Wellness

What Clean Beauty Means to Us

Written by OSEA Staff | Published on January 3, 2022

"Clean beauty" is a term that has never been universally defined — and yet it has profoundly redefined our skincare routines. What was once a niche category of products found only in the aisles of natural food stores, is now more widely available at retailers like Credo Beauty, Ulta Beauty and Nordstrom. Today, many brands, including OSEA, call themselves clean. But what exactly is clean beauty? And how does it differ from all-natural beauty? Below we decode these terms and take a deeper dive into what clean beauty means to us.

What Is Natural Beauty?

In theory, natural beauty products are made with ingredients sourced from nature. This can include plants, minerals, water, butters and oils like Shea butter and argan oil.

Even with an “all-natural” label, however, it’s not unusual for products to contain synthetic, lab-made, and sometimes even harmful ingredients. Just one natural component is enough to earn a skincare product the “natural” label. While it’s hard to believe that skincare companies would ever include harmful ingredients in their products, it's still common practice and completely legal. To put things into perspective, the FDA has banned just 11 cosmetic ingredients, whereas the EU has prohibited over 1,300. This stark contrast highlights the less stringent regulations that companies in the US operate under compared to their European counterparts. As a result, many everyday products in the US, such as mascara, body oil, face wash and body wash, can still contain potentially harmful ingredients, including known carcinogens, irritants and endocrine disruptors.

In December of 2022, the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA) passed. This new law will expand the FDA’s authority to regulate cosmetics and better ensure the safety of cosmetic products. While the law is an incredible step in the right direction, it doesn't require the FDA to review or restrict all harmful ingredients.

What Is Clean Beauty?

The clean beauty movement emerged in the last decade as a response to consumers seeking safer skincare and makeup options, in light of minimal regulation within the U.S. beauty industry. Generally speaking, clean beauty products are formulated without ingredients known or believed to be harmful to human health. Clean beauty brands may use naturally-derived or synthetic ingredients. “Clean” or “natural” labels don’t mean that a product is free from chemicals (since even natural ingredients are technically chemicals), and “synthetic” doesn’t necessarily mean harmful.

When it comes to skincare, clean beauty focuses not only on the ingredients but also on where they come from and how they affect the environment. It’s a comprehensive approach to incorporating healthy, non-toxic products into your skincare routine. Clean skincare products typically avoid harsh chemicals like sulfates but might also use safe, gentle, and effective lab-made ingredients—as long as they’re non-toxic.

But like all-natural skincare, the definitions of clean can vary between brands.

What Clean Means at OSEA

Did you know that OSEA launched in 1996, way before the term “clean beauty” even existed? Our founder, Jenefer, started formulating skincare from the sea in her kitchen when she couldn’t find products to meet her formulation standards. For Jenefer, creating safe products wasn’t a choice, but a responsibility.

OSEA set a new industry standard for clean beauty, creating safe and effective seaweed-infused skincare with a holistic approach to wellness and self-care. Fun fact: In 2002, we were the first company to sign the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. Eventually, more than 1,000 other companies joined us.

Over 28 years later, our mission remains the same: to share the healing power of the sea with products that respect the natural world and make skin look and feel its absolute best.

Today, it’s called clean beauty, but in our family, it is what it has always been—the belief that our connection to nature is essential to our collective wellbeing.

Next-Level Clean

Since 1996, our safety standards have been informed by some of the strictest regulations globally. We prohibit the use of chemicals that are known or suspected to be linked to negative health effects. We avoid ingredients like parabens, phthalates, PEGs, ethanolamines, BHT, PFAS, and heavy metal compounds–just to name a few.

Our formulation guidelines are informed by these standards and regulations:

CA Prop 65 List
FDA Cosmetics list of Prohibited and Restricted Ingredients
European Union Cosmetic Directive
Health Canada Cosmetic Ingredient “Hotlist”
Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Standard for Cosmetics
Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, Cosmetic Directive
EU- Priority Endocrine Disruptors
Personal Care Products Council’s Cosmetic Ingredient Review “Unsafe for Use” list
International Fragrance Association (IFRA) standards
Convention On International Trade In Endangered Species Of Wild Fauna And Flora
IUCN “Red List”
EWG Verified™ Unacceptable List and Restricted List for Personal Care Products
Leaping Bunny Standard
Credo Beauty Standard
Sephora Clean Beauty Standard
Ulta Conscious Beauty ‘Made Without’ List

What We Put in Our Products

Our formulas are powered by a unique blend of pure, potent seaweed and active botanicals for results you can sea. We source seaweed from around the world based on its high mineral content and combine it with plant-based ingredients at clinically tested levels.

Each seaweed delivers unique benefits to the skin:

Undaria Seaweed

Rich in amino acids, antioxidants, minerals, nutrients and vitamins, it replenishes the moisture barrier and keeps skin looking healthy.

Red Seaweed

Mineralizes and moisturizes to promote smoother, supple, healthier-looking skin. Contains bio-protective oligosaccharides and essential minerals.

Japanese Miru Seaweed

Replenishes and balances the skin’s natural moisture level for healthy, hydrated skin.

Brown Seaweed

Mineralizes and moisturizes for healthier-looking skin. Rich in polysaccharides, antioxidants, macro elements and trace elements.

Clean Beauty and Sustainability

Our commitment to clean beauty extends beyond what’s in our bottles and jars. This is why sustainability has been at the heart of our brand since the beginning. Every decision and every product we make considers the impact on our planet and collective wellbeing. For us, clean beauty is also about avoiding animal-derived ingredients. Nearly three decades ago, we chose to formulate our products with vegan and cruelty-free ingredients. In 2000 we became vegan certified by PETA and Cruelty Free-certified by Leaping Bunny International.

As a brand whose name is inspired by nature’s elements: Ocean, Sun, Earth, Atmosphere (OSEA), we have a distinct duty to protect the elements that we draw from. In 2020 we became one of the first skincare companies to become Climate Neutral Certified. This means that we measured, reduced, and compensated for all of our carbon emissions from making and delivering products since then. In 2022, we’ve taken it one step further by becoming an Ocean Positive verified brand. Through our partner, SeaTrees, we go beyond being Climate Neutral Certified, to compensate for more carbon than we create.

As a part of our ongoing commitment to sustainability, we took the critical step of measuring our business’ carbon emissions at the product level by conducting life cycle assessments on 15 of our most loved products in partnership with Bluebird Climate. We incorporated post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic content across our product assortment and we optimized distribution channels by using ocean freight rather than air for ~88% of product transfer.

The Best Clean Beauty Products

If you’re looking for clean beauty products, look no further. Our luxurious, award-winning products are clean, clinically and consumer tested for results you can sea––and feel. Ready to get started? Below, a short list of cult-favorite bestsellers: