I began as a consultant for Beautycounter in August of 2016. You can read my story here about why I’m doing what I’m doing and why I believe it is so important. For more info on the company see below! You can also read every one of my Beautycounter posts by clicking on the Beautycounter category.
Our Mission
To get safer products into the hands of everyone. We deliver on this bold mission in three ways; creating and distributing safer, high-performing products; educating the public about how to avoid harmful ingredients; and urging the government to pass laws to better regulate the beauty industry.
Decades of studies indicate that serious health issues (including but not limited to asthma, cancer, and infertility) are on the rise and are due in some part to our ongoing exposure to toxic chemicals—whether it’s in the shower, on our commute, while we eat lunch at a local restaurant, or when we clean our kitchens at home. There are more than 80,000 chemicals on the market today. Many don’t have any safety data. This is particularly true of those used in the skincare and beauty industry. The skincare business is famous for greenwashing and we want to do something to stop that.
What’s worse is that the Food and Drug Administration (the agency that regulates cosmetics in the United States) allows companies to use chemicals known to be extremely harmful in the products we put on our bodies and on our kids’ bodies every single day, day after day, and to make their own judgments about safety.
IT’S TIME FOR A CHANGE. The United States has not passed a major federal law to regulate the safety of ingredients used in personal care products since 1938. That is 81 years ago! Over the past two decades, the European Union has banned more than 1,400 chemicals and Canada has banned 600 in the product formulas of personal care products and restricted the levels of over 250 more in such products. The United States has only partially banned 30 to date.
So, is it all doom and gloom? No! We deserve better, and we’re doing something about it. We believe our products are some of the safest on the market.
We spread the word and share information about how the over $50 billion industry is wildly unregulated, governed by only 1.5 pages of legislation.
Beautycounter regularly and consistently has HQ team members like Lindsay Dahl working in Washington, DC, and in state capitols to help push more health-protective laws forward (like the recent Safer Salons bill push in California), sends consultants to advocate in-person in DC, and launches campaigns where consultants are encouraged to speak to state representatives locally and encourage us ALL (consultants AND clients) to take action right from our phone – by texting BETTERBEAUTY to 52886, for example, to ask your local representative to stand behind the push for the Personal Care Product Safety Act that would require all manufacturers to disclose ingredients in their products.
How You Shop
We provide SAFER PRODUCTS that are high performance – products that work beautifully, and we can feel safe and secure knowing we’re not loading our bodies up with unsafe ingredients. You can shop for Beautycounter with me! Help support our mission.
Ingredient Glossary
Scientists shouldn’t be the only ones able to decipher the label on a cosmetics bottle.
Did you know it is perfectly legal for companies to use harmful ingredients in the products we use on our skin every day? According to many of the world’s leading scientists and medical organizations, many ingredients commonly used in the personal care industry have been linked to cancer, endocrine disruption, infertility, and other health issues. Beautycounter thinks this is unacceptable.
There are still numerous data gaps regarding chemicals used in this industry. In an effort to learn more, we launched a ground-breaking research initiative assessing the endocrine activity of some cosmetics ingredients.
Our Ingredient Glossary is a comprehensive collection of every single ingredient used in our products—all of which are carefully chosen and assessed for safety through our groundbreaking Ingredient Selection Process.
Some of the most important ingredients to me that are not in our products are phthalates (a class of plasticizing chemicals used to make products more pliable or to make fragrances stick to the skin) and synthetic fragrance/parfum (an engineered scent that may contain any combination of 3,000+ stock chemicals and is protected under federal law as a trade secret and can remain undisclosed to consumers).
The Never List
At Beautycounter, we’ve committed to a health and safety standard that goes well beyond what is legally required in the United States.
While all of our ingredients are sourced with a higher standard of safety and quality in mind, it is well recognized — and accepted by regulatory authorities around the world — that incidental, trace levels of a chemical may inadvertently be introduced in a cosmetic product due to the complexities of the supply chain and manufacturing process. At Beautycounter, we work incredibly hard to minimize the potential that a product may contain trace levels of a chemical from our Never List.
We have an ingredient selection process to ensure our customers feel confident in the safety of our products.
- Ban intentionally – Our Never List is made up of more than 1,500 questionable or harmful chemicals that we never use as ingredients in our products. This includes the over 1,400 chemicals banned or restricted in personal care products by the European Union, plus additional chemicals screened by Beautycounter and found to be of concern.
- Screen rigorously – We screen every potential ingredient for information on specific hazards.
- Learn constantly – We review emerging data regularly and even commission our own non-animal studies.
- Source responsibly – We choose the best organic, natural, sustainable, and synthetic ingredients that meet our standards. Over 80% of the products are natural or plant-derived.
- Share transparently – Every formula ingredient, including known components of fragrances, flavors, and intentionally added preservatives, is listed on our product labels and at beautycounter.com.
Beautycounter Resources
Watch this video to get an insider’s look at MSNBC’s “Your Business.” We have resources to give you more info on environmental health and safety, trusted non-profits, transparency, and social responsibility, and our certifications. We’ve got a great FAQ if you have allergic concerns, or want to know which products are gluten-free, vegan, soy-free, etc.
Band of Beauty Member Program
If you even remotely think you may place more than 1 order with me it is worth the $29 initial membership fee. Since you get 10% off every order as product credit on your next order it wouldn’t take long to get your $29 back. When you sign up you get a free gift. For example, the gift for December 2019 was a free Citrus Mimosa Body Butter (worth $39). Members also have access to members-only sales. An example of a members-only sale is the free brightening face oil (worth $68) to all orders of $150+ this past August.
The “B” in B Corporation stands for Benefit, and it means that, unlike the traditional corporate structure, we consider people, the planet, and profit. Becoming a Certified B Corp is a difficult accomplishment, and we committed to the journey from the very beginning.
To be certified as a B Corp, a brand must meet high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Beautycounter is proud to participate in this growing community that is working together towards one unifying goal: to redefine success in business. In 2020, we look forward to achieving our highest score yet by focusing on supplier engagement, employee well-being, and, as always, our transparent policies and practices.
At Beautycounter, we do not test our products on animals. That’s why we’re certified by Leaping Bunny, the gold standard for animal cruelty-free certification for cosmetics and personal care products. Leaping Bunny is the only internationally recognized certification of its kind. It requires continued supplier monitoring — and this type of transparency is very important to us. Look for the Leaping Bunny logo everywhere you shop to ensure you’re only using products that meet strict standards of animal welfare. Learn more about Leaping Bunny here. Click here for the Leaping Bunny FAQs.
EWG VERIFIED™ is a third-party certification where they independently review products against the strictest safety standards. To date, over one third of our products have been EWG VERIFIED™ (including our entire Countertime line). Want to shop them? Just look for the mark.
Looking to become a Beautycounter consultant and earn extra money sharing your passion for safer skincare with the world? Contact me!
If my sharing this information gets you to switch your products to a safer brand that isn’t Beautycounter, it’s still mission-accomplished! Reach out to me with your skincare and cosmetics needs and I’m happy to help you find what works for you and your budget.
Want to stay up to date on the latest Beautycounter products and more special promotions? Follow me on social media using the links at the top left of this page, contact me to get on my mailing list (I offer special pricing and free gifts to those on my mailing list) or click this Beautycounter category for my latest Beautycounter posts! Read our blog, The Asterisk.
Want to watch some videos on Beautycounter’s mission or cosmetic tutorials? We have a YouTube channel!
Read more about Beautycounter from the press and see our awards!
