The 5 Best Skincare Brands Without Harmful Ingredients: Exceptional and Safe Choices

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How many ingredients do you put on your skin every day? A 2004 survey by the Environmental Working Group found that women use an average of 12 personal care products a day, containing 168 unique ingredients.

Key Takeaways

• Women use about 12 personal care products a day on average, so ingredient choices add up.
• Fragrance is one of the most common causes of allergic contact dermatitis; fragrance-free products are the safest bet for sensitive skin.
• The FDA hasn’t found that parabens or phthalates as used in cosmetics harm health, but the EU restricts some parabens and many people prefer to avoid them.
• “Natural” ingredients and essential oils can still cause reactions, so patch test new products.
• EWG’s Skin Deep ratings are a helpful screening tool, not a regulatory safety verdict.

Some of these chemicals, such as certain parabens and phthalates, have been studied as possible endocrine disruptors. Regulators like the FDA have not found that they harm health at the levels used in cosmetics, but many people still prefer to limit them. To guide you, we’ve put together this list of commonly avoided ingredients and the skincare brands that don’t use them.

Choosing brands with clear ingredient standards makes it easier to avoid harsh ingredients your skin doesn’t need. Our guide highlights brands that focus on simpler, cleaner formulas, so you can switch to products that fit both your skin and your preferences. Keep in mind that “natural” or “clean” doesn’t automatically mean safer for every skin type.

3 Common Skincare Ingredients People Choose to Avoid

If you want to start using cleaner products, here are three common ingredients many people try to avoid, and what the evidence says about them.

Synthetic Fragrance

Like most beauty lovers, we’re fans of great-smelling products. But once we learned how often fragrance irritates skin, we switched to fragrance-free skincare.

Research has shown that fragrance is one of the most common causes of allergic contact dermatitis, a red, itchy rash. Even if your scented products haven’t caused irritation yet, people can develop a fragrance allergy over time, and fragrance may contribute to disrupting your skin’s protective barrier, especially if your skin is sensitive.

Another reason to be cautious is that in the US, companies can list their scent blend simply as “fragrance” without naming each ingredient. So if a scented product contains an ingredient you react to, you may not know it.

Phthalates 

Phthalates are one group of chemicals that can be included in fragrance without being listed separately on labels. Some phthalates are possible endocrine disruptors, and studies have linked phthalate exposure to early puberty in girls and endometriosis in women. The FDA says diethyl phthalate (DEP) is the main phthalate still used in cosmetics and that it doesn’t have evidence of a safety risk at current levels.

Many retailers, including CVS and Target, have started taking phthalates out of their products. If you want to play it safe, choose fragrance-free products. Products scented with natural ingredients like vanilla, melon, cucumber, mango, and coconut may smell lovely, but natural fragrances and essential oils can also cause allergic reactions, so patch test first.

Parabens 

Parabens are preservatives commonly used in moisturizers and other skincare products to prevent fungi and bacteria from growing. The FDA says it doesn’t have information showing that parabens as used in cosmetics affect human health, but the EU has banned five types of parabens and restricted others as a precaution.

Luckily, paraben-free products are easy to find. Many brands, from Indie Lee to Juice Beauty, don’t use them, and you can find plenty of paraben-free options at your local drugstore or Ulta.

How Can You Avoid Ingredients You Don’t Want?

The ingredients above are some of the most commonly avoided in skincare, but there are many others people choose to skip. So how do you screen your products?

Kourtney Kardashian has been described as an avid user of the Skin Deep database and you can check it before you buy a product, too. It was put together by the Environmental Working Group to help consumers evaluate the health and safety of cosmetics without having to do hours of online research.

It gives each product a hazard rating from one (lowest concern) to ten (highest concern) and breaks down which ingredients it considers concerning. EWG is an advocacy group, so its ratings are not the same as regulatory safety decisions.

Here are some clean skincare products associated with Kourtney’s routine that you may want to consider.

Peach and Lily Power Calm Hydrating Cleanser

This soothing gel cleanser lathers into a soft foam and gently removes makeup and oil without stripping your skin. It’s formulated without sulfates, alcohol, dyes, fragrance, phthalates, and parabens.

Kourtney follows up the Peach and Lily cleanser with a product from Caudalie.

Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Dark Spot Serum

This popular serum contains viniferine and olive squalane. Caudalie says, based on its own testing, that viniferine is 62 times more effective than vitamin C at brightening, so treat that as a brand claim. It’s also cruelty-free and formulated without sulfates, parabens, and phthalates. If dark spots don’t fade, a board-certified dermatologist can help.

Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin Mist 

Kourtney’s makeup artist sprays this skin mist from Tatcha on her face before applying foundation. It helps hydrate the skin so foundation goes on smoothly with a dewy finish, and it contains ingredients like green tea and algae.

5 Skincare Brands Formulated Without Commonly Avoided Ingredients

Need more products to round out your routine? Here are five brands that focus on clean formulas.

