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Our Mission

Celebrating Beauty, Inclusion, and Empowerment During Hispanic Heritage Month 

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Celebrating Beauty, Inclusion, and Empowerment During Hispanic Heritage Month 

Our mission is to get safer products into the hands of everyone, and we’re proud to foster a community that is inclusive, open, and welcoming to all—regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, or gender identity. 

From September 15 through October 15 (and beyond), we at Beautycounter celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by honoring the diversity of the Hispanic and Latinx communities. In doing so, we reached out to members of the Beautycounter community—from Associates at HQ to Brand Advocates—to hear about how they raise up their unique voices to champion our mission. Read on to find out: 

Jenny Aspinwall, Beautycounter Sr. Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 

“As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, I am proud to share that as a first-generation Latina American, I’m using my unique voice to ensure that my community is aware of the harmful ingredients found in some of the products they’ve been using for many generations. Together, we can empower our community to embrace safer options and celebrate the beauty of our heritage with confidence.” 

Karina Baeza, Beautycounter Associate Manager of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 

“As a proud first-generation Mexican American and lover of all things beauty, I am deeply committed to empowering our vibrant Hispanic community to make informed choices in selecting their personal-care products. Our culture celebrates beauty, resilience, and authenticity, and it is crucial that we prioritize our health and well-being in the pursuit of these ideals. By educating ourselves about the ingredients in our beauty and personal-care products and advocating for safer alternatives, we create a brighter and healthier future for our loved ones and community.” 

Angie Marie Ortiz Leon, Beautycounter Brand Advocate 

“Wepa, I’m Angie, and this HHM, I’m using my unique voice and platform to show you that even though we’ve been told ‘la belleza cuesta’ (beauty comes at a price), that price should never be our health. Let’s raise up beauty juntas✨.”  

Giuliana Mendoza, Beautycounter Brand Advocate 

“This Hispanic Heritage Month, I will use my voice to continue to grow our mission by inspiring my community to choose and advocate for safer beauty. The idea of community only exists if we can embrace and celebrate diversity, and I want to celebrate how beautifully diverse the Hispanic community is.”   

Melissa van Herksen, Beautycounter Brand Advocate 

“For me, it’s Hispanic Heritage Month every day! Since day one with Beautycounter (nine years ago), I have spread the word on safer products. I am always looking for an opportunity to offer a product swap or pointers on how to read a label. Members of the Latinx community love their products and can be very loyal, but we don’t know (like the rest of America) that many of these products are not safe. It is my mission to change that.” 

Dhalma Marcano, Beautycounter Brand Advocate 

“Hispanic Heritage Month is not only a month of celebration, but also a time for us to create awareness of how vulnerable our community is by the disproportionally higher toxic load as it relates to beauty and personal-care products. I’ll be sharing proudly about the Beautycounter business opportunity and the work we’re doing to ensure everyone has access to better beauty, but most importantly, using my voice to invite more people to our movement to help create the change we want to see in the beauty industry.” 

Maythi Calvert, Beautycounter Brand Advocate 

“I will use my unique voice during Hispanic Heritage Month to speak up for our underrepresented communities and educate on the importance of choosing safer products, especially since we tend to carry a higher toxic load. I plan on hosting events focused on educating and sharing our products, mission, and advocacy efforts.” 

Thank you to our Bc community—our Brand Advocates and Associates—for taking the time to share your voices and what our mission means to you. We appreciate you and are grateful that you are a part of our mission for change.  

#betterbeauty, Our Mission, Uncategorized

Plastic Free July: Beautycounter’s Commitment and What We All Can Do

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Plastic Free July: Beautycounter’s Commitment and What We All Can Do

Plastic Free July offers an opportunity to come together to protect our planet and the people on it.

The Plastic Waste Pollution Crisis

Every year an estimated eight million tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean – equivalent to a full garbage truck dumped into the sea every minute. The problem is getting worse, with the annual flow of plastic into the ocean projected to triple by 2040. Less than 14% of plastic is recycled globally, and small beauty packaging is even less likely to be recycled.

Plastic waste pollution is a threat to both environmental and human health. Marine animals mistake plastic debris for food, leading to ingestion and entanglement. Plastics then break down into microplastics over time, contaminating our water sources and entering our food chain. In communities without proper waste infrastructure around the world, people often resort to burning their trash, exposing them to harmful toxins.

Sustainable Packaging at Beautycounter

At Beautycounter, a commitment to sustainable packaging is part of our Blueprint for Clean. It’s why we set a goal for 100% of our packaging to be recycled, recyclable, refillable, reused or compostable by 2025. As of March, we were 70% of the way toward our goal, and we expect to deliver our goal on time. Some highlights include:

  • Our refillable The Clean Deo packaging.
  • The Countertime line that we launched in glass and sourced from a supplier 5,200 miles closer to home.
  • The post-consumer recycled plastic (PCR) across our bottles, tubes and closures.

