What Does "Clean" Actually Mean? (And How to Tell If a Brand Means It)

If you have spent any time reading skincare labels recently, you will have noticed that "clean" is everywhere. It is on supermarket shelves and high-end counters alike. It is in brand names, straplines, and Instagram bios. It is used to describe products that, on closer inspection, contain ingredients that would raise questions at any informed reading.

Here is the thing nobody in the industry is rushing to tell you: the phrase "clean beauty" has no legal definition under UK or EU cosmetics regulation, nor under the US Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act 2022 — any brand can use it without meeting any specific standard.

That is not a minor detail. It is one of the most important things to understand before you spend a penny on anything that claims to be clean.

What "clean" was supposed to mean

The clean beauty movement began with a genuine and reasonable idea: that the products we apply to our skin every day — and our children's skin — should be free from ingredients that are harmful, controversial, or unnecessary. It centres on ingredient safety, transparency, and products designed with long-term skin health in mind.

The problem is that good intentions do not equal regulation. By 2026, "clean beauty" has become one of the most overused and misunderstood terms in skincare — once meant to signal safer formulations and transparency, it is now applied to everything from high-end serums to drugstore cleansers, often without clear standards or accountability.

A brand can remove one controversial ingredient, leave twenty others in place, print "clean" on the front, and face no legal challenge whatsoever. This happens every day.

What greenwashing looks like in practice

Greenwashing — the practice of making misleading or unsubstantiated claims about a product's safety or environmental credentials — is a recognised concern across the beauty industry.

A 2026 Positive Luxury report drawing on Edelman Trust Barometer data found that 59% of consumers don't trust sustainability claims unless they're backed by clear evidence. That scepticism is well placed.

It shows up in several recognisable ways. Vague language — "free from nasties", "naturally inspired", "gentle formula" — that sounds reassuring but commits to nothing specific. Selective exclusions — removing one flagged ingredient while retaining others from the same family. Clean-looking packaging and earthy colour palettes that signal purity without any formulation to back it up. And long ingredient lists full of synthetic stabilisers, preservatives, and fillers sitting beneath a large "natural" claim on the front.

None of this is accidental. It is a response to informed consumer demand — just not an honest one.

Knowing what "clean" means to a specific brand matters more than the word itself. A few questions worth asking:

What exactly are they leaving out — and why? A brand that can name the ingredients it excludes and explain the reason for each exclusion is worth more trust than one that uses umbrella terms. Parabens, sulphates, silicones, phthalates, synthetic fragrance — these are the most commonly cited. Any brand worth considering should be able to tell you clearly what is not in their product.

What is actually in it? The INCI list — the full ingredient list required by law — tells the real story. If it is long, complex, and difficult to read, that is worth noting. If it is short, recognisable, and every ingredient has a clear purpose, that is a good sign.

Does "natural" mean what they think it means? Natural does not automatically mean safe, and synthetic does not automatically mean harmful. What matters is whether the ingredients — natural or otherwise — are skin-safe, well-researched, and present for a reason.

Is there evidence behind the claims? A brand that cites its safety assessments, names its assessors, and explains its formulation choices is operating at a different standard from one that simply says "clean" and moves on.

What clean means at Lunask

We use the word "clean" deliberately and with a specific meaning. Our brand promise is: Clean. Always. No harmful ingredients. No exceptions.

That is not a tagline. It is a commitment with substance behind it. Every ingredient in Elysian Luxe Nourishing Body Butter has been chosen for a specific purpose.

The formulation has been independently safety assessed and approved by qualified cosmetic safety assessors — and we can back that up. It contains no parabens, no silicones, no synthetic fragrance, no sulphates, and no fillers. The full INCI list is published on every jar and on our website, and every ingredient on it is there because it earns its place.

We do not use "100% natural" as a brand-wide claim. For Elysian Luxe specifically, it is accurate — and we say so at product level. We will not extend it to future products where it may not apply, because that would be the kind of selective, headline-level honesty the industry has too much of already.

Clean, to us, means being able to account for every single thing in every jar. It means no shortcuts, no greenwashing, and no gap between what we say and what we make.

That is the standard we hold ourselves to. It is also the standard worth holding every brand you buy from to — whatever word they use on the front.

Pure. Proven. Personal.

Explore Elysian Luxe Nourishing Body Butter

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a GP or dermatologist for persistent skin concerns. Lunask does not claim that Elysian Luxe™ Nourishing Body Butter treats, prevents, or is specifically formulated for any skin condition.

References

1. US Food and Drug Administration. Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA). https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetics-laws-regulations/modernization-cosmetics-regulation-act-2022-mocra
2. Professional Beauty (2026). Why transparency must define sustainable beauty businesses in 2026. Citing Positive Luxury / Edelman Trust Barometer. https://professionalbeauty.co.uk/transparency-and-proof-define-sustainable-beauty-businesses-2026-positive-luxury
3. European Commission. Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on cosmetic products. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02009R1223