Paula's Choice founder Paula Begoun is a sceptic of the trend. "Clean beauty conveys a sense of safety, but in reality, it has very little meaning because everyone, from individual brands to different stores, define it any way they want with differing rationale," she said.
Instead, Begoun thinks people should worry about what works with their skin type. "I think we should all be concerned about what works and doesn't work for skin and what potential problems to avoid, but fearmongering and the notion that certain ingredients are killing us or are killing our environment is out of proportion to the reality," she said.
Begoun also feels that parabens have been given a bad rap as well as some sunscreen ingredients. "Parabens and mineral oil have been on the bad lists forever despite both being safe for skin," Begoun said. "The research you've seen about parabens showing up in the body excludes the fact that they are also found naturally in food." In fact, Begoun feels that parabens are a great ingredient. "What happened to parabens is sad because they are the most effective, least irritating preservatives in the industry," she said.
The same thing, she believes, is happening with sunscreen. "People are being told to be afraid of sunscreens as opposed to being afraid of the sun, and certain approved sunscreen actives are being demonized depending on where you live," she said. "This hyperfocusing is odd because there is negative research on almost every sunscreen ingredient, including the mineral ones (zinc oxide and titanium dioxide). The most important fact that gets overlooked is that one of the strongest carcinogens on the planet is the sun, and it is killing our skin and endangering our health."