There's so much confusion these days about what "clean beauty" really means. Virtually all manufacturers with "clean" brands and all retailers that have clean beauty sections have their own standards and definitions for what "clean" means. While there are certainly many overlaps, there are countless and confusing differences, and with no regulatory body determining what clean should mean, how do you make the right choices? It all depends on what's most important to you.

To help, we have created a Clean Beauty Quiz which asks questions across several different aspects of clean beauty - with some very enlightening insights - so you can make the best decisions for your health and the world around you. Take the quiz and then look at the answers below (and no cheating):

The Clean Beauty Quiz

1. If a beauty product is labeled "clean" does that mean it's natural?

   a. Yes
   b. No

2. Studies have shown that parabens can cause endocrine disruption, be a co-carcinogen and even cause cancer. With that knowledge, what percent of beauty products still have parabens?

   a. 1%
   b. 11%
   c. 31%
   d. 51%
   e. 71%

3. If a beauty product is labeled "clean" does it also mean the packaging is sustainable?

   a. Yes
   b. No

4. If a clean beauty product is labeled "cruelty-free" does that mean it's also vegan?

   a. Yes
   b. No

5. How many beauty products have been identified as having ingredients that are potentially harmful to peoples skin and health?

   a. 3,000
   b. 13,000
   c. 33,000
   d. 53,000
   e. 73,000
   f. 93,000

6. How many pieces of beauty packaging materials wind up in landfills every year?

   a. 1 million
   b. 100 million
   c. 500 million
   d. 1 billion
   e. 100 billion

7. When you buy a beauty product and it has recycle symbols on the carton, does that mean it's the same for the jars, bottles, tubes, lids and pumps inside?

   a. Yes
   b. No

8. If a store has a section called "clean beauty", what does that mean for the beauty products not in that section? Are/do they:

   a. Dirty
   b. Potentially contain harmful ingredients
   c. Possibly tested on animals?
   d. Possibly contain animal by-products
   e. Possibly doesn't use sustainable packaging
   f. Some/all of the above

The answers

1. If a beauty product is labeled "clean" does that mean it's natural?

   b. No
   
   The clean beauty movement started because people wanted their products free of synthetic ingredients such as parabens and phthalates that have proven to cause harm to people's skin and health. They wanted natural alternatives instead. And while many natural and mostly natural clean beauty products were launched since then, many more clean beauty products are still mostly or completely synthetic.
   
   So, if using natural ingredients is important to you, make sure your products are not just clean but also natural. To read more about this, click here.

2. Studies have shown that parabens can cause endocrine disruption, be a co-carcinogen and even cause cancer. With that knowledge, what percent of beauty products still have parabens?

   e. 71%
   
   While the studies have not been seen by the Food and Drug Association as being demonstrable enough to have them banned from beauty products, many brands have found safer alternatives. And since there are safer alternatives, one might ask why isn't every company walking away from parabens. And if parabens are okay in beauty products, would you eat it? In both cases they're getting absorbed into your body.
   
   So, if being paraben-free is important to you, make sure to read the labels before you buy.

3. If a beauty product is labeled "clean" does it also mean the packaging is sustainable?

   b. No
   
   One of the most disappointing aspects of clean beauty is how packaging, for the most part, isn't part of the equation. Aren't we "dirtying" our planet by using packaging materials that aren't sustainable? While indie brands like HEAR ME RAW lead the way with reusable glass jars and lids and recyclable refill pods, some of the biggest "clean" beauty brands have their entire lines using packaging that isn't even recyclable. Fortunately, clean beauty retailers like Credo and The Conscious Beauty Collective, and organizations like The Pact Collective are making huge inroads educating people and making sustainable packaging part of the clean beauty definition.
   
   So, if doing what's right for the planet is important to you, please make sure all the packaging used is recyclable (at minimum), and reusable and refillable at best. To read more about beauty packaging do's and don'ts, click here.

4. If a clean beauty product is labeled "cruelty-free" does that mean it's also vegan?

   b. No
   
   Cruelty-free and vegan are two different things. "Cruelty-free" means it's not tested on animals. Vegan means no animal by-products like tallow, lanolin, keratin, gelatin and collagen used in the formulas. So, technically, a product could be cruelty-free and not vegan, or be vegan and not cruelty-free.
   
   So, if you believe as we do that animals weren't put on this earth to be tested on or be used in our beauty products, then make sure the products you buy are both cruelty-free (Leaping Bunny or PETA certified) AND vegan. To read more about this issue, click here.

5. How many beauty products have been identified as having ingredients that are potentially harmful to peoples skin and health?

   e. 73,000
   
   That's right, 73,000 products with ingredients like parabens, phthalates, formaldehyde and others.

6. How many pieces of beauty packaging materials wind up in landfills every year?

   e. 100 billion
   
   This is shocking on so many levels. First, there are only 8 billion people on the planet. That means there's over 12 times more beauty packaging materials in landfills than there are people. Second, we're only speaking about beauty packaging, not all packaging! This is beyond wrong, unethical and criminal. Every manufacturer of every product needs to be held accountable for their packaging and it is unacceptable that so many beauty brands refuse to packaging that is recyclable, reusable, biodegradable, or refillable.
   
   So, once again, if doing what's right for the planet is important to you, please make sure all the packaging used in your beauty products are recyclable (at minimum) at reusable, refillable, and biodegradable at best. To read more about beauty packaging do's and don'ts, click here.

7. When you buy a beauty product and it has recycle symbols on the carton, does that mean it's the same for the jars, bottles, tubes, lids and pumps inside?

   
   b. No
   
   Unless it's expressly stated on the carton that the symbols are for both the carton and materials inside, the symbols on the carton are for the carton only. You'll have to look for them directly on the jars, bottles, etc. In a store, check out the tester units. If it's not clear, go on the the brand's website. To learn more about what packaging is "good" and which you should avoid, click here.

8. If a store has a section called "clean beauty", what does that mean for the beauty products not in that section? Are/do they:

   f. Some/all of the above
   
   Then again, if you're reading this article, you already care about your skin, health, animals and the planet so you already knew this.

Thanks for taking the quiz. We hope you scored an 8 out of 8. We at HEAR ME RAW will continue doing what's best for people and planet (and that includes our animal friends, of course), and fight the good fight, to make the beauty industry a beautiful industry.