You asked and we delivered! If you’ve ever had burning questions about natural beauty or how to make the switch from conventional beauty products to our *amazing* natural ones, we’ve got your covered. Whether you’re wondering about the ingredients we use, or where we use them - we bet you’ll find the answers to all of your questions (and more) below. Get this, we went ahead and selected our top 15 most frequently asked questions, and laid out our best answers to them below. So we are cutting right to the chase here: let's get started! We can’t wait to brush you up on all you need to know, and we’ve got so much to cover!

It's All About The Natural Ingredients.

We're excited to get to the bottom of these top 15 of your most frequently asked questions and give you the best answers we possibly can. But, first things first: we need to start at the very essence of what natural beauty means. You know, the thing that makes natural beauty products well, natural. The ingredients!

Which of your products are non-GMO?

You’ll be glad to know that all of our lip balms, lip scrubs, dry shampoos, face oils and serums are non-GMO.

What is Xanthan Gum?

Well, let’s first start off by saying it’s not the kind you chew. In reality, xanthan gum is manufactured in a particular way by fermenting carbohydrates that contain raw materials. For example, like fermenting glucose syrup from maize or sugar from sugar beet. What’s also important to note is that fermenting raw materials and production strains is not considered to crate a "genetically modified" type of substance. Cool, right?

Is Coconut Oil Comedogenic (a.k.a will it cause breakouts?)

Did you really think we’d do you like that? We use Fractionated Coconut Oil in our formulations. This type of coconut oil works great as a carrier oil for helping other, beneficial oils to penetrate the skin. Most importantly, it absorbs quickly without clogging pores and is actually safe for oily skin.

Ok but why is there Vitamin C in the Facial Sunscreen?

We’re so glad that you asked! When we were making this product, we did thorough research on the ingredients we used to ensure it would work in the best way possible, all while (of course) being safe and clean. Which (tbh), is what we do with all of our products!

In this particular case, vitamin C aids in your skin's natural regeneration process. This means that it actually helps your body repair damaged skin cells (score!).

Moreover, topical vitamin C acts as a second line of defense against harmful UVA rays while also helping to bolster the skin's antioxidant defenses. Essentially, what we discovered was that if you were just applying vitamin C to the skin it would indeed make your skin more sensitive. However pair it with SPF, and this combination actually provides a second line of defense for your skin.

What exactly is DHA?

This one was definitely highly ranked in our list of most frequently asked questions (and let's just say more than 15 of you inquired about this ingredient), so you can bet we're stoked to provide you with answers!

We constantly hear about DHA in self-tanning products. So here is hat you need to know. Dihydroxyacetone is an ingredient that is derived from vegetable glycerin that reacts with your skin and makes it darker. The reason it eventually fades is because you loose those skin cells, and your body makes new ones. Fun fact, right?

What is the difference between regular coconut oil and fractionated coconut oil?

Let’s break this one down once and for all.

Fractionated coconut oil is a form of coconut oil that has had the long-chain fatty acids removed via hydrolysis and steam distillation. Just this one change makes the oil turn to liquid at room temperature (rather than solid), and it also extends the product's shelf life. To be honest, this is the coconut oil that has typically been used for skincare products. Although this type of coconut oil may lack some healthy fatty acids after going through the process we just mentioned above, the result is a product that still contains great medium-chain fatty acids, anti-oxidants and vitamins. It also works great as a carrier oil helping other beneficial oils to penetrate your skin. As we briefly touched on previously, this type of coconut oil also absorbs quicker without clogging your skin (a.k.a. it will not break you out).

Cool about the natural ingredients, but what about the Beauty by Earth products?

What is Konjac?

Haven’t you read our blog on the latest beauty tools you need to be up on? Amongst that list is the glorious Konjac sponge. Konjac sponges come from the konjac plant, a perennial found in Japan. Packed with amazing nourishing ingredients, these sponges have everything your skin needs to look its best. These include vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin D, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin C, and folic acid. Pretty unreal, right? Gently washing with these naturally alkaline facial sponges helps to balance your skin’s acidity while enriching it with all of these vital nutrients.

Is your self-tanner organic?

