If you’ve spent any time exploring clean beauty, you’ve probably come across a long list of ingredient standards, certifications, and “free-from” claims. But what do they actually mean?
At Beauty Heroes, we’ve developed one of the industry’s most rigorous ingredient standards. Every brand and every product we feature, whether in our Beauty Store or monthly Discovery, is carefully vetted to meet our uncompromising expectations for safety, efficacy, and integrity.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the Beauty Heroes Ingredient Standard, what it includes, why it matters, and how it shapes every product we choose.
Why We Created the Beauty Heroes Ingredient Standard
The short answer? To make clean beauty easier to navigate. Our Ingredient Standard ensures every product we feature meets the same uncompromising expectations for ingredient integrity, performance, and transparency.
Clean beauty has become one of the most talked-about movements in the beauty industry. Yet despite its popularity, there is still no universal definition of what “clean beauty” actually means.
Ask ten retailers, brands, or industry experts to define clean beauty and you will likely receive ten different answers. Some focus primarily on ingredient safety. Others emphasize natural sourcing, sustainability, environmental impact, or manufacturing practices. While these approaches often overlap, they can produce very different standards.
At Beauty Heroes, we recognized early on that consumers deserved more clarity than marketing buzzwords could provide.
This realization led to Beauty Heroes’ ingredient standard.
A framework designed to help guide ingredient evaluation, brand selection, and product curation through the lens of both human and environmental health.
As Beauty Heroes founder and CEO Jeannie Jarnot explains:
“We are looking at ingredients through the lens of what’s safe for the consumer and lighter on the environment.
Ingredients persist in the environment, and that’s something not always on people’s radar.
And what persists in our environment comes back to the consumer.”
The goal has never been to create a rigid checklist that never changes.
In fact, we understand that science evolves, sourcing changes, and new information emerges constantly. And these changes should never be out of the picture.
Ingredients are complex.
The more we learn about formulation, environmental peristence, manufacturing processes, and ingredient sourcing, the more opportunities we have to refine our understanding. Rather than remaining fixed, the Beauty Heroes evolves alongside scientific research.
Most importantly, the standard creates a relationship built on transparency and trust.
Consumers deserve to know why products are selected, how ingredients are evaluated, and what questions are being asked behind the scenes before a product ever reaches the Beauty Heroes collection.
What Makes the Beauty Heroes Ingredient Standard Different
Many clean beauty standards focus primarily on ingredients and although this is crucial, Beauty Heroes doesn’t stop there.
The evaluation process begins with ingredients. Every ingredient is examined within the context of its sourcing, manufacturing process, environmental impact, and role within the finished formula.
Environmental considerations are equally important.
An ingredient may appear safe from a consumer perspective while raising concerns about how it breaks down in the environment and its long-term ecological footprint. Looking at the full lifecycle of ingredients allows Beauty Heroes to evaluate products through a wider lens.
Brand accountability is another key distinction.
At Beauty Heroes we work closely with founders and formulators to understand what ingredients and amounts are included, but why they were selected and how they align with the brand’s overall values.
Long-term partnerships are built on transparency, responsiveness, and a shared commitment to continual improvement.
Ingredient Screening at Beauty Heroes
Ingredient screening is the process of evaluating the materials used within a formulation before a product is considered for inclusion in the Beauty Heroes collection.
Our team examines ingredient origins, manufacturing methods, environmental impact, available research, and the role each ingredient plays within the finished formula.
Our Ingredient Standard restricts or excludes ingredient categories including synthetic fragrance, silicones, ethoxylated ingredients, petroleum-derived materials, certain acrylates and polymers, and ingredients that may persist in the environment.
The process is nuanced.
For example, while we do keep many petroleum-derived ingredients off the table, there are specific exceptions outlined within the ingredient standard. Similar exceptions exist for certain ethoxylated ingredients when they meet strict criteria and serve a necessary functional purpose.
This reflects an important reality of formulation science: ingredient evaluation is rarely black and white.
Every decision requires context, transparency, and a deeper understanding of how an ingredient is sourced, manufactured, and used.
We also exclude chemical sunscreen filters and continue to monitor emerging research surrounding ingredients that may contribute to long-term environmental persistence.
For the full list of excluded ingredients, check out our full list of harmful ingredients
Why Ingredient Screening Matters
Ingredient screening helps create a more informed approach to beauty product selection.
As a consumer, it means every product has undergone a thorough review for ingredient integrity, transparency, and formulation quality.
Plus, it allows us at Beauty Heroes to consider how ingredients impact the environment. Certain materials may persist in waterways, accumulate within ecosystems, or contribute to broader environmental concerns long after they have been rinsed off the skin.
By evaluating both human and environmental considerations, ingredient screening supports our larger goal of promoting healthier beauty practices for the long term.
How Is Ingredient Safety Evaluated
No single database or regulatory body provides all the answers when it comes to ingredient safety.