What’s more, because beauty packaging is often small and therefore difficult to recycle, we launched a Packaging Collection Program last year in partnership with Pact Collective.

Ultimately, just like product safety, we believe that Raising Up Beauty for everyone will require better public policy. Stay tuned for more information on how you can join us!

What We All Can Do

While collective efforts are crucial, individual actions also make a significant impact. Consumers have the power to drive change by making conscious choices. We can all adopt simple daily swaps, such as using reusable bags, water bottles, and coffee cups. We can opt for products with minimal packaging, less plastic, and more recyclable and refillable options. And we can also help cleanup plastic waste that’s already in the environment.

Beautycounter recently engaged in a beach cleanup, with more than 150 of our team members fanning out across Santa Monica beach near our headquarters in partnership with LA Waterkeeper. It was an up-close-and-personal reminder for our community of the challenge of microplastics in our beaches and waterways and the importance of our work on sustainability.

Here are some additional steps you can take to understand your footprint and to make a difference!

  • Take this quiz to assess the plastics you bring home.
  • Most households are throwing out half their recyclables. Do a home audit of your trash and recycling, looking through what you’ve sorted into each bin after a few days to see if everyone in your household is on the same page.
  • Use this handy tool to determine what can be recycled in your local community.
  • Do a cleanup with LA Waterkeeper or another similar organization in your local community.
  • Demand transparency and eco-consciousness from the brands you love. Let them know by social media or email what you like or what you want to see changed.

Tackling plastic waste pollution is a critical step toward a more sustainable future. We hope you will join us to make the beauty industry better while also making meaningful improvements in our lives and communities!

To learn more about our commitment to sustainable packaging, check out our main page here!

Our Mission

10th Anniversary Recap: Celebrating Raising Up Beauty Through Our Mission Wins

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10th Anniversary Recap: Celebrating Raising Up Beauty Through Our Mission Wins

Last month, Beautycounter celebrated our 10th anniversary by hosting a multi-day event in our hometown of Los Angeles. As a mission-based company, it was no surprise that a key part of our anniversary was celebrating our 10 years of impact through safety, advocacy, sustainability, and giving. Here’s a closer look at what went down: 

Raise the Impact Forum 

As a part of the celebration, we hosted our first-ever Raise the Impact Forum: a four-hour event dedicated to elements of Beautycounter’s mission. The Forum consisted of three panels of subject-matter experts in safety, advocacy, beauty justice, sustainability, and clean beauty.  

Our first panel, “A Conversation on Fostering Equity in Beauty,” featured Janet Nudelman from Breast Cancer Prevention Partners (BCPP), Dr. Ami Zota from Columbia University, and Stephen Holland from the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce.  

In the past 10 years, Beautycounter has influenced the passage of 11 pieces of federal and state legislation, hosted over 2,000 meetings with lawmakers, and held a Congressional briefing on beauty justice and the disproportionate exposures people of color have to harmful chemicals in personal-care products. The discussion emphasized the importance of Beautycounter’s support and amplification of beauty justice organizations, Dr. Zota’s research on beauty justice issues, and BCPP’s recent launch of the Non-Toxic Black Beauty Project, which aims to tackle the environmental injustice of Black beauty.  

A key takeaway of the conversation was that while the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA) was a step in the right direction, there is more work to be done, such as banning harmful ingredients from products, closing the “fragrance loophole,” and addressing the disproportionate exposures people of color have to harmful chemicals in personal-care products.  

Our second panel, “A Conversation on Green Mindset vs. Green Action,” featured Steve Hatfield from The Carlyle Group and Davis Han from California Senator Ben Allen’s office.  

The conversation emphasized that sustainability is multifaceted and there are various ways governments, corporations, and nonprofits can do their part to protect the planet. Mr. Han dove into Senator Allen’s recent legislative wins, including the passage of Senate Bill 45, which establishes a producer responsibility scheme to hold plastic industries accountable for the waste they produce. Mr. Hatfield discussed recent attacks on Environmental Social Governance (ESG), but also said he sees sustainable coalitions growing and believes that ESG will ultimately prevail.  

A key takeaway of the conversation was that businesses, like Beautycounter, need to continue leading the way by pursuing ambitious climate and sustainability goals while putting pressure on federal and state governments to protect ESG and take bold climate action. 

Ulta’s Muffy Clince and Beautycounter’s Chief Impact Officer Jen Lee in conversation.  

Our final panel, “A Conversation on What It Means To Be a Leader in Clean,” featured our Chief Impact Officer, Jen Lee, and Muffy Clince from Ulta.  

The discussion dove into Beautycounter’s new partnership with Ulta and why Beautycounter, as the leader in clean beauty, will be the anchor of Ulta’s Conscious Beauty Program.  