Ok here’s what you need to know about one of our best-selling products. We do only use clean ingredients in this little guy, but not ALL the ingredients are organic. Only the ingredients listed here as organic are organic. Make sense? Here's the full list: Water, Organic Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Organic Shea Butter, Cetyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Organic Coconut Seed Oil, Dihydroxyacetone (DHA), Glycerin (Vegetable), Organic Japanese Green Tea Leaf Extract, Organic Pomegranate Extract, Organic Witch Hazel Extract, Organic Cranberry Fruit Extract, Organic Jojoba Seed Oil, Organic Argan Oil, Potassium Sorbate.

Where do you manufacture your products?

All of our formulated products (think Sunscreen and Self-Tanner) are manufactured using globally sourced ingredients, right here in the United States.

But do all of your formulated products use natural ingredients?

Girl, yes! We're obsessively natural at Beauty by Earth! That's because we believe clean, real ingredients are the only way to go.

But on that note, did you know there's actually no legal standard for words like "natural"? Yes, and for those of us who genuinely care about natural goodness, this causes us some serious woes. There can be a lot of shenanigans going on when it comes to calling a product "natural." Some use this lack of legal definition as an opportunity to "green wash" their products. While this legal status is changing (currently there's a bill up for vote called "The Natural Cosmetics Act" aimed at defining these terms), we still have a ways to go. Beware! Read labels! Remember, no matter what a company claims, ingredients just don't lie. . .

Regardless, rest assured that we opt for natural, naturally-derived, and certified organic ingredients. That's because we don't just sell beauty products; we use them. We strive to only craft products that are safe, effective, and family and earth-friendly. So you'd better believe we're very careful in selecting only the best of the best.

As always, if you have a question about a particular product or ingredient, give us a holler and we'll give you all the deets!

Do you test your products on animals?

Ew, no! Never! We're big animal lovers around here and do not believe in using them as test subjects. That's why you can rest assured that all of our products are cruelty-free, Leaping Bunny certified.

Alright, so what’s the deal with conventional beauty products?

We know you’ve got questions about what makes the real difference between our products, and the other conventional beauty options out there. We’re happy to clear all that up for you – keep reading below.

Why are conventional beauty products bad? Which ingredients should I look out for?

Out of our top 15 most frequently asked questions, the following inquiry is definitely one we had to prioritize answering for you.

First off, let's talk about parabens! In case you haven't heard, parabens are actually linked to breast cancer. That being said, we definitely steer clear of these.

Secondly, you should know that propylene glycol, oxybenzone and avobenzone, are frequently used in conventional beauty products, and these guys are known to be serious hormone disrupters.

Finally, the most common ingredient people complain about in conventional beauty products is synthetic fragrance. You can find this type of fragrance in practically anything these days. It is also linked to respiratory illness, hormone disruption, and allergic reactions. Again, we’d obviously rather spare you of all that.

Investing in natural beauty products can be a big commitment. Where would you recommend I start?

This is a great question. If you’re ready to start your journey into natural beauty products, we recommend starting with products that have the most contact with your body. Think of sunscreen, body wash, or self-tanner for instance.

Any tips for transitioning from conventional, toxic ingredients to natural beauty products?

For sure. The two things we would suggest you consider first are frequency of use, and the surface area of your body you’re covering with the product. Are you using it every day? Think face wash or tinted sunscreen for example. Start there. This will give you a great introduction to the joys of real, clean ingredients. We love to point newbies to natural beauty products to an antibacterial set, like our Peppermint Foaming Face Wash and Body Wash.

By the way, what's the EWG?

If you’ve never heard of the Environmental Working Group (EWG), you’ll now be glad you did. The EWG plays a crucial role in the beauty industry, and empowers people to make healthier consumer choices. They are a non-profit, non-partisan organization whose goal is to protect human health and the environment. They work for you! The EWG is dedicated to making sure you know exactly what’s in all of the products you use on a daily basis.

Additionally, Beauty by Earth products are independently studied by the EWG and rated on their site. You can see the EWG ratings of our products here. The EWG does not allow us to put “EWG approved” on our site since that is a trademarked term. But don't worry. You can feel good knowing your latest Beauty by Earth purchase was vetted by them!

We hope you got some interesting insight on all your natural beauty questions!

We hope this list of our top 15 most frequently asked questions had something in it for you, and that you were able to find some helpful answers. And if you had another pressing question we didn’t quite answer above, get in touch with us. Seriously- we live for this! We would love to answer anything we may not have touched on in this article. Whether you have another question, need clarification on something, or maybe just wanna say hey! We’re all for it. If it’s important to you, it’s important to us!