How to Find Truly Natural Products: A Guide to Clean Shopping
If you’ve ever stood in an aisle (or scrolled online) wondering if a product labeled “natural” is actually natural, you’re not alone. Greenwashing is everywhere, and it can be confusing—even for those of us who’ve been reading labels for years. But today I’m sharing my best tips on how to find truly natural products.
Over the years, I’ve picked up a few label-reading habits, found retailers I can trust, and discovered some helpful tools that make shopping for safer, more natural products a whole lot easier. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to refine your routine, I hope these tips give you a little more confidence next time you’re shopping for cleaner, healthier options.
How to Find Truly Natural Products: A Guide to Clean Shopping
Label Reading Tips
Think of this as a quick cheat sheet or pocket guide. You can save or download the graphic above if you need to refer back to it. While it doesn’t cover every ingredient to skip, it covers the most common culprits. Here are a few more quick tips that can help you decode product labels:
1. Ignore the front of the packaging.
The front is for marketing. Words like “natural,” “clean,” or “eco-friendly” are not regulated and don’t always mean much.
2. Go straight to the ingredient list.
This is where the truth lies. If there’s no full ingredient list available (applicable when you’re shopping online), that’s a red flag.
3. Watch for greenwashing.
Companies may use earthy colors, plant images, or words like “botanical” without actually offering a non-toxic formula.
4. Learn your red flag ingredients.
Some common ones to avoid include:
- Fragrance (can be a chemical cocktail)
- Parabens (often listed as methylparaben, butylparaben, etc.)
- Phthalates (often hidden in “fragrance”)
- SLS/SLES
- Formaldehyde releasers (like DMDM hydantoin or quaternium-15)
Trusted Retailers for Natural Products
If you don’t want to read every single label (understandable!), shopping from retailers that specialize in clean, vetted products can be a huge help. Here are some of my go-to sources:
1. Beauty Heroes
Every product they carry meets strict standards and ingredient transparency. They have some of the highest ingredient standards around.
2. The Choosy Chick
High standards and a unique selection of brands that include some more affordable options.
3. Integrity Botanicals
A longtime leader in clean beauty, they carefully curate everything from makeup to skincare and wellness.
4. AILLEA
Shop for skincare, makeup, and more, knowing the ingredients are all on the up and up.
Be aware that some larger, well-known “Clean Beauty” retailers have slowly allowed things like ethoxylated ingredients and fragrance in. I’m not saying not to shop there anymore- they have great selections and do have a lot of truly natural products -but just be aware that not all retailers have the same high standards. You can usually find a list of ingredients that a retailer doesn’t allow on the website. Of course, all the ones I listed above have super high standards, so it makes it easier!
Helpful Apps To Find Truly Natural Products
There are also some tech tools that can help you when you’re out shopping or browsing online. Sometimes these aren’t perfect. They’re only as good as the info database they pull from. But it’s a great jumping off point to decode labels easily:
1. Think Dirty
Scan a product’s barcode to see how it ranks on a toxicity scale, and get a breakdown of each ingredient.
2. EWG’s Skin Deep App
This is an app and a website. Backed by the Environmental Working Group, this app ranks products and ingredients from 1 (best) to 10 (worst).
3. Detox Me (by Silent Spring Institute)
Rather than scanning products, this app gives information for finding safer products across all categories.
4. MADESAFE
While this isn’t an app, the website lists all the products they’ve vetted as safe. I love checking it out before shopping for beauty items or even home goods, so I can see what products/brands are certified MADESAFE. I don’t always put trust into certifications, but this one is legit.
Now You’re A Pro
Shopping for natural products doesn’t have to be confusing or time-consuming. With a few label-reading skills, trusted places to shop, and some helpful tools on your phone, you’ll be better equipped to choose truly natural products. You can check out more label reading tips in this blog post.
Do you have a favorite app or website I should check out? Let me know in the comments—I’m always looking to discover new ones!
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