Ms. Clince spoke about Ulta’s Conscious Beauty Program, which emphasizes clean ingredients, sustainable packaging, cruelty-free products, and positive impact. Ulta’s priority is to “educate, guide, and simplify,” so transparency around the products they carry both online and in-store is key. Ms. Lee discussed that, although it is not an approach often seen across the industry, a priority for Beautycounter has always been using a science-based approach to banning and restricting harmful ingredients. Moving forward, Ms. Lee anticipates that “clean” will become a more holistic concept and that consumers won’t just look at chemicals that are banned in products but will also look to a company’s sustainability and climate goals when determining what makes a company “clean.” Ms. Clince and Ms. Lee both expressed excitement about the partnership and the brand awareness that will be generated from being sold at the country’s largest cosmetics retailer. 

Video: Inside Beauty That Raises the Bar 

Beautycounter was thrilled to premiere a new video about our mission at the Raise the Impact Forum. Take a look at the below:  

1% Giving Campaign  

Giving back has been central to our mission of getting safer products into the hands of everyone—since day one. On March 4, we launched a campaign that donated 1% of our total sales of the day to our longtime advocacy partner, Breast Cancer Prevention Partners (BCPP). Through our dedicated Brand Advocates and customers, we were able to raise over $20,000 for BCPP! 

BCPP is a 501(c)(3) and a national leader in science-based advocacy that works to prevent breast cancer. They run the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and the Non-Toxic Black Beauty Project, which work to protect people and the planet from toxic chemicals in personal-care products. In addition, BCPP has served as one of our closest allies and partners in influencing lawmakers and legislation. Together, we have worked to pass six health-protective laws: 

  • Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 
  • PFAS-Free Beauty Act of 2022 
  • Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act of 2020 
  • Cosmetic Fragrance and Flavor Ingredient Right to Know Act of 2020 
  • Salon Product Ingredient Disclosure Act of 2018 
  • Cleaning Product Right to Know Act of 2017 

Click here to learn more about BCPP. 

Raise Up Beauty  

Most recently, Beautycounter advocated for the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022, the first significant update to cosmetics laws in almost a century. This and the other legislative victories we’ve helped secure move us closer to ensuring that all beauty is clean beauty. 

As we continue to celebrate and reflect on a decade of successful advocacy, we’re raising up beauty by urging lawmakers to pass legislation requiring full ingredient and manufacturing transparency and banning harmful chemicals in personal-care products. 

If you live in the US: Text RAISEUPBEAUTY to 52886* or click here to contact your Members of Congress and urge them to strengthen personal-care product laws today.  

If you live in Canada: Click here to call on your Member of Parliament to modernize the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). 

California Residents: Click here to learn about California Assembly Bill 496 and urge your lawmakers to support the bill.  

New York Residents: Click here to learn about New York Senate Bill 4265 and urge your lawmakers to support the bill.  

Illinois Residents: Click here to learn about Illinois State House Bill 1282 and urge your lawmakers to support the bill.  

Oregon Residents: Click here to learn about Oregon State Senate Bill 546 and urge your lawmakers to support the bill. 

Vermont Residents: Click here to learn about Vermont Senate Bill 23 and urge your lawmakers to support the bill.  

*Standard data rates may apply. 

Our Mission

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month Through Safer Beauty

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Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month Through Safer Beauty

From September 15 through October 15 (and beyond), we at Beautycounter celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by honoring the diversity of the Hispanic and Latinx communities. And part of honoring this community means uplifting through action. 

Our mission has always been to get safer products into the hands of everyone. The Latinx/Hispanic community among other BIPOC suffer from exposure to a disproportionally higher toxic load as it relates to beauty and personal-care products. Here are some ways we are taking action. 

With the help of our Science Advisory Council (our in-house team of academic researchers and scientists), we make sure we are considering vulnerable groups—including communities of color—when making decisions related to the safety of our products.  

  • A recent study1 that included 100 Latina teenagers, conducted by UC Berkeley’s Dr. Kim Harley (also a member of our Science Advisory Council), showed that when this group switched to cleaner cosmetics (without phthalates, parabens, triclosan, or oxybenzone) for just three days, they had a 25-45% drop in the levels of these four chemicals in their bodies.   
  • We helped pass the Cleaning Products Right to Know Act and the Safer Salon Bill, which protect salon professionals, hotel workers, and maintenance staff by providing them with information to make safer choices.   
  • We held two high-profile Congressional briefings, sponsored by the Congressional Hispanic and Black Caucuses, calling attention to the disparate effects of harmful ingredients on people of color.  
  • Beautycounter helped pass two bills in California that remove some of the most dangerous ingredients from personal-care products, and promote more transparency for fragrance ingredients, which can be linked to cancer and hormone disruption.   
  • Currently, Beautycounter is supporting federal legislation that requires the FDA to examine the effects of ingredients with a lens towards impact on vulnerable populations.   

DIVERSIFYING OUR COMMUNITY OF LEADERS IN CLEAN 

For us, education is fundamental for our #betterbeauty movement to succeed, and that’s why we prioritize Consultant programs that help raise awareness within their network and communities.   

We recognize that we have an opportunity to further diversify the 50,000+ strong Consultant base that supports us in our mission to get safer products into the hands of everyone. Through Mi Comunidad: Legacy Circle, one of our Consultant programs, we help develop leaders to be agents of change for the beauty industry. These programs include trainings, community webinars, newsletters and events held in English and Spanish, and the opportunity to engage on social media using our hashtag #Somosbeautycounter.   

“To be a Latina, for me, is to be passionate and resilient. To be loud about my values. To feel free to speak Spanish without hesitation. To bring Puerto Rican culture everywhere I go. My culture represents hard work and I celebrate it every day. I’m proud to have partnered with Beautycounter, because they are setting the bar in the beauty industry—of going beyond clean—and that means creating a safer future for all.”—Dhlama M., Sr. Manager Consultant 

EMPOWERING OUR HQ ASSOCIATES 

Over at HQ, our commitment to inclusivity goes beyond Hispanic Heritage Month. Last year we were excited to announce our partnership with Hispanic Association for Corporate Responsibility (HACR) Leadership Pipeline Program (LPP). This partnership was a two-day virtual experience for Hispanic/Latinx managers who aspire to accelerate into executive roles. We are always looking for opportunities to elevate and support our Associates.  

“As a proud Latina and lead of Voces, our Latinx/Hispanic Associate Resource Group, I love that Beautycounter is invested in DE&I (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) and the future Leadership development of our Associates. It’s important that we continue to stay committed to this very important work and ever-evolving DE&I journey.” —Jenny A., Senior Director of DE&I 

1 https://cerch.berkeley.edu/research-programs/hermosa-study 

#betterbeauty

Transparency In Action: More About Heavy Metals in Color Cosmetics

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Transparency In Action: More About Heavy Metals in Color Cosmetics

As we’ve previously shared, the raw materials we use in our formulations continue to be a cornerstone of our precautionary approach to formulating safer, high-performance products.

Heavy metals are naturally occurring elements (arsenic, cadmium, lead, etc.). They are plentiful within the earth and can sometimes mix with raw materials that are used in color cosmetics, like clays and micas.

Heavy metals can be potentially harmful to our health depending on various factors, such as the extent and timing of exposure, in addition to other factors. Unfortunately, they can appear in beauty products like color cosmetics that can contain mined ingredients—like mica, iron oxides, and titanium dioxide—to help define shades. 

We tackle this issue head-on with a combined approach with our state-of-the art, in-house lab, and third-party validation of various results during the year. Here are our 2021 third-party testing results for some of our most popular products. Stay tuned for our 2022 results!

Table 1. Average Heavy Metals Concentrations and Limits (ppm)

Heavy MetalAverage Beautycounter Concentrations (2020) (ppm)[1]Average Beautycounter Concentrations (2021) (ppm)[2]FDA Regulatory Cosmetic Product Limits (ppm)[3]
Arsenic0.10.016None
Antimony0.20.152None
Cadmium0.020.003None
Lead (lip)0.20.02510.0 (all products)
Lead (non-lip)0.60.23710.0 (all products)
Mercury0.01—[4]1.0

Beautycounter takes its commitment to clean seriously and is proud of our leadership in the beauty and personal care sector. To learn more about what clean means to Beautycounter, please visit our Blueprint for Clean.

[1] Based on third-party testing data for Beautycounter color cosmetic products made and tested in 2020.

[2] Based on third-party testing data for Beautycounter color cosmetic products made and tested in 2021.

[3] See here: https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/potential-contaminants-cosmetics/fdas-testing-cosmetics-arsenic-cadmium-chromium-cobalt-lead-mercury-and-nickel-content

[4] All third-party testing resulted in “non-detect” findings for mercury except for one product that yielded a value of 0.001 ppm.

Our Mission

Our Founder Gregg Renfrew’s Letter to Congress Regarding the FDASLA Bill

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Our Founder Gregg Renfrew’s Letter to Congress Regarding the FDASLA Bill

Today, an important Senate committee voted on a piece of legislation that would comprehensively update the FDA’s regulation of cosmetic and personal-care products for the first time since 1938. It’s an important step in the right direction—and we’re proposing some changes we believe need to happen before it becomes a law. Read Beautycounter Founder Gregg Renfrew’s letter in full below:

 
June 6, 2022 

Dear Chair Murray and Ranking Member Burr,  

Beautycounter, the industry-leading clean beauty brand, and our tens of thousands of consultants across the country commend the Chair and Ranking Member for your bipartisan leadership seeking to modernize Food and Drug Administration regulations in the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Landmark Advancements Act (FDASLA) of 2022.  

We appreciate your recognition of this urgent need; however, there are several areas in which we hope you will strengthen the bill to protect consumers, raise standards in the beauty industry, and recognize the rights of states to guard their citizens’ health and safety.  

Beautycounter is a skincare and cosmetics company leading a movement to a future where all beauty is clean beauty. Since the company’s founding in 2011, Beautycounter’s mission has been to get safer personal care products into the hands of everyone. We go above and beyond to screen and assess every ingredient we use against our strict safety standards, which includes 1,800 questionable ingredients we never use in our formulations. Beautycounter is also a Certified B Corporation, a business dedicated to using its profits for positive change, leading the charge in the beauty industry through advocacy work. 

Beautycounter recommends the FDASLA be strengthened to bring us closer to ensuring that all cosmetics and personal care products are free from harmful chemicals. We urge the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions to make changes to the FDASLA that address the scope of federal preemption, create a more robust safety standard, and ban the use of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAs) in cosmetics. Below, we outline these recommendations in detail.  

Beautycounter specifically recommends the following modifications to the FDASLA language: 

  1. Address the scope of federal preemption to ensure that states can legislate to strengthen personal care product safety (Sec. 614). Beautycounter urges the committee to protect states’ ability to enact their own laws and regulations that protect the health and wellness of their residents by not preempting any state cosmetic safety legislation. Dozens of states across the country have passed state-level protections that limit exposure to harmful chemicals. FDASLA must ensure that states can continue to legislate to strengthen personal care product safety.  
  1. Create a more robust safety standard based on a “reasonable certainty of no harm” (Sec. 608). Beautycounter also urges the committee to include language that requires companies to consider the long-term health effects of ingredient use, including links to cancer, reproductive and developmental harm, and other health conditions. This would push companies beyond only considering acute reactions.  
  1. Ban the use of PFAs in cosmetics (Sec. 806). Beautycounter urges the committee to replace the proposed “assessment” of PFAs in cosmetics with  a ban on the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from raw materials and packaging used in personal care products. Current peer-reviewed scientific studies have shown that exposure to certain levels of PFAS may lead to a host of adverse health effects, including increased risk of cancers, interference with the body’s natural hormones, and developmental effects or delay in children. Curbing the use of these “forever chemicals” has attracted broad bipartisan interest and Congressional and state-level action in recent years. Existing bipartisan legislation in the House and Senate (H.R. 3990 and S.2047, the No PFAS in Cosmetics Act) would require the issuance of a rule to ban the use of intentionally added PFAS in cosmetics.

The use of harmful chemicals in personal-care products affects the daily lives of all Americans, who deserve to have access to safe products. A regulatory framework that prioritizes the safety and transparency of cosmetic products will ultimately protect consumers and make the American cosmetics industry more competitive, both domestically and internationally.  

We appreciate your consideration of these requested changes. We look forward to continuing to work with you as this legislation moves forward.  
Sincerely,

Gregg Renfrew

Executive Chair and Founder
Beautycounter

CC: Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee members

Our Mission

Honoring Our LGBTQ+ Community All Year Long

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Honoring Our LGBTQ+ Community All Year Long

Our mission is to get safer products into the hands of everyone, and we’re proud to be a company—and community—that is inclusive, open, and welcoming to all, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, or gender identity. 

Here, we explore how members of our HQ and Consultant community are celebrating Pride Month, examining the intersection between pride, allyship, and inclusivity for all.  

Adriana V. (pronouns: she/her), Associate Manager, Account Executive Team

What does this month mean to you? 

“Pride Month is a time that connects me to the physical feeling of liberation that the Queer Rights Movement is all about. In this month of celebration and representation for the LGBTQ+ community, I feel seen. I feel heard. I feel loved. And I feel PROUD.” 

What can allies do to support your community, in this month and beyond? 

“During Pride Month, allies should join in on our joy and celebrations and also take a moment to educate themselves on one thing they didn’t know a year prior. Beyond Pride Month, allies can be looking at who has a seat at the table in their life experiences—and more importantly, who may not. They shouldn’t be afraid of challenging conversations, calling people IN rather than out, and helping to bridge the divide.” 

What is the one thing you want people to know about you and your community? 

“We are just like you. We are parents, spouses, siblings, friends, artists, athletes; we are human, and we are worthy to exist happily in this world with you.” 

Kaitlyn H. (pronouns: they/them), Software Engineer  


What can allies do to support your community, in this month and beyond? 

“I highly recommend the podcast Allyship is a Verb. The host interviews members of the community about different ways we all can show up for others in the community. 

A quick allyship action would be to—if you are comfortable doing so—start a practice of always sharing your pronouns when you share your name. Being mindful of the fact that pronouns can mean different things to different people; some folks might be hesitant to share their pronouns as it relates to their own safety. Pronouns and gender are flexible and can flow and change, remembering to honor how others want to be recognized in this world can help to establish safety to simply be for others.” 


What is the one thing you want people to know about you and your community? 

“That we have always been here; we’ve been present through the ages. Our queer ancestors have always been a part of the greater society. Though we have seen many attempts to oppress and erase us, we continue to persist.” 

Madison S. (pronouns: she/they); Beautycounter Consultant and Impact Scholarship Recipient        

What does this month mean to you? 

“Pride Month, to me, is a combination of celebration, visibility, and activism. A celebration of how far we’ve come since Stonewall, a month of increased visibility to show how big our community really is, and a call to action for all of us to stand up to injustices. This year is my first Pride since coming out full-time as transgender and I’m excited to participate in the festivities!” 

