There’s a lot of talk about clean ingredients in skin care these days. What was once relegated to the aisles of a health food store or specialty retailer is now a mainstream movement, with wellness enthusiasts and skincare devotees alike seeking natural, safe solutions to glowing skin.

Clean beauty has been around since the time of Cleopatra, but at some point, conventional skincare shifted to incorporate synthetic, lab-made (i.e., cheaper) ingredients in the name of efficacy (and profit). The good news is, you no longer need to sacrifice safety for product performance. The knowledge and innovation have come a long way. Since naturally derived solutions are widely available—and work—perhaps it’s time we demand more of our skincare regimen.

WHAT IS CLEAN BEAUTY?

Clean beauty generally refers to the use of safe, non-toxic ingredients that do no harm to the body (or environment). Often these ingredients are naturally derived, harnessing the power of plants, botanicals and other natural materials to nourish and revive the skin.

It’s hard to imagine that beauty companies would formulate products using potentially toxic ingredients, but it’s not only common—it’s legal. What is considered harmful varies from country to country. In the United States, only 11 ingredients are banned from use in personal care products, compared with some 1,300 outlawed or restricted ingredients in the European Union. Some of these include:

• parabens, an endocrine disrupter often found in lotions and other beauty products
• phthalates, an ingredient often hidden as “fragrance” that’s linked to hormonal health problems and fertility issues
• formaldehyde, a known carcinogen found in everything from hair products to soap

It can be confusing to know which products are safe and which ingredients to avoid. One method is to look for products that comply to EU cosmetic regulations, some of the toughest in the world (all MAKANAI products are made in Japan and adhere to EU regulatory standards). Also, look for products with a high percentage of natural origin—95% of MAKANAI products are made from 100% naturally derived ingredients.

WHY CLEAN BEAUTY IS THE ULTIMATE LUXURY

Skin care should be rich, elegant, and effective—and today’s clean formulas check all of those boxes. While the clean beauty sector often focuses on what’s not in the products, there is much to celebrate when highlighting the efficacy and potency of what’s in these formulas as well.

For our products, that means harnessing centuries of beauty ritual traditions to pamper skin and delight the senses. Our signature ingredient, 24K gold leaf, is esthetically beautiful and richly beneficial. The proprietary KaESS complex includes a targeted combination of persimmon leaf, eggshell membrane, and soybeans to smooth and nourish the skin. And because skincare products should smell as divine as they feel, we use the purest essential oil blends to create our two signature scents: Morning Zen, with notes of tangerine, camphor tree, rose geranium and frankincense, and Enlightening Rainbow, an enchanting blend of rosemary, yuzu, lime, sandalwood.

While natural ingredients have been used on skin and hair for centuries, it is only through modern research and formulation that we see the proven efficacy they have on skin. This delicate balance of nature and science is reframing the conversation around luxury products. Ultimately, luxury is about having it all, and today’s clean beauty standards do just that, providing performance and indulgence without compromise.