If there is one question we hear all the time, it has to be, “Why would I pay more for a beauty product when I can get the same thing for a fifth of the price?”
This is a question we can really dig deep into, from many different angles.
You can head to your drugstore now and pick up a cleanser, a moisturizer, or a shampoo for a “nice price,” that is, until you have a skim over the ingredient label and realize the ingredients are anything but nice!
Yes, sure, certain products are more expensive simply because of their brand name, however, in this article we want to talk more about why clean beauty is pricier than conventional beauty products, and why it’s more worth your while in the long run.
What is clean beauty really?
Before we dive into the cost of clean beauty, let’s first clarify what “clean beauty” actually means to us. This is where it gets a bit tricky because there are many labels you may feel confused about like “vegan” or “cruelty-free” or simply, “natural” and what it actually means.
For the sake of our article, when we say clean beauty we mean products made purely with natural or naturally-derived ingredients that have not been tested on animals and pose no harm to the environment. We’ll also include that the packaging must be recyclable!
No fillers, all actives
Many drugstore brand skin and beauty products contain filler ingredients which is why they’re so cheap in the first place! Filler ingredients such as water, alcohol, and mineral oil do nothing but dilute the products you’re using, doing no more than just filling up space in the bottle. Clean beauty products on the other hand are abundant in active ingredients like plant oils and essences, which do cost more, but they also do more…
Superior formulations
Sourcing clean ingredients like herbs, hydrosols and essential oils are certainly more expensive than the filler ingredients. Because they are so potent, they actually come with a hidden benefit - you don’t have to use nearly as much! These carefully formulated clean beauty products may cost you more upfront, but being so potent, they very likely will save you in the long run!
No marketing gimmicks
Don’t be fooled by the shelf-life of cheaper products either, they’re only that way because longer shelf life means cheaper, mass produced ingredients were used! Even some of the most well known skincare brands on the market are essentially all filler, very little active ingredients but they continue to sell because of the marketing efforts that put a spotlight on the branding and packaging which many people fall for without considering the real price they’re paying using cheaper, but a lot less effective products. Be warned also of companies using the “natural” or “all natural” labels on their products! In order for them to make this claim, only a trace of a natural product needs to be present in the actual formulation! Always read labels.
You can rest easy knowing that clean beauty products are proven not through pretty packaging and outlandish claims, but rather through the much stricter hoops they have to jump through in order to have certain certifications like “organic,” “natural,” or “cruelty-free,” as well as the very real results they offer!
Sustainable packaging and labor
Speaking of packaging, clean beauty products are much more likely to be packaged and shipped from within the United States which naturally adds a premium to the cost. These skin and beauty product packages are often also made using recyclable materials, which are more expensive to source. While there is a premium attached to this, knowing exactly where your products are coming from and how they’re made (using fairly compensated US labor) may give you peace of mind that you’re not contributing to less than savory practices many brands partake in.