Clean beauty is a constantly trending hashtag nowadays. And last year the UK’s organic beauty and wellness market grew by 15%. However, the reality is that natural and organic beauty still only makes up 2% of the country’s nearly £10 billion beauty industry. What’s stopping us from ditching Lancome in favour of a gentler brand like Kjaer Weiss? We talk to film make-up artist Mel Jenkinson, founder of Glow Organic* to find out.

woman getting her makeup done by a makeup artist, both smiling — *Film make-up artist, Mel Jenkinson, is our go-to expert for natural and organic beauty products*

For many of us, our beauty routines are a way for us to relax, centre ourselves, and escape from the stresses of everyday life. Our bathroom stash is often filled with divinely scented products that can help us drift off into a state of mindful bliss. Or at the other end of the scale, the right shade of scarlet lipstick can make us feel like we can take on the world.

But we are now realising these products come at a cost to the planet and sometimes our pores. So what’s a girl to do?

Five years ago, not much. But the natural and organic beauty market is evolving fast. At Green Salon, we’ve partnered with Glow Organic* the best online market for natural and organic products that we could find. They sell everything from natural and organic hair care, to skincare, to makeup and bath and body products.

Like us, Glow Organic are choosey. The founder Mel Jenkinson, a film make-up artist, does her research to make sure each product sold has been tested to ensure high performance, safety, quality and responsibly-sourced ingredients. She also insists there is a commitment from the brand to produce the most sustainable packaging they can.

We sat down with Mel and asked her a few questions about the beauty industry.

What would you say to people who were tempted to make the switch to organic beauty products but are not yet convinced?

A common question I get asked when people are looking to switch their products to natural, organic beauty alternatives, is ‘Is this going to give me the same colour/performance/longevity as the products I use now?’.

It’s one of my favourite questions because I am so proud to say that YES they absolutely do, and the industry has come such a long way in the last 10 years, when anything ‘natural’ and ‘organic’ just looked quite granola and not very sexy. Not only can you get the same performance and colours from these products, but they are also a lot better for our skin.

OK, so you’re saying they’re actually better for our skin?

When I was working as a make-up artist for film, bridal and fashion, and the talent were wearing makeup for up to 16 hours a day, I was noticing that the ingredients of the products in these mainstream brands were causing problem skin for many of my clients.

The silicones, synthetic fragrance and colours were causing their skin to breakout as they were causing irritation and blocked pores. It was only when I switched to natural and organic brands that their skin started to clear up and feel much more balanced.

I also experienced these same benefits when I started using natural skincare on my acne prone skin. I avoided the harsh, stripping, drying ingredients that are commonly found in most acne skincare on the high street, and started using natural ingredients from plant sources instead. My acne started to clear up and feel much more balanced as the natural ingredients were working their magic on healing my skin.

And what about the impact of the mainstream brands on the planet?

These pick me ups we consume each day are having a hugely negative impact on our planet. It’s not just the plastic packaging that rarely gets recycled and ends up in landfill, it’s the chemicals and microplastics used in the products that are so destructive to our marine life and the carbon footprint that is created to produce these products at a mass scale.

The beauty industry is hugely flawed. Many of the mainstream brands you know are aware of the consumer desire to use sustainable products but without any real regulation on the terms ‘sustainable’, ‘organic’ and ‘natural’, these brands can claim anything in their marketing and advertising campaigns to make it seem like they are an eco-friendly brand. That’s why it’s important to take a closer look at a brand to see if what it’s saying is actually true.

Mel recommended some of the best selling products from Glow Organic. (Use code GREENSALON10 for 10% off on all brands on orders over £50.)

ZAO Organic Compact*

A truly remarkable brand that offers luxurious make-up in refillable bamboo packaging. Using natural formulas with active organic ingredients, ZAO Organic* have developed a range of make-up suitable for even the most sensitive skin. And their broad colour range makes them the perfect choice for all skin tones from the fairest ivory through to the deepest ebony.

Bamboo is a well known for its exceptional growth rate making it a champion of carbon capture during its life cycle. ZAO Organic* produce refills for the majority of their products, so you buy the bamboo packaging once (which then biodegrades at the end of the its life) and refill the casing as many times as you like.

*Evolve Daily Renew** contains natural peptides to improve the texture and tone of the skin

Evolve Daily Renew Face Cream*

Evolve Beauty* are a brand with sustainability woven into their DNA. Their moisturisers out-class many of the mainstream brands through harnessing the power of plant botanicals to deliver high performing, affordable products.

On top of which, they source their ingredients as locally as possible from Fairtrade and sustainable suppliers and meticulously check for clean, green credentials. They use majority fully recyclable glass bottles, grass paper packaging and recycled card for their outer boxes that are printed using non toxic soy and vegetable inks.

*Awake Organics Shampoo** is something new: powder shampoo that lathers when you add water

Awake Organics Plastic-Free Shampoo*

A revolutionary product that you may not have seen before. This is a powder, water activated shampoo that foams into a rich lather to shampoo the hair.

The natural ingredients make this shampoo super gentle for the scalp, reducing any irritation that be caused from common oil stripping chemicals such as Sodium Lauryl Sulfate that can be found in most shampoo brands you find on the high street. The packaging is also made entirely from aluminium making it recyclable and lightweight.

*Upcircle Beauty Coffee Body Scrub** uses repurposed coffee grinds for an invigorating scrub

UpCircle Beauty Coffee Body Scrub with Lemongrass*

Another brand who genuinely cares about making a difference to the beauty industry, UpCircle Beauty transform repurposed natural ingredients like coffee grounds, blueberries, date seeds, chai spices and argan shell powder into award-winning natural skin-care products.

Their ingredients are saved from the bin and collected to be used in their yummy products. Almost good enough to eat!

Don’t forget you can use code GREENSALON10 for 10% off on all brands on orders over £50.

Mel will be running a limited edition workshop and make-up tutorial in collaboration with Green Salon on Tuesday, 11th October from 10am to 12pm in West London. It’ll be an opportunity to learn from a beauty expert on what natural and organic products will suit your own skin, and also to test out some of the products so you can try before you buy. Do come and join us!

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We analyse each brand for their commitment to sustainability but we are not a certification body, nor are we auditors, and we have taken the approach that we trust brands to tell the truth about their sustainability policies, practices and plans.

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