But global beauty brand Deciem is on a mission to debunk the marketing jargon around clean beauty and educate consumers about ingredients. 

“It became apparent, very quickly, there was no collective definition of the word “clean”, in fact, it had started to amass more fear and misconceptions than anything,” Nicola Kilner, CEO and co-founder of Deciem, told Inside Retail. 

“Deciem was founded on principles of authenticity and transparency, and the unclear definition of “clean beauty” directly contradicts these values by encouraging marketing to lead over very clear science.”

The self-proclaimed “abnormal beauty company”, home to cult beauty brands The Ordinary, NIOD and Hylamide, has focused on these values since it launched eight years ago.

Kilner said it was Deciem’s duty to start a wider conversation on the meaning of clean beauty.

“The marketing concept of ‘clean’ beauty challenges the safety and efficacy of products not deemed ‘clean’ by indirectly labelling them as ‘dirty’, disregarding the important work of scientists around the world making a monumental effort to evaluate a complete body of evidence to formulate the products that you know and love,” she said. 

“As we all move towards a more transparent future, it’s important that we continue to question the ways in which the beauty industry communicates with us.”

Earlier this month Deciem released a video titled “Everything is chemicals” to bring science-backed evidence to the forefront. The video, which was released on its social media channels, explains chemicals in simple terms and reminds consumers that chemicals are essential components of all matter. 

Deciem is not the first to question the validity of clean beauty. Many beauty journalists and influencers have raised concerns about the lack of clarity around the marketing of “clean” products. 

UK beauty influencer Caroline Hirons, who is known for her cynical take on the trend, regularly answers questions from her 638,000 Instagram followers on the topic.

“I just don’t understand why the industry all jumped on this bandwagon,” Hirons told The Guardian in an interview published this week. “I thought: ‘Get a grip: just push back on it and say, actually, cosmetics are safe. It’s not toxic. Relax.” 

By educating consumers in an accessible way, via social media, Deciem wants to help consumers make considered purchases. 

“Without education, one is not able to understand what may, or may not be right for them. We understand it can be confusing with the masses of information available out there, but our products, talking specifically about The Ordinary, will always be labelled based on their active ingredients and percentages for full visibility to our consumer,” Kilner said. 

She said it’s critical for beauty companies to continually research the changes and evolution of ingredients to ensure the production of the best formulations.

“This research is led by our in-house lab team, and the findings are always updated on our website descriptions, and communicated to our retail ambassadors to pass onto our consumers,” she said. 

The beauty giant plans to roll out resources around its skincare research and is encouraging consumers to stay informed. 

“We are a forever growing ecosystem dedicated to putting science at the forefront of this industry, and as we roll out many more education campaigns – such as our KNOWvember campaign from 2020 – we set our sights on arming audiences with the education they need to navigate skincare.”