Our Best Clean Beauty Picks, So you can tell the Xenoestrogens to Sashay Away!
By Isabella Gosling
Did you know that we can use up to 12 personal care products each day (Taylor et al., 2017)? Your skincare, hair products, any makeup and perfumes - the list goes on! Our skin is the largest organ in our body and is super absorbent, so any product we use is absorbed easily into our bloodstream (Massood et al., 2020). Throughout our daily use of various products, we can be exposed to upwards of 120 different chemicals (Taylor et al., 2017).
Not all ingredients in products are cause for concern, however there are various ones included in many of our beloved skincare, makeup and hair care products that could be disrupting our endocrine system. Chemicals such as phthalates, parabens and aluminiums are xenoestrogens or ‘fake oestrogen’ and are known endocrine disruptors and can have a number of impacts on our body (Kucinak & Murias, 2013).
It’s important for those with conditions such as endometriosis, adenomyosis, PCOS, those trying to conceive or those who are undergoing fertility treatments to be aware of these xenoestrogens and attempt to reduce our exposure to them, where possible. If you want to learn more about the different types of xenoestrogens here.
We’ve rounded up some of our fave clean beauty, skincare, haircare, deodorants and perfume brands so you don’t have to worry about it. All of these brands are not sponsored, just good and we’ve found some which are spendy and others which are savey, to try and find something that suits everyone’s budget!
Skincare
Obviously it’s not a one size fits all approach, as we each have different skin types, such as sensitive, dry, oily, combined, or have no idea, and it’s important to use products which are suitable for you, however we have rounded up a variety of products which may be helpful for you. It’s important to test products prior to use, and should any reactions occur, discontinue use. Consult your GP or dermatologist for additional information.
As a guide:
$ - below $20 per product
$$ below $60 per product
$$$ below $80 per product
Brands:
Sukin $ - Sukin create products which are cruelty free, vegan, carbon neutral and made in Australia. They believe everything you need to nourish your body can be found in nature, so they use just that - natural ingredients. Sukin is also available at Coles, Woolworths/ Safeway, K-mart and Big-W (and often have 1/2 price sales too)!
GO-TO $-$$ - Beauty extraordinaire, Zoe Foster-Blake is the wizard behind GO-TO skincare! She wanted to create skincare which was fun, whilst using high quality botanical ingredients which nurture and protect the skin. GO-TO can also be purchased at Mecca Maxima or Mecca Cosmetica.
Andalou Naturals - $-$$ Making use of fruit stem cell science, Andalou Naturals offers skincare which is non-GMO, vegetarian and vegan options, cruelty free and gluten free products. They use high quality fruit stem cells as key features and have a full glossary of each and every ingredient they use, as well as its purpose, so you can be across what you’re using. Andalou Naturals is also available at Priceline (they often have sales at Priceline too)!
KORA Organics $$ - Created by Miranda Kerr, KORA Organics is an award-winning Certified Organic and Certified Natural skincare range. Their products are of the highest quality and integrity, with each product infused with natural ingredients such as; jojoba oil, essential oils, and vitamins A, C and E just to name a few. KORA can also be found in David Jones and Sephora.
Tribe Skincare $$ - Anti-inflammatory skincare, which leaves skin feeling soothed and hydrated, not irritated is what Tribe Skincare is all about. They use ingredients of organic origins where possible, and use lovely ingredients which are perfect for sensitive skin such as; aloe vera, zinc, peach extract and kaolin clay.
Botanicals by Luxe $$ - Created by skin therapist, Bec Connolly who has over 15 years of experience, Botanicals by Luxe is ethically made using only sustainable, natural and skin safe ingredients. Each product is Australian made and filled with botanicals, plant and fruit extracts, as well as active components.
SALT by Hendrix $$ - SALT by Hendrix is Australian made with natural and high quality organic ingredients. Founded by Kellie Collis after she began searching for natural remedies to her son’s eczema, and couldn’t find what she was looking for, SALT by Hendrix was born. They are cruelty free, vegan and nurture the skin with minerals, antioxidants and vitamins.
Edible Beauty $$-$$$ - Naturopath and Nutritionist, Anna Mitsios founded Edible Beauty after searching for natural skincare to assist in managing her auto-immune condition. Fed up with being unable to find what she was looking for, she decided to create it herself and Edible Beauty was born. Edible Beauty value Australian botanicals and luxe organic ingredients to repair and nurture the skin. Edible Beauty can also be found in Sephora.