Instead, at Beauty Heroes we rely on multiple sources of information when evaluating ingredients. Published scientific literature, toxicology assessments, regulatory guidance, supplier documentation, and emerging research all contribute to the review process.
Sourcing information is also critical, which is why we ask the brands directly for their sourcing information.
The same ingredient may be produced using very different raw materials or manufacturing methods depending on the supplier.
Understanding where an ingredient comes from often provides valuable insight into its overall sustainability and environmental profile.
What Do We Look For In Brands
An ingredient list can only tell part of the story. That’s why we work directly with every brand to understand their ingredients, sourcing, and formulation philosophy.
To make sure each brand fits Beauty Heroes’ standard, there is a list of questions designed to understand philosophy and sourcing.
The questions asked during brand review often reveal as much about a product as the ingredient list itself.
About Their Origins
Ingredient sourcing is one of the first areas explored during product review.
Questions often include:
- What is the source of this ingredient?
- Is it petrochemical-derived?
- Is it plant-derived or bio-based?
- How is it processed?
- What is the brand’s approach to organic sourcing?
Organic certification is not always necessary, but understanding how brands approach agriculture, ingredient cultivation, and sourcing transparency helps provide a more complete picture of the formulation.
About Performance and Purpose
We also aim to understand the intent behind formulation decisions.
Questions often include:
- Why was this ingredient selected?
- What role does it serve within the formula?
- What does concentration look like?
- Are there alternative ingredients available?
The founder’s values and perspective set the tone for the brand, so we like to understand their approach to ingredients, as this will shape every aspect of product development.
Understanding these motivations helps us see whether a brand’s practices align with its healthy beauty philosophy.
It’s not just about whether an ingredient is included, but how much is included. Active ingredients like vitamin C for example, need to be present at effective concentrations to deliver their intended benefits.
This helps us avoid formulas that include trendy ingredients in amounts too small to provide meaningful benefits.
About Environmental Impact
Environmental responsibility extends beyond ingredient labels.
Questions may include:
- Is the ingredient biodegradable?
- Does it contribute to environmental persistence?
- How is it sourced?
- How is it manufactured?
These conversations help us take a look into the full lifecycle of ingredients and the broader environmental implications associated with product development.
What You May Not Know About Clean Beauty
Clean beauty isn’t always as straightforward as it seems.
There are plenty of misconceptions about ingredients, and the reality is much more nuanced than a basic “natural is good” and “synthetic is bad.”
At Beauty Heroes we understand these nuances and help you understand them too.
- Natural doesn’t always mean better
Natural ingredients can be wonderful, but they’re not automatically safer or more effective.
Some botanical ingredients, including some essential oils and plant extracts, can be irritating or trigger sensitivities in certain people.
On the other hand, ingredient innovation has come a long way.
Advances in biotechnology and green chemistry have made it possible to create ingredients that are both effective and more sustainable.
- Synthetic doesn’t automatically mean bad
Not every synthetic ingredient deserves a bad reputation.
Some lab-created ingredients are more consistent, more stable, or even more environmentally responsible than their naturally sourced counterparts. In some cases, biotechnology can produce high-quality ingredients without putting additional pressure on natural resources.
What matters most is how an ingredient is made, why it’s used, and how it performs.
- Trace amounts matter
The amount of an ingredient and its concentration in a formula matters just as much as the ingredient itself.
A beneficial ingredient may not do much if it’s included in tiny amounts, while other ingredients may be perfectly appropriate when used at very low concentrations.
That’s why we take ingredient levels into account and how they contribute to the formula.
- Sourcing matters
Two ingredients with the same name aren’t always the same.
An ingredient can be plant-derived, bio-based, or petrochemical-derived, and the way it’s sourced and manufactured can have a significant impact on both quality and sustainability.
That’s why we ask brands detailed questions about ingredient sourcing. Knowing where an ingredient comes from helps paint a much clearer picture of the product as a whole.
- Biodegradability matters
A product’s impact doesn’t end when you rinse it off.
Some ingredients break down naturally, while others can remain in the environment long after they’ve gone down the drain.
From our point of view, biodegradability and environmental persistence need to be reviewed in ingredient lists because just because something is healthy for people, doesn’t automatically mean it’s good for the planet.
What About Preservatives in Clean Beauty?
Preservatives are often misunderstood within clean beauty.
The reality is that properly preserved products are essential for consumer safety.
Without an effective preservation system, skincare products can become contaminated by bacteria, yeast, and mold. This contamination can compromise product quality and potentially create health risks for consumers.
Water-based formulations are especially vulnerable to microbial growth, making preservation a critical component of product development.
While some consumers may assume preservative-free products are inherently safer, inadequate preservation can create far greater concerns than a thoughtfully selected preservative system.
We analyze preservatives through the same lens applied to all ingredients: safety, efficacy, and environmental responsibility.
