Status-conscious consumers are increasingly wary of potentially harmful chemicals, so a host of luxe beauty brands are being reformulated to get rid of such ingredients. Renata Helfman, owner of green-friendly Los Angeles cosmetics shop Vert, has noticed the trend in everything from hair care to makeup. “I love Leonor Greyl, but its most popular shampoos contained sodium lauryl sulfate,” she says, referring to the lathering agent that can irritate skin. “I was going to pull the line, but they promised me they were taking the SLS out, and five months later an SLS-free shipment arrived.” Fellow French brands Nuxe and Caudalie have also tweaked their recipes, as has Tarte cosmetics, and Clark’s Botanicals finished reformulating its entire line last year to get rid of parabens and petroleums. “It’s not an easy task,” says Helfman of changing established potions. “It takes time, and it takes the right green chemist to do it.” Now there’s a profession with a bright future.
July Beauty Buzz
July 2008
July 2008
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