What can allies do to support your community this month and beyond? 

“Write to your elected officials! In the past few years, we have seen a dramatic uptick in the number of anti-transgender laws being introduced in state legislatures across the U.S. These proposed laws hurt transgender people—especially children. From town council to U.S. Congress, make it clear that discriminatory and harmful laws have no place in your community, state, or nation.” 

What is the one thing you want people to know about you and your community? 

“I would love for people to start viewing the transgender community as complete, complex people. We are PEOPLE first and foremost, we just happen to be trans, just like some people happen to have green eyes. As for something about me, there are tons of things I could say, but I think the most incredible thing I’ve learned is this: Once you start living your life authentically, on your own terms, and you learn to check in with yourself emotionally and physically, life gets a whole lot more beautiful.” 

c/o Lindsay Hite Photography

briana S. (pronouns: she/they); Beautycounter Sr. Consultant and Impact Scholarship mentor to Madison S.  

What does this month mean to you?  

“This month means an opportunity to celebrate all of who I am. The month also lets me honor the struggles, the victories, the many losses of life, and the gains of beautiful humans who are able to be their fuller selves. There has been so much that has happened to get us to today, so it is celebration, but it is also remembrance of how we got here and the work we have left to do to be fully, equally human. It is also a reminder that much like Beautycounter focuses on education and advocacy, “the first Pride was a riot” of people fighting for their rights and lives—so this month is about teaching, learning, and continuing to advocate for changing hearts, minds, and laws.” 

What is the one thing you want people to know about you and your community?  

“Pride and sharing my queer identity is not about who or how I love, rather it is about having the freedom to be fully, completely myself. The queer community is a diverse place with many identities, perspectives, and experiences that is made more beautiful by the intersectionality of all of who we are. Queer people are educators, healthcare professionals, lawyers, artists, politicians, activists, students, and more, who are also parents, children, partners, friends, and—above all—human beings.” 

MAKING AN IMPACT  

Getting safer products into the hands of everyone begins with diversifying our #betterbeauty community. To further that effort, we’ve launched a program designed to support our equity efforts and expand our presence in underrepresented communities, called the Impact Scholarship. To date, we have welcomed more than 250+ Consultants from the following communities: BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and individuals who identify with having a disability. To learn more and get involved, visit beautycounter.com/impact-scholarship. 

BC GIVES BACK  

Our commitment to inclusivity goes beyond Pride Month. We’re proud to uphold and continue our partnership with Out & Equal, the premier organization working exclusively on LGBTQ+ workplace equality, which will offer Beautycounter employees training on allyship, education, awareness, and more.  

On May 24, Beautycounter hosted a “Fostering LGBTQ Allyship at Work,” a live 90-minute webinar facilitated by Out & Equal. This training focused on LGBTQ+ allies and ensured participants left with a concrete understanding of “allyship,” along with the basic tools needed to support and advocate for their LGBTQ+ colleagues.  

Within HQ, we’ll be launching a pronoun pins project. Wearing and sharing your pronouns is an important act of solidarity. Pronouns are one way that we ensure gender identities are recognized and respected – not only for ourselves but also those around us. We also pledge to continue to foster a culture of belonging for our Associates, Consumers, and Consultants, and to stand up for equality when it comes to a safer future for all. 

IMPACT YOUR COMMUNITY  

Interested in getting involved? Look for registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations that serve and raise awareness for LGBTQ+ members in your community. And lastly, we believe that one of the most effective ways to create meaningful and lasting change is by voting. We’ll continue encouraging our employees to use their voice in a way that makes a positive impact for the LGBTQ+ community. 

Our Mission

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month Through Education and Advocacy

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Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month Through Education and Advocacy

At Beautycounter, we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by honoring the diversity of the Hispanic and Latinx communities in the United States. We acknowledge the powerful presence of this multifaceted group—the Hispanic/Latinx population was 62.1 million in 2020, and continues to be the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population, according to Census data—and praise their endless contributions to the evolution of our country. 

“Hispanic Heritage Month is not only a time where we come together and celebrate this community for their incredible contributions; but also, an opportunity where we can amplify the message that harmful ingredients in personal-care products disproportionately affect people of color,” says Beautycounter’s Senior Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Jenny Aspinwall. “As a Hispanic/Latinx woman and a mother, I am honored to be a part of an organization that is advocating for stronger regulations and systemic change.” 

La historia del Hispanic Heritage Month 

Hispanic Heritage Month is observed every year in the U.S. from September 15 to October 15. It’s a time to appreciate the contributions of Hispanic-Americans and Latin-Americans—those whose ancestors came from Central and South America, the Caribbean, Mexico, and Spain.  

The holiday was first introduced in 1968 by California Congressman George E. Brown, Jr. and made official by President Lyndon B. Johnson that same year, calling upon all people of the U.S. to celebrate the role of these communities in American history. 

Manos a la obra: Advocating for the Latinx/Hispanic community 

Beautycounter’s mission is to get safer products into the hands of everyone, and that means todas y todos. While advocating for federal cosmetic reform, we also must acknowledge that Hispanic and Latinx consumers, along with other communities of color, may have been disproportionately exposed to potentially harmful ingredients within the beauty industry for many years. This segment of the population has a strong cultural foundation for beauty and, according to research, spend more than the average consumer on beauty and personal care.1  

A recent study2 which included 100 Latina teenagers, conducted by UC Berkeley’s Dr. Kim Harley (who is also a member of our Science Advisory Council), showed that when this group switched to cleaner cosmetics (without phthalates, parabens, triclosan, or oxybenzone) for just three days, they had a 25 – 45% drop in the levels of these four chemicals in their bodies.  

With the help of our Science Advisory Council, our in-house team of academic researchers and scientists, we make sure we are taking into account vulnerable groups—including communities of color—when making decisions as it relates to the safety of our products. 

Our advocacy efforts over the past years have focused on the disparate impacts of personal-care products for people of color and vulnerable communities. Our education of policymakers on this important issue has resulted in several legislative wins with national impact: 

  • We helped pass the Cleaning Products Right to Know Act and the Safer Salon bill, which protect salon professionals, hotel workers, and maintenance staff by providing them with information to make safer choices.  
  • We held two high-profile Congressional briefings, sponsored by the Congressional Hispanic and Black caucuses, calling attention to the disparate effects of harmful ingredients on people of color. 
  • Beautycounter helped pass two bills in California that remove some of the most dangerous ingredients from personal-care products, as well as promote more transparency for fragrance ingredients, which can be linked to cancer and hormone disruption.  
  • Currently, Beautycounter is supporting federal legislation that requires the FDA to examine the effects of ingredients with a lens towards impact on vulnerable populations.  

¡Sí se puede! Empowering Consultants to be the change within their communities 

For us, education is fundamental for our #betterbeauty movement, and that’s why we prioritize Consultant programs that help raise awareness within their network and communities.  

Through Mi Comunidad: Legacy Leaders Circle, one of our field programs, we help develop leaders inspiring change in the beauty industry. These programs include trainings and webinars, newsletters and events held in English and Spanish, and the opportunity to engage on social media using our hashtag #Somosbeautycounter.  

We recently highlighted one of our Consultants, Karla Vazquez, in our BCWorks video series. Watch it here, and below, read about how she expresses the pride she takes in being Hispanic in the U.S.:  

“To me, being Hispanic means: to love passionately and talk loudly. Hug and kiss without hesitation. Dance when I hear my Spanish music. Celebrate every event with delicious food.” –Karla Vazquez, Senior Manager, Mi Comunidad: Legacy Leaders 

On our @beautycounter and @leadersinclean social channels, we’ll be celebrating #hispanicheritagemonth by featuring Hispanic and Latinx leaders and influencers in the clean beauty arena, social media takeovers, HQ spotlights, and much more. Follow along to take part in the conversation. 

As we join our hermanas and hermanos during this important celebration, we reaffirm our efforts of education and advocacy towards a safer and cleaner future for all. Text BETTERBEAUTY to 52886 in the U.S. or 70734 in Canada to add your voice in celebration of this important month.  

1 https://nielseniq.com/global/en/insights/analysis/2021/multicultural-consumers-are-set-to-drive-beauty-growth-amid-continued-category-shifts-in-2021/ 

2 https://cerch.berkeley.edu/research-programs/hermosa-study 

#betterbeauty

Fall Makeup Haul: 4 Clean Products To Try

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Fall Makeup Haul: 4 Clean Products To Try

Getting into the spirit of fall can be fun, from cozying up in chunky sweaters to ordering pumpkin-spiced everything. But it’s also a great time to shake up your beauty routine and give some new clean makeup products a try.  

Each season brings the perfect opportunity to try new shades, products, and methods that capture the spirit of change. We’ve rounded up some of our top clean makeup essentials to work into your lineup, just in time for that fall refresh.  

Think Big All-In-One Mascara  

Fall brings the perfect weather to play with bold makeup looks—and big, voluminous lashes are essential to that. With a true black pigment that delivers rich color without the use of carbon black or PFAS ingredients, Think Big All-In-One Mascara is a safe choice any day. Pair it with Dew Skin Tinted Moisturizer – SPF 20 and Sheer Genius Conditioning Lipstick for a simple everyday look. 

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Glow First Priming Serum  

Imagine the dewy glow you’d get on a tropical vacation…well, this is something like that in a bottle (without the flight). Glow First Priming Serum is a skin-care and makeup prep hybrid that will give your skin a hydrating boost—and help your makeup last even longer. No need to wait for that summer vacation when your fall glow is just as good. 

