Clean or Green beauty products? How to choose?

Because "green" is typically associated with natural, and natural is often associated with "clean", these terms often overlap.

Let's make some clarity!

"Clean beauty products", at their most basic level, are free of potentially toxic and dangerous substances such as parabens, phthalates or formaldehydes, which have been proven carcinogen.

This doesn't necessarily mean that the products are entirely natural, organic or eco-friendly! Look on the website what "clean" means for each individual brand, because this is not a regulated term.

"Green beauty products" on the other side, are more about environmentally friendly components, and also the complete manufacturing process: low-waste or recyclable packaging, limited transportation materials, ethical employment practices, etc.

Around the green beauty market, you might hear terms like sustainable, recyclable, fair trade, and locally sourced.

What is "Greenwashing" and "Cleanwashing? 

If you google for "Greenwashing" and "Cleanwashing" you will find that these terms refer to a company's strategies that could persuade a customer that a product is healthier than one from its competitors, because of its ingredients and where they came from.

Examples of popular buzzwords in the clean beauty industry nowadays:

- "Pure", ''unrefined", "natural","skin-friendly", "eco-friendly", "organic" and even "chemical-free''.

What you should do to make sure you don't fell into the trap - read the full list of ingredients.

Knowing your ingredients and reading labels are two ways to avoid purchasing items that have been "greenwashed," along with sticking with companies you trust to be 100% clean and researching a product's rating on EWG before purchasing.

LILIXIR natural beauty products made in Quebec, Montreal are both clean and green! 

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