products free from nasty ingredients such as sulphates, parabens, fragrances and more. The idea is, you have make-up which was so good, you can sleep in it too. Currently, people treat clean beauty brands as a different segment, but in the coming years, clean beauty will be the only way forward!”
Dr Renita Rajan shares, “The formulations we use are as minimalistic as they can get, as sustainably sourced as possible, as responsibly packaged as can be, and without losing out on the intended efficacy. This may mean redoing the prototypes over a hundred times, but the eventual product would be as simple as possible, and simply effective at that. And that’s what clean beauty is all about.”

Men’s line gets into clean beauty, too

It’s not just women. Nidha Adheni, founder of a men’s skincare brand, says men want their share of clean skincare, too. “We have seen a rise in demand for men’s grooming products as men are moving beyond just the basics. They want to take care of their skin and have realised skin sensitivity is gender agnostic. Hence, clean beauty for men comes into the picture where customers are looking for products with good ingredients,” she says. It may not be such an extensive line as for women, but the market is booming and it’s making for a growing space. She affirms, “Men may not necessarily have a very elaborate regime but they are paying attention to keeping their skin clean and healthy. From serums to beard oils, the categories have been expanding within the clean beauty space. While skin is a priority, body care is also becoming important. Clean body washes and after-bath body oils made natural extracts have been seeing a lot of buyers.’