As a former aesthetician, I was familiar with the toxic chemicals used in traditional skincare products, but it wasn’t until I read Not Just a Pretty Face by Stacy Malkan that I realized these toxic chemicals were not just in skincare but in makeup as well. 

When I chose to “clean up” my pro makeup kit, I recognized there was room for improvement in the clean makeup sphere. I began to mix my own concoctions to find the perfect shades and consistencies to apply to the models I was working on. In 2011 I teamed with Gregg Renfrew to help create Beautycounter, while working tirelessly alongside chemists to create high-performing products. 

This venture took lots of persistence, tenacity, and passion. Up until this point, there wasn’t a precedent for creating personal care products and cosmetics with superior performance made with clean ingredients. Eventually, I learned that clean beauty products can be just as efficacious and photoshoot-worthy. They’re just as malleable and dimensional as their traditional counterparts without the lasting carbon footprint or threats to our health.

The idea of using natural ingredients in beauty products isn’t new. Indigenous wisdom is full of techniques for using botanicals in skin and haircare. From the ancient Egyptians who used kohl made from crushed minerals for eyeliner to the Greco-Roman tradition of applying olive oil as an all-purpose beauty and health aide, to certain groups of Native Americans who used juniper tincture as a skin treatment and yuca root to make shampoo, clean beauty has always been a part of our collective history.

As cosmetic science evolved in the 20th century, synthetically produced ingredients became the norm due to their cheaper production costs. Companies were able to produce many varieties of products very quickly but didn’t realize, nor necessarily prioritize, consumer health or the lasting environmental impacts of their products.