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Lid Glow Cream Shadow  

Gloomy fall days call for a little extra shimmer, and Lid Glow Cream Shadow delivers just that. This buildable formula is perfect for fall cocktail parties or afternoon strolls; simply apply your favorite shade with your fingers, and you’re good to glow.  

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Beyond Gloss  

Shorter days and longer nights call for a gloss that delivers high-impact shine and a range of colors to choose from—and Beyond Gloss is it. Go bold in the shade Black Plum on a night out with friends, or keep it classic with the shade Quartz Shimmer on a weekend coffee date. Fun fact: Beyond Gloss is made with responsibly sourced, ECOCERT-certified organic vanilla from Madagascar.  

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New season, new you. And if you haven’t yet, now is the time to fall for clean. Our products are carefully formulated and tested to give you the best results—without harmful ingredients. Sounds like someone’s beauty cabinet might just be turning over a new leaf.  

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Our Mission

The #BetterBeauty Advocacy Update: Summer 2021

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The #BetterBeauty Advocacy Update: Summer 2021

While this summer may still look different than years past, lawmakers across North America have begun focusing on legislation beyond pandemic relief. Public health remains a focus, and Beautycounter has been working to ensure cosmetic reform is part of the policy agenda.

Beautycounter Takes Action on Cosmetic Reform and Protecting Vulnerable Populations

Last year, Beautycounter helped pass the Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act, which bans certain per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from personal-care products sold in the U.S. Used for its waterproof, long-lasting, non-stick, and stain-repellent properties, PFAS is found in cosmetics, non-stick pans, food packaging, and waterproof clothing, among many other household products. Unfortunately, PFAS chemicals can take decades to break down in the human body and the environment, and research has linked these chemicals to certain cancers, endocrine disruption, and fertility problems. We believe PFAS should not be used in the products (including raw materials and packaging) we use every day and have been working with federal policymakers on bipartisan legislation to ban these harmful ingredients in consumer products.

Introduced by Reps. Dingell (D-MI), Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Kuster (D-NH), and Katko (R-NY), the No PFAS in Cosmetics Act bans the intentional use of these “forever” chemicals in personal-care products. Similarly, we also support the bipartisan PFAS Action Act introduced by Reps. Dingell (D-MI) and Upton (R-MI), which is comprehensive legislation to prevent PFAS ingredients from contaminating drinking water, limits industrial discharge, and allows the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to clean up sites contaminated by PFAS across the country.

Additionally, Beautycounter supports five key cosmetic bills that were introduced this July which aim to address gaps in the regulation of personal-care products. They include:

  • Cosmetic Fragrance and Flavor Right to Know Act of 2021 – Similar to the CA Safer Fragrance bill, this federal bill requires disclosure of certain fragrance ingredients such as fragrance allergens that are harmful to human health and the environment.
  • Toxic-Free Beauty Act – This bill is similar to the CA Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act, which bans 24 of the worst offender ingredients from personal-care products sold in the U.S., including PFAS ingredients.
  • Cosmetic Safety for Communities of Color and Professional Salon Workers Act –Salon workers are continuously exposed to potentially harmful ingredients, and this bill provides transparency for workers to make more informed decisions. The bill also creates funding for the FDA to consult with community stakeholders on ingredient review and research grants to identify chemicals of concerns for communities of color. 
  • Cosmetic Supply Chain Transparency Act – Requires upstream suppliers like fragrance houses, contract manufacturers, and suppliers of ingredients to provide brands with ingredient disclosure and safety data.
  • Personal Care Products Safety Act – This comprehensive cosmetic reform bill introduced in the Senate requires the FDA to regularly review ingredients for safety, gives the FDA the authority to recall products that harm consumers, and creates higher standards for manufacturing practices.

This summer, the FDA also announced that it would consider people of color as deserving additional consideration when assessing cosmetic ingredients for safety. Taking into account the risk of vulnerable populations was one of Beautycounter’s key asks of the FDA as part of our participation in the joint FDA/National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) protocol development committee, where we advised the agency in developing cosmetic ingredient risk assessment protocols. This marks a significant first step towards closing the risk gap for people of color and their exposures to harmful ingredients in personal-care products.

Canada Makes Strides Towards Closing the Fragrance Loophole

When Beautycounter held our inaugural lobby day on Parliament in 2019, one of our key asks was for Health Canada to close the “fragrance loophole” which currently allows companies to hide potentially harmful ingredients under the term “fragrance.” This summer, Health Canada began the rulemaking process to take a significant step towards closing the fragrance loophole when it announced a proposal to amend the Cosmetic Regulations. Specifically, the FDA is considering requirements for brands to disclose fragrance allergens and allow consumers to access the disclosures. As a company built on transparency, Beautycounter has always listed every fragrance ingredient in our products, including fragrance allergens. We support the Canadian government’s efforts to provide consumers with the information needed to make healthier choices.

As cosmetic reform continues to gain momentum with lawmakers, our movement will continue to grow with your engagement. Use your voice to advance cosmetic safety in North America: text BETTERBEAUTY to 52886 in the U.S. and 18888867542 in Canada.