Pai $$-$$$ Pai is on a mission to do the right thing for you and your skin. Their products are natural, ethical, sustainable and vegan, something which is important to brand founder Sarah Brown. Pai is committed to looking after sensitive skin without the BS ingredients, instead making use of rosehip, avocado, jojoba, geranium and chamomile.
Mukti $$-$$$ Mukti, meaning reborn in Hindi or to liberate oneself from fear, ignorance and false knowledge in Sanskrit, the brand values creating organic skincare with the finest quality ingredients, inspired by nature. They use no synthetic chemicals or GMO ingredients in any of their products, and use the finest native Australian extracts, as well as ensuring each ingredient is active, viable and used in concentrations that are results driven.
Makeup
Often there is thinking around natural makeup not being as good as their big brand counterparts, however we’ve curated brands which deliver quality products, that also work like a charm!
As a guide:
$ - below $20 per product
$$ below $60 per product
$$$ below $80 per product
Brands:
Lily Lolo $-$$ - Created by two sisters in the UK, Lily Lolo reached cult status for their mineral foundation which has zero synthetic ingredients, and is available in 20 different shades! They have since launched a complete range of products which are ethically conscious, cruelty free and mostly vegan. Their eye shadows are pigmented and mascaras promise to give you your fullest, longest, biggest lashes yet!
Clove + Hallow $-$$ - An award-winning vegan cosmetics line founded by professional makeup artist Sarah Biggers-Stewart. Clove + Hallow’s philosophy is to do beauty without the sacrifice, making products which are cruelty free, vegan, affordable and inclusive too!
Ere Perez $$ - Ere Perez’s philosophy is all about simple products to transform, nourish and create wellbeing made from powerful botanical ingredients, helping you to find your most radiant skin! They create cruelty free, predominately vegan products which are GMO, and carbon neutral.
Eco Minerals $$ - Calling the beautiful Byron Bay home, Eco Minerals is passionate about creating pure mineral cosmetics, which are vegan and eco friendly. They use high performance ingredients to create makeup which you will love, whilst also being gentle on the skin.
LUMA Beauty $$ - LUMA was created by model Jessica Hart, after her natural love of beauty! She wanted to create a range that allows you to feel confident, empowered and radiate at all times. Sourcing ingredients such as ethical mica, as well as creating products without parabens or sulphates LUMA has you covered.
Lust Minerals $$-$$$ - Founded in 2014, by beauty therapist Stacey Hollands, Lust Minerals provides a cleaner alternative to traditional make up brands. They create products which are free from tac, FD & C dyes, synthetic preservatives and parabens, whilst using ingredients such as shea butter, vitamin E and jojoba oil to nourish your skin.
INIKA Organic $$ - $$$ - 100% Australian owned, INIKA Organic was created in 2006. They are now a globally recognised and trusted, go-to brand for natural and organic makeup. INIKA Organic make use of certified organic ingredients for healthy beauty that delivers.
Be Coyote $$ - $$$ - After suffering with hormonal acne (something we can relate to), Ellana Byers, created her brand Be Coyote. Each product in the brand is vegan and cruelty free. Starting off just seven years ago with only one mineral foundation, the brand now provides a full range from your base to your eyes, lips, and cheeks.
Eye of Horus $$ - $$$ - Eye of Horus was co-created by Holly Schleich and her mum Heather with the belief of change, aiming to be an industry leader in ethical beauty. Making use of ingredients such as fruit extracts, zinc, lavandula and candelilla cera, they are perfect for sensitive skin.
Ilia $$ - $$$ - Illia are committed to creating the purest products possible, using up to 85% certified organic ingredients as well as natural ones. Offering products that not only look good, but also put in the work is something brand founder, Sasha Plavsic is passionate about.
HAIR
Give your hair a treat with any of these amazing brands! They’ll give your hair the loving it needs without any of the nasties.
$ - below $20 per product
$$ below $60 per product
$$$ below $80 per product
Brands:
Essano $ - Essano is handmade in New Zealand, using natural, cruelty free ingredients and are free from parabens, ethoxylates and phthalates! Their packaging is made from PET, 100% pre-used and recycled materials, that can be re-recycled. They use rich vitamins, minerals and proteins to create quality haircare products! Essano can also be found in Coles, Woolworths, Priceline and Big W (they also often have 1/2 price sales too)!
Sukin $ - Sukin create products which are cruelty free, vegan, carbon neutral and made in Australia. They believe everything you need to nourish your body can be found in nature, so they use just that - natural ingredients. Sukin is also available at Coles, Woolworths/ Safeway, K-mart and Big-W (and often have 1/2 price sales too)!
