Clean Beauty has become a buzzword in the personal care, health, and wellness space over the last three decades. It is everywhere–from billboards and social media to popup ads on your favorite websites–but what does it mean? 

For some, “clean” means products that favor natural ingredients. For others, it means ethically sourced ingredients or products that are free from certain ingredients that are restricted by the Food & Drug Administration. And for others still, it means both.

For us at Onda, clean is synonymous with safe, effective, sustainable, ethical, innovative and luxurious. Sounds like a tall order, but our clean beauty curation means it doesn’t have to be complicated and can make a big impact for both you and the environment.

Onda Beauty was founded on the principle that certain ingredients should never touch our skin. We have a running list of ingredients that are forbidden, as they are linked to harmful health effects such as asthma, endocrine disruption, and cancer. 

When it comes to cleaning up your current skincare routine, remember that it doesn’t need to happen all at once. As you move into a clean routine, we believe in taking a common sense approach and we suggest that you start with a product you’re almost out of and prioritize the categories where clean matters most. If a product is intended to stay on your skin all day (like a sunscreen or deodorant), if it’s covering a large surface area (like a body moisturizer), or is applied to a particularly sensitive part of the body (think eyes) then you should try to switch to a cleaner alternative.

Apart from the feel-good factor of using sustainably produced, safe products that reduce your own personal carbon footprint, one of the most compelling reasons to switch to clean beauty products is that they work. Innovations in the clean beauty space mean safety no longer has to be traded for efficacy, performance, or even luxury. 

Sunscreen, no matter what the season, is arguably the most important step in any daily regimen, as it blocks out harmful UV rays and reduces your risk of long term sun damage, hyperpigmentation and most importantly, skin cancer. If you are wearing sunscreen every day (and we don’t need to tell you, you should be!) opting for a clean formulation is key. Physical sunscreens, sometimes called “natural or mineral” sunscreens, are formulated with zinc oxide and titanium dioxide that sit on top of the skin and deflect or reflect the sun’s rays. Here, our top mineral formulations.

When it comes to clean beauty, mascara is a real eye-opener. Conventional mascaras have been found to contain ingredients such as PTFE (a non-stick ingredient also known as Teflon), thimerosal (a mercury-derivative), propylparaben and even formaldehyde. The skin on our eyelids meanwhile is the thinnest on the body, so anything applied to the eye area is easily absorbed. While mascara might not be the first product that comes to mind when thinking about clean beauty, it’s one of the most important. Here, three clean formulas that still perform. And really well, we might add!

In the search for odor-free underarms, some might turn to an antiperspirant, a product that doesn’t only eliminate odor, but sweat entirely.  While that might sound tempting, there is no safe antiperspirant. Why? One word, aluminum. Not only does aluminum interfere with our body’s natural detoxification system by blocking sweat glands, but recent research published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information suggests that frequent use of antiperspirants causes aluminum salts to accumulate in breast tissue. Deodorants, on the other hand, allow sweat to still be excreted, but work to kill odor causing bacteria on contact. Here, three clean deodorants that actually work.

The skin is the largest organ on the body, so we should definitely be paying as much attention to what we put on our skin as what we put into our bodies. One great thing about adding body oils to your skincare routine is that they are so very simple. Containing only a few ingredients, body oils have no need for additional fillers and emulsifiers, and many contain antimicrobial properties that naturally defend against bacteria, reducing the need for added preservatives. Body oils are also formulated to sink into skin quickly and lock in moisture all day long. Here, three clean favorites.

Fragrance brands have often found ways to slip under the radar in terms of formula transparency, hiding ingredients behind buzzwords like parfumor eau de toilette. What is lurking behind these labels however are hundreds of synthetic chemicals–also known as volatile organic compounds or VOCs–that can cause migraine headaches, respiratory difficulties, and skin irritation. Here, three clean fragrances created with 100% safe  ingredient transparency.