How “Clean" Is Your Clean Beauty routine?

When I look at anything from skincare to hair to makeup - "clean" is the beauty buzzword of the moment. At a beauty summit last month, a takeaway was that all beauty should be clean beauty when looking forward at trends in 2020, but from experience in formulating a line, going to labs and getting a product made that is still considered to be "clean," can be frustrating when there are still no clear rules of how to define this and the word itself is unregulated. This means that I would have to work backward thinking about what retailer I'd want to position it for using that specific retailer's standard of "clean" to create my own definition of clean beauty in order to maintain the strictest standards of clean and sustainability practices I would want to uphold as a brand.

You may have noticed this variance in clean standards yourself when trying to shop for cleaner products because the definition of clean beauty changes depending on the retailer you purchase from. . . or what brand is putting its marketing spin on the message. For example, purchasing a product that is marked as "Clean at Sephora" doesn't exactly mean that it meets "The Credo Clean Standard" because they each have come up with their own guidelines since there aren't regulations about what makes a brand be able to label itself as clean. In fact, U.S. laws for cosmetics safety are virtually unchanged since they were created back in 1938 so if you want to really be more stringent with your brand, you search for labs that have experience in formulating products that are sold in the EU because the EU seems to be more ahead of the game since they ban thousands of more ingredients in products than we do in the US.

After having experience developing a skincare line, I've been keeping a close eye on the beauty industry, testing various clean products, learning more about natural brands, and expanding my knowledge on the topic as a whole. By 2024, the global “natural beauty” industry is predicted to reach $22 billion, with indie companies representing a sizable piece of the pie. Clean beauty, in particular, is becoming crowded, but if there is anything I know from being in the room with dozens of industry vets is that not many look like me which could be why products I think are the most obvious still haven't been made.

Being a newer category, education around clean beauty is still lacking. However, I see it as an incredible opportunity to be able to help you all understand why clean beauty and all it’s nuances down to ingredient transparency including the ingredient comes from and how it’s sourced. Bringing in a new decade is as good excuse as any to detoxing my beauty routine as I run out of products so I’m looking forward to exploring new clean beauty items in 2020.

Have you started to switch to clean beauty brands? I’d love to hear which ones as I’m testing new items. DM me on Instagram @jasminepennamma and let me know!

The Future of Diversity in Beauty Is Funding

A discussion at The Wing on Diversity in Beauty had me reflect with a guest on how major companies throw around the terms “diversity and inclusion” to drive sales and attention to their brands. In beauty, Fenty set off a foundation war with companies trying to outdo themselves and come out with the most shades who had more limited ranges prior to Fenty’s launch. Beyond that, @_foundla pointed out venture capitalist statistics yesterday that show we could have taken this conversation a step further because diversity and inclusion in venture capital might even matter most of all because the VCs that control where the money flows determines the diversity of entrepreneurs and ideas that get funded. Changing the dynamic of who sits at the investment table can have a long-term impact on the brands that have the privilege of entering our homes in the future.

As a woman of color, the statistics can sound defeating. An article I just read stated that in 2018, out of $85 Billion in VC funding, only 2.2% went to female founders with WOC getting less than 1% of total funding. 🤯 I believe a key to help close the gap is to have women not only “supporting” other women but FUNDING other women, but would love to hear your thoughts or experiences. #foodforthought