Seed and Sprout $ - $$ - Seed and Sprout are passionate about creating sustainable, eco friendly products, and haircare is included in that! Their Shampoo and Conditioner bars last for approximately 100 washes and are plastic free, vegan, cruelty free, and don’t contain any sulphates, phthalates, parabens or synthetic fragrances.
NAK Hair $-$$ - Australian made, vegan and sulphate, paraben and animal testing free! The NAK Hair team know hair, with this being a salon first brand, meaning if you colour your hair, it’s safe with them. They use high quality botanicals, pure essential oils and natural vegan ingredients to provide hair rituals for their customers.
Innersense Organic Beauty $$ - Innersense Organic Beauty believes in choosing clean, pure beautiful hair care. Their products are created using certified organic plant ingredients which your hair will love in luxurious formulations that deliver hydration, health, moisture, shine and protection.
Bondi Wash $$ - Combining the power of fragrance of unique Australian botanicals with a luxurious mix of other essential oils and natural ingredients to bring a new range of truly distinctive products that are good for you and the planet .
Lush $$ - Handmade in Australia and notoriously known for their bath and body products, Lush also have amazing hair products too! Passionate about ethical buying, fighting animal testing and creating vegetarian and vegan friendly products, Lush create effective products with natural ingredients.
Evo $$ - Give your hair a luxurious treat with gentle sulphate, paraben, DEA, TEA free products with packaging that is 100% recyclable. They have colour treated hair sorted too with hydrating products that prevent colour fading.
Mukti $$ - Mukti, meaning reborn in Hindi or to liberate oneself from fear, ignorance and false knowledge in Sanskrit, the brand values creating organic skincare with the finest quality ingredients, inspired by nature. They use no synthetic chemicals or GMO ingredients in any of their products, and use the finest native Australian extracts, as well as ensuring each ingredient is active, viable and used in concentrations that are results driven.
Coco & Eve $$$ - Aussie expat Emily took inspiration and rejuvenation in Bali and from this Coco & Eve was born! Making use of the best tropical ingredients such as coconut oil, cocoa, juicy mangoes, papayas and guava, their products can deliver incredible results whilst also being sulfate free, 100% vegan, phthalate free, cruelty free, toxin free, Peta approved, gluten free, ethically source and paraben free.
FRAGRANCE
Ever seen the word ‘fragrance’ or ‘perfume’ in your perfume or fragrance? Companies actually have no legal obligations to disclose what their fragrance is made from due to the ‘proprietary’ nature. We’ve rounded up our favourite fragrance brands who are making the scent scene a better place!
$ - below $60 per product
$$ below $100 per product
$$$ below $200 per product
Brands:
Ellis Brooklyn $-$$$ - Bee Shapin Beauty Editor at The New York Times, founded Ellis Brooklyn in 2015, after noticing there were no clean options for fragrance whilst she was trying to clean up her beauty routine when she was pregnant. Each of their fragrances are paraben and phthalate free. They are super rigorous with their clean beauty standards and source sustainably too.
Vanessa Megan $-$$ - Committed to creating clean, synthetic free fragrance and the Vanessa Megan brand is considered to be a pioneer and leader in Australian certified organic skincare and fragrances. Australian made, cruelty free, not tested on animals, vegan and 100% natural.
Clean Reserve $ - $$$ - Clean Reserve is focused on conscious sustainability, and using the purest raw ingredients. Each fragrance is manufactured in a 100% solar powered facility, and packaged in a recyclable glass bottle. Each fragrance can stand alone or layered together for a difference scent.
Mukti $$ - Mukti, meaning reborn in Hindi or to liberate oneself from fear, ignorance and false knowledge in Sanskrit, the brand values creating organic skincare with the finest quality ingredients, inspired by nature. They use no synthetic chemicals or GMO ingredients in any of their products, and use the finest native Australian extracts, as well as ensuring each ingredient is active, viable and used in concentrations that are results driven.
DEODORANTS
Our armpits cop a lot of flack, and we’ve searched high and low for the deodorants that hold up when things get sweaty! It can take up two weeks or more for toxins to be released from your skin, so give yourself some time if you don’t feel like it’s working straight away!
$ - below $20 per product
$$ below $60 per product
$$$ below $80 per product
Brands:
No Pong $ - Made with love in Australia, No Pong is a ridiculously effective, super-natural, bicarb based deodorant, which keeps you fresh for up to 12 hours and is completely aluminium, triclosan and paraben free.
Black Chicken Remedies $ - Black Chicken Remedies create multi-award winning products and their deodorant is no exception! It’s completely free from harmful aluminium salts or sweat blockers, invisible upon application and doesn’t mark clothes, vegan, cruelty-free and made right here in Australia. They also have a sensitive skin version too!
Noosa Basics $ - The Noosa Basics range is 100% natural, vegan and cruelty free, as well as being Australian made. They value creating personal care products with simple and effective formulas, using ingredients such as shea butter, sodium bicarb, coconut oil and kaolin clay.
A Bit Hippy $ - An easy to apply, roll on that keeps your BO away! A Bit Hippy uses ingredients derived from nature, which are vegan friendly. They don’t use any synthetic preservatives or sulphates or paraffin oil. A Bit Hippy don’t test on animals and are committed to helping people make the change from commercial skincare to natural skincare a less challenging process.
MyAura Organics $ - MyAura believe in self-care starting with skincare and that’s why their products are free from aluminium, palm oil, parabens, sulphates, colour and synthetic ingredients. Their roll ons are vegan, enriched with plant based ingredients, absorbed easily and help to neutralise odour and keeps you fresh naturally as well as providing long lasting protection. They are also cruelty free and don’t test on animals. (Available at Woolworths and often have sales too)!
Mecca Athletica $$ - Vegan, sulphate free, paraben free and alcohol free the Mecca Athletica aluminium free deodorant delivers odour protection while targeting the bacteria that causes it in the first place. Optimised for on-the-go use, this deodorant glides on easily without leaving you feeling sticky.
Good + Clean $$ - Good + Clean use ingredients that won’t irritate you such as sodium bicarbonate and scented essential oils to leave you with soft, well moisturised skin. It’s a gentle, yet extremely high performing deodorant.
NAILS
Did you know like our skin, that our nails are super porous and absorbent too!? We’ve rounded up some of the best 5-free, 8-free and 10-free nail polishes to give you a perfect mani - pedi without the excess chemicals!
$ - below $20 per product
$$ below $60 per product
$$$ below $80 per product
Brands:
Nails by Nourished Life $ - Nails by Nourished life is one of the signature brands by cult natural store Nourished Life, founded by Irene Falcone. After discovering some shocking things about the contents of her makeup bag, she began her mission to seek out the most natural, gorgeous and certified organic products on the market.
Benecos $ - Certified natural German brand, Benecos creates 10 free nail polishes at a budget friendly price. They only use high-quality formulas, natural and organic oils and waxes, essential oils, plant extracts and principles of green chemistry to eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances.
Gloss & Co $$ - Gloss & Co make nail polish that is cruelty free, vegan and free from formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, toluene, camphor, dibutyl phthalate, ethyl tosylamide, triphenyl phosphate and xylenes, also they do it right here in Australia.
Sundays $$ - A community more than a brand, Sundays create toxin free nail polishes with the intention of individuality, simplicity and wellness. They are cruelty free, and don’t test their products on animals, instead offering the perfect bottle shape and intense pigmentation.
Sienna Byron Bay $$ - Danielle Egan founded Sienna in 2013 at home, in her lounge room (where most businesses start). Sienna is a trail blazing brand, now stocked in 20 countries worldwide. Their timber cap can be composted when you’re finished with the bottle, the bottle can be recycled (once cleaned out) and some places will accept the plastic brushes too. Sienna don’t test on animals, are cruelty free, vegan and Australian made.
Kester Black $$ - Kester Black are certified cruelty free, carbon neutral, halal certified, vegan certified and a certified B corporation. Anna Ross’ passion for natural beauty led her to create Australia’s most ethical beauty brand.
References
Taylor, K.W., Baird, D.D., Herring, A.H., Engel, L.S., Nichols, H.B., Sandler, D.P., & Troester, M.A. (2017). Associations among personal care product use patterns and exogenous hormone use in the NIEHS sister study. Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, 27(5), 458-464. https://doi.org.au/10.1038/jes.2016.82
Masood, S., Tabassum, S., Naveed, S., & Jalil, P. (2020). Covid-19 pandemic & skin care guidelines for health care professionals. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences, 36, 115-117. https://doi.org/10.12669/pjmis.36.COVID19-S4.2748
Kucinska, M., & Murias, M. Cosmetics as source of xenoestrogens exposure. Przegl Lek, 70(8), 647-651.
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