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Dirty Secrets of the Beauty Industry, Part 1: Skinveda's Founder Tells Her Story
We asked some of the founders of our Indie brands to reveal a “Dirty Secret” of the conventional beauty industry – and tell us how it motivated them to make a difference.
Dirty Secrets of the Beauty Industry – Part 1: Shilpi of Skinveda
When you’re Principal Scientist at some of the largest commercial beauty brands as Shilpi was for over 18 years, you don’t miss much about how items are produced and brought to market:
"Most decisions [by large commercial beauty firms] are made based on commerce – it's all about adding a drop of that and a drop of this to bulk up the ingredient deck. When we talk about 'mass beauty', the word 'mass' is indicative of the fact that you are non-selective ...."
"I chose to start my own practice as an ethical cosmetic formulator and a brand that was solely performance-based using the highest quality plant-based ingredients that mimicked the chemistry of their synthetic lab-produced counterparts."
"As a scientist and an entrepreneur with experience in cosmetics formulation, pharmaceutical drug development and plant-based science, I have the advantage of lookimg at all sides of a formulation."
"I believe in 'Less is More' ... add a few high quality ingredients in the right amounts in synergy and customized to each individual’s skin as well as mind-body constitution."
Why is your skin always changing and how does stress (environmental and emotional) play a role on your skin health?
The Educated Consumer!
The art of reading the label is such a powerful tool. Yet, a lot of consumers are fooled by products that claim as “Natural”, “Cruelty-Free”, “Plant-based”. There are several ingredients that may sound toxic or chemical, but are in fact more natural than others. For example, I get a lot of questions about “phenoxyethanol”. It is a preservative found in many cosmetics with water in them and is relatively safe. It is also found in nature as well as in green tea. But consumers are alarmed by this ingredient and think of it as an alcohol or perhaps an endocrine disruptor. This brings me to the subject that little knowledge is a dangerous thing. So the nail polish you use may have nitrocellulose as the number one ingredient-also known as gun cotton and used to make explosives. But we see 95% brands calling nail polish safe and 3 free, or 5 free!
When reading a label, remember to see the top 5 ingredeints which make up the majority (about 90%) of the product where the top ingredient may be water or aloe vera leaf juice (75-90%). Sulfates, parabens, mineral oil, silicones are some ingredients you want to stay away from. Anyone claiming a Preservative Free or Chemical Free product is misguiding you! Water is also a chemical and so is salt and sugar. Think about it!
By Shilpi Jain, MS Hons.Chemistry, magna cum laude
President and Founder, Skinveda