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I’ve been covering natural, clean beauty and non-toxic makeup more lately as it’s such a powerful area you can take back in terms of controlling the chemicals you put in and on your body. Compared to a decade ago, there are so many amazing brands for clean skin-care out there, you don’t have to rely on making your own recipes!
I actually don’t necessarily advise making your own skin care products anyway. That’s not a blanket statement, there can be some exceptions. However, I prefer my skin care to provide very tangible functions proven by science and recommended by dermatologists to improve the quality and health of my skin, not just a moisturizing oil. (That’s not to say all of these brands are equally dermatologist recommended. There’s a bit of nuance in the way I choose to recommend brands and it’s a combination of dermatology expert recommendations, general knowledge of ingredients, and a focus on clean, non-toxic ingredients.)
Because of this, I tend to do a little more mainstream products where appropriate, and I’m so grateful for the number of brands making clean skin-care today.
So today, let’s dive into my top 12 favorite brands for clean skin care. I have not used all of these brands, but I’ve used most of them. I obviously can’t speak for every single product these brands have, but generally speaking their ingredients are clean and either I find them to be effective, or reviews present that they are. There’s no particular order of my favorite or anything, they’re just listed in the order they came into my brain.
Most of these brands avoid fragrance, but if you come across a fragranced product, it would be my recommendation to avoid that.
I have not personally tried Attitude skin care products yet, but I have used other Attitude products and love them. They are super affordable, EWG verified to have clean ingredients, and reviews show people love them. They offer a few simple skin care solutions along with so many products for your general hygiene and home cleaning needs too!
I love Cocokind because they offer clean and effective products at a much more affordable price point than a lot of other brands. I think skin care can be worth splurging on, but that a lot of times it isn’t necessary. Cocokind is a great example of this. Plus, Cocokind can be found in places like Target so it’s also more accessible than some other clean brands.
Mad Hippie is another amazing, simple, affordable brand that offers effective clean skin care. They’ve got all your basics including some great serums I’ve loved over the years. They’ve also been around for quite a while so they have a pretty solid track record.
This was probably my first accidental dive into cleaner beauty because it is available at Ulta and was super affordable. I started learning about skin care years ago and decided to add some serums and exfoliators to my list and this was a great option for me. Fast forward a couple years and I find out that The Ordinary is actually also pretty clean. It’s not necessarily their focus, but it’s still true. And again, you can’t beat the price.
True Botanicals is pretty much my favorite brand ever. I love their formulations, the smell, the efficacy, all of it. They do tend to be more pricey but I feel like they’ve come down some over the years on some of their products? They have amazing serums and moisturizers that have done wonders for my skin. When I have money to spend on skin care, this is what I get.
Goop is expensive! I am skeptical that a lot of the price has to do with the name associated with the brand and just the media attention it has gotten, but I could be wrong. I do know that their products are very effective and they majorly focus on using only the cleanest of ingredients. This is a wonderful brand, but definitely not for the average Joe on a budget. Maybe someday this girl will be able to afford more Goop and then I’ll tell you if I think it’s worth it after all.