Indie Lee

Indie Lee founded her clean skincare line after being diagnosed with a rare brain tumor, which she believes was linked to environmental toxins. The products are cruelty-free and formulated without ingredients such as formaldehyde and parabens, and most are vegan.

Here are a few of our favorites from Indie Lee:

• The Brightening Cleanser works for all skin types and contains natural ingredients like tomato extract and strawberry seed oil that will give you a dewy glow. 
• The Squalane Facial Oil is a lightweight serum derived from olives that will help balance, soothe, and plump up your skin. 
• Indie Lee’s Clearing Mask uses bentonite clay and chamomile to unclog your pores and reduce redness. 

Juice Beauty 

Juice Beauty’s products are made with a base of botanical juices instead of water. They’re also formulated without artificial fragrances and dyes, phthalates, and parabens. The company has regimens for different skin types and concerns, from acne-prone to mature skin.

Here are a few of our favorite Juice Beauty products.

• The Green Apple Peel Full Strength Exfoliating Mask is an AHA exfoliating mask that helps brighten skin and improve the look of dark spots and uneven tone. Patch test first, and wear sunscreen daily while using it. 
• Juice Beauty’s Stem Cellular 2-in-1 Cleanser cleanses, hydrates, and tones the skin with ingredients like grapefruit and aloe. 
• The Nutrient Moisturizer is the perfect cream to add to your skincare routine during the fall and winter. It has malic acid, apple juice, aloe vera, and shea to soothe and moisturize dry skin.

Tata Harper 

Tata Harper skincare is on the pricier side, but we think it’s worth the splurge. The products are cruelty-free and formulated without artificial colors, synthetic fragrances, and fillers, and many ingredients are grown on Tata’s farm in Vermont. We also love the packaging: the green glass bottles are beautiful and recyclable.

If you want to try out Tata Harper for yourself, shop some of our favorite products below.

• The Clarifying AHA + BHA Mask has raw honey and wild grape to balance redness along with quartz sand micro-crystals to gently exfoliate your skin.
• Tata Harper’s Water-Lock Moisturizer uses hyaluronic acid and orange blossom peptides to deeply hydrate your skin and give it a healthy glow. 
• Tata’s Daily Essentials Kit contains minis of the brand’s best skincare products, including the regenerating cleanser and reparative moisturizer, allowing you to try them out before you splurge on the full sizes.

Fenty Beauty

Did you know that Rihanna also has a skincare line, Fenty Skin? It’s cruelty-free and vegan, so it’s worth trying out! The simple three-step routine means you won’t have to spend ages on your skin.

• Start with the Remove It All Cleanser (sold as Total Cleans’r Remove-It-All Cleanser), which gently dissolves makeup without stripping the skin. It’s suitable for all skin types and made with natural ingredients like Barbados cherry and green tea. 
• Next is the Fat Water Pore-Refining Toner Serum. It uses Australian lemon myrtle and witch hazel to control excess oil, refine your pores, and improve your skin’s overall tone.  
• Finish your skincare routine with the Hydra Vizor Invisible Moisturizer, which combines broad-spectrum sun protection, which the brand describes as reef-friendly, with melon and aloe to help hydrate and soothe your skin. Apply it generously and reapply when you’re outdoors. 

Glossier

We love Glossier, a skincare and makeup brand founded by beauty blogger Emily Weiss. The brand has taken steps toward cleaner ingredients, and its products are cruelty-free and dermatologist-tested.

If you want to see why we like Glossier, try some of their products below. 

• Glossier’s After Baume Moisture Barrier Recovery Cream has Cupuaçu Butter, Babassu Oil, and a postbiotic ferment to help support the skin’s barrier. 

• Glossier Super Pure is a lightweight serum that has niacinamide (vitamin B3) and zinc to help balance oily skin and visibly improve its texture. 
• Glossier Balm Dotcom is a super hydrating lip balm and skin salve made with natural ingredients like castor oil, beeswax, and lanolin. 

Final Words

Learning about the ingredients in the products you’ve used for years can feel overwhelming, but there’s no need to panic. You can gradually replace some of your products with options from brands that match your preferences.

It’s all about small changes. You don’t have to throw out your entire routine or avoid every ingredient the EWG flags. Instead, swap products one at a time as you run out.

If a product irritates your skin, or you’re not sure which ingredients to avoid because of allergies or a skin condition, a board-certified dermatologist can help, including with patch testing.

Sources

• Environmental Working Group – Exposures add up: Survey results
• DermNet – Fragrance allergy
• U.S. FDA – Phthalates in Cosmetics
• U.S. FDA – Parabens in Cosmetics
• L’Oréal Finance – 2024 Annual Results
• Global Cosmetics News – Kim Kardashian Shuts Down SKKN by Kim
• Environmental Working Group – Keeping Up With the New Kardashian Beauty Products