Does Beautycounter test every ingredient?

Regarding our commitment to ingredient safety, it is important to differentiate between ingredient screening and testing. Through our strict Ingredient Selection Process, we perform a hazard and risk assessment on every ingredient we consider for inclusion in our formulas. We review up-to-date authoritative lists (such as global regulatory standards) and scientific research for evidence of human health and ecological hazard for each ingredient. Specific hazards we assess include carcinogenicity, developmental toxicity, mutagenicity, allergenicity, and potential hormone disruption to name a few.  

Therefore, any information that we acquire on certain hazards that requires animal testing (such as carcinogenicity) is obtained through publicly available research data from regulatory agencies. Beautycounter does not test our products on animals, nor do we ask others to do so. We do not believe that finished personal care/cosmetic products should be ever tested on animals, but we will not disregard data that has been previously generated on specific ingredient safety that can provide critical guidance for the overall safety of an ingredient.  

It is important to remember that heavy metals are natural elements, and although there are several heavy metals that are essential nutrients (such as iron or zinc) or harmless, there are heavy metals that can be very toxic to the human body at very low levels of exposure (such as lead or mercury). Heavy metals can make their way into cosmetics through minerals, clays, and both natural and synthetic colorants, and it is difficult to assess the potential human health risk by screening alone.  

To ensure that our products pass our strict heavy metal standards, we test every batch of our color cosmetics for heavy metals prior to bringing the product to market. We understand that there are data gaps with both natural and synthetic colorants, and we are constantly reviewing updated regulatory safety standards where they exist (from the European Union, Canada, etc.) to refine our strict heavy metal limits. We advocate for smart, health-protective research and will continue to review available data and improve our products based on new findings and ingredient innovation