The review process considers the safety profile of preservation systems, their effectiveness in protecting product integrity, and their compatibility with the ingredient standard.
Beauty Heroes’ Brand Standards
Ingredients are only one part of the evaluation process.
We believe that creating healthier beauty products requires looking beyond formulations alone.
- Brand philosophy and mission alignment
Every brand partnership begins with a deeper conversation about values.
We look for founders who demonstrate a genuine commitment to transparency, integrity, and continuous improvement.
Understanding a founder’s philosophy is the perfect way to understand how and why the brand makes certain decisions.
- Sustainability practices
Sustainability is evaluated through multiple lenses.
This includes ingredient sourcing, manufacturing practices, resource utilization, environmental stewardship, and broader operational decisions.
The goal is to understand how a brand approaches this responsibility throughout its entire business model.
- Packaging evaluation
Packaging is another important consideration.
We check packaging materials, recyclability, waste reduction efforts, and circularity initiatives whenever possible.
Functionality also matters.
Packaging should protect product integrity while supporting appropriate usage. Poorly designed packaging can lead to product waste, shortened shelf life, and unnecessary environmental impact.
- Product efficacy
Clean beauty should perform.
We search for products that deliver results and support the claims being made.
Formulation quality, ingredient selection, and overall product performance all contribute to the evaluation process.
- Founder integrity and brand accountability
Long-term partnerships depend on transparency and trust.
We value brands that are willing to answer difficult questions, provide sourcing information, communicate openly, and continuously improve their practices as new information becomes available.
Accountability should be at the center of a healthy beauty standard.
Why Does the Beauty Heroes Ingredient Standard Evolve?
The Beauty Heroes ingredient standard was never intended to be a fixed set of rules.
As science advances and the beauty industry evolves, so does our understanding of ingredients, formulation, and environmental impact.
New research continually provides insight into ingredient safety, biodegradability, sourcing, and manufacturing processes.
At the same time, brands reformulate products, suppliers change, and innovative ingredients become available. A formula that met our standards a few years ago may look different today, which is why every product and brand relationship is subject to ongoing review.
Rather than treating clean beauty as a static definition, we see it as a commitment to continuous improvement. As better ingredients, more sustainable sourcing practices, and new technologies emerge, the healthy beauty standard evolves alongside them.
This allows us to keep asking better questions, make more informed decisions, and continually raise the bar for the products we carry.
Beauty Heroes Is Committed to Healthy Beauty
The Beauty Heroes ingredient standard is more than a list of approved or restricted ingredients.
It is a living framework built on transparency, scientific inquiry, sustainability, and accountability.
By continually asking deeper questions about ingredient sourcing, formulation decisions, environmental impact, and brand practices, we hold and are proud of a healthy beauty standard that evolves alongside both science and consumer expectations, and sets the bar of excellence.
Healthy beauty is not about perfection.
It is about making informed decisions, embracing continuous improvement, and creating greater transparency for consumers seeking products they can feel confident using.
If you are looking for skincare, body care, wellness, and beauty products that meet rigorous ingredient and brand standards, Beauty Heroes remains committed to curating products through a lens of both personal and environmental well-being.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Beauty Heroes ingredient standard?
The Beauty Heroes ingredient standard is a framework used to evaluate ingredients, formulations, sourcing practices, environmental impact, and brand accountability. It guides product selection across the Beauty Heroes collection and is designed to evolve alongside scientific research and industry advancements.
How is the Beauty Heroes ingredient standard different from other clean beauty standards?
Many clean beauty standards focus primarily on ingredient exclusion lists. Beauty Heroes takes a broader approach by evaluating the full lifecycle of ingredients, including sourcing, manufacturing, environmental persistence, biodegradability, formulation purpose, and overall brand practices.
What ingredients does the healthy beauty standard avoid?
Beauty Heroes restricts categories including synthetic fragrance, PEGs, mineral oil, paraffin, many silicones, sulfates, ethoxylated ingredients, and environmentally persistent ingredients, among others. Specific criteria and exceptions are outlined within the current ingredient standard.
How does Beauty Heroes evaluate ingredient safety?
Beauty Heroes reviews published scientific literature, regulatory guidance, supplier information, sourcing documentation, manufacturing practices, and emerging research. Ingredient evaluation considers both consumer safety and environmental impact.
Why are preservatives allowed in clean beauty products?
Preservatives play an essential role in preventing microbial contamination and protecting consumer safety.
Beauty Heroes evaluates preservation systems based on safety, effectiveness, and compatibility with its healthy beauty standard, recognizing that properly preserved products are critical for product integrity and consumer protection.
What is fairy dusting?
“Fairy dusting” is when a brand adds a tiny amount of a trendy ingredient, like vitamin C, peptides, or botanical extracts, mainly so it can appear on the label.
Beauty Heroes looks for formulations where key ingredients are included because they make a meaningful difference, not simply because they’re popular. Performance should always come before marketing.
