As part of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we want to spotlight K-beauty products – a broad term referring to cosmetics from Korea.
Clean beauty is all the rage now.
I distinctly recall the moment the term “clean beauty” launched a thriving $7 billion industry.
A retailer shared their frustration about how all the “free from – ” claims on personal care products often left consumers bewildered and uncertain. That retailer simplified the messaging and reshaped the beauty industry. The remarkable ascent of clean beauty is a testament to the ever-growing demand for healthier options and increased transparency among consumers.
But the origins of clean beauty can be traced back to the skin health practices deeply rooted in the lifestyle trends of the Asia Pacific region, particularly in Korea.
The K-beauty phenomenon has received significant recognition, with Korean innovations ranging from facial masks to BB and CC creams, and even products made with unconventional ingredients – like snail serums – capturing attention and receiving celebrity endorsements.
But are they healthier? The answer is yes!
In 2018, EWG published an analysis of 352 K-beauty serums and essences. Using the Skin Deep® database, researchers found that these products resulted in an average Skin Deep product rating of 3.3 on a scale from 1 to 10 – where 1 denotes the lowest hazard rating and 10 represents the highest hazard rating.
Building on this analysis, we recently revisited K-beauty with popular brands including COSRX, Etude House, Dr. Jart+ and Some by Mi. Skin Deep now includes product ratings for 113 K-beauty products sold in the United States.
EWG VERIFIED® K-beauty products
A number of K-beauty brands also meet EWG’s stringent ingredient and transparency requirements to earn the EWG VERIFIED® mark. These products must not use substances on our unacceptable list and also must meet restrictions for chemicals used in formulations. And they…
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