Claire Louvet, founder of Ô Naturel Boutique, explains the meaning of clean beauty, the ingredients consumers are avoiding, and why transparency is becoming a key factor in skincare purchasing decisions.
LG: “Clean beauty” is everywhere right now, but many consumers still do not fully understand what it actually means. How do you define clean beauty?
At Ô Naturel Boutique, a curated clean beauty platform for the UAE, clean beauty means beauty free from all harmful or controversial ingredients, not just cherry-picked ones. We review every product, ingredient by ingredient, before it ever appears on our website. We exclude ingredients linked to endocrine disruption, carcinogenic effects, or significant environmental harm. These are non-negotiable: they do not appear in any product we carry, in any concentration.
Clean beauty is about trust and transparency. That’s why we publish our Quality Charter — so anyone can see exactly what we exclude and why.
For the consumer, it means genuine peace of mind while shopping.
LG: Do you think the term “clean beauty” has become overused or diluted by marketing?
Yes, “clean” remains a marketing claim, not a guarantee. I see examples everyday of brands or products marketed as clean but which contain one or more ingredients that I would not accept on Ô Naturel.
The reason is simple: clean beauty has no official regulatory definition. Any brand can claim it with zero independent verification.
What it does show is that consumer demand for cleaner products is real and growing. The challenge is making sure that demand is met with genuine standards, not just better marketing.
LG: What are some of the most common ingredients consumers today are trying to avoid, and why?
The most common “free of” claims we see are parabens and sulfates, and that’s a good start. Parabens are synthetic preservatives linked to endocrine disruption. Sulfates are harsh cleansing agents that can strip the skin and scalp, and also raise concerns around aquatic toxicity.
Phthalates are another ingredient worth knowing about. Commonly found in synthetic fragrances to make them last longer, they are not disclosed on ingredient labels, hidden under the single word ‘fragrance’ or ‘parfum.’ They are linked to hormone disruption. This is why fragrance-free products, or products using natural fragrances, tend to be preferred in clean beauty.
That said, I think it’s worth being honest: most of these consumer preferences are industry-led rather than consumer-led. Brands decided to market against parabens and sulfates, and awareness followed. Most consumers don’t yet know what phthalates are, or why fragrance on an ingredient list can be a red flag. The demand is real, but the education still has a long way to go — and that’s the gap I’m trying to address with Ô Naturel.
LG: How much of the concern around beauty ingredients is backed by science, and how much is driven by social media fear or misinformation?
The research is there. Clinical studies link conventional beauty products to measurable levels of hormone-disrupting chemicals in the body — including the HERMOSA study and a recent study published in Environment International*. So no, this isn’t about fear or misinformation. The science exists.
Women are disproportionately affected, from rising breast cancer rates to research suggesting links between endocrine-disrupting chemicals and earlier onset of puberty in girls. Cosmetics are not the only contributing factor — environment and lifestyle play a role too. But we can control what we put on our skin every day, and that matters.
This is also a question of prevention. In most markets, cosmetic ingredients do not require independent pre-market safety approval. Manufacturers assess safety themselves, and long-term effects are rarely tested before a product reaches shelves.
And here’s something worth reflecting on: we are told to pay close attention to what we put on our skin during pregnancy. If there was nothing to worry about, why only then? The precaution exists for a reason. I just think it should apply all the time — not only when we’re expecting.
*Hermosa Study: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5047791/
*“Levers to decrease exposure to harmful chemicals: the case of Personal Care Products and cosmetics”, Environment International, May 2026: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412026002011
LG: Many shoppers struggle to decode ingredient labels. What are the biggest red flags consumers should realistically pay attention to?
Reading ingredient labels is not straightforward — and that’s exactly why I created Ô Naturel.
Full ingredient lists are not always easy to find, and to me that is already the first red flag: if you cannot find what is actually in a product, do not buy it.
That said, some ingredients are easier to spot than others, because their names follow a pattern. Parabens always end in “paraben” — methylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben. Sulphates are usually listed as sodium lauryl sulphate or sodium laureth sulphate. Once you know the pattern, they jump out. Others worth knowing: PEGs, EDTA, BHA and BHT, and the word “fragrance” or “parfum.”
On fragrance specifically: unless a brand explicitly states it uses natural fragrance or is phthalate-free, I would be cautious — particularly for children or during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
And for SPF products, which are essential here in the UAE: check the active ingredients. These chemical UV filters are suspected hormone disruptors and worth avoiding: oxybenzone, octinoxate, homosalate, and octocrylene. Mineral filters like zinc oxide are the cleaner alternative.
LG: Has consumer awareness around beauty products changed significantly in the UAE and GCC over the last few years?
Awareness is growing globally, but the GCC and UAE are still in the earlier stages of this shift compared to the US or Europe, where ingredient-conscious shopping has become more mainstream.
Globally, the clean beauty market is growing at around 13.5% annually, compared to 5-6% for conventional beauty. That gap reflects a real shift in consumer behaviour. And according to BeautyMatter’s 2024 Middle East Beauty Market Report, 54% of MENA female millennials are already moving toward simplified, ingredient-conscious routines. That’s a meaningful number.
From what I observe with my own customers, the shift here often starts with a specific life moment — pregnancy, or becoming a mother. That’s usually when women start questioning what they’re putting on their skin, and extending that scrutiny to what they use on their children. It’s a powerful entry point into a much bigger conversation.
That conversation is growing. But there is still a long way to go — which is exactly why I built Ô Naturel.
LG: You’ve spoken about motherhood influencing your perspective on formulations. How are parents changing the way families shop for beauty and wellness products?
In my experience, families who seek out clean skincare tend to be the same ones paying close attention to the quality of the food they buy. It becomes a conviction and a lifestyle. The same scrutiny they apply to a food label, they start applying to an ingredient list, or vice versa. Clean beauty stops being a beauty topic and becomes a health topic. That’s when the shift is real and lasting.
One trend worth highlighting is the rise of very young consumers building complex beauty routines. This is bringing a new wave of parents into the clean beauty conversation — not because they’re pregnant, but because they’re looking at what their children are putting on their skin every day.
LG: Is “clean beauty” becoming a luxury positioning, or do you believe it should become the industry standard?
It should become the standard. The idea that safer ingredients are a luxury is a misconception, and one the industry hasn’t done enough to correct. Cleaner formulations can cost slightly more to produce, and the category has often been marketed as a lifestyle premium. But more affordable options are entering the market as demand grows, and clean beauty is no longer exclusively a premium proposition.
As for Ô Naturel, my goal is to offer a wide range of products across different price points, from everyday essentials to more premium skincare. The decision to switch to cleaner products should never be blocked by budget. Access matters as much as awareness.
LG: What misconceptions do people commonly have about natural, organic or clean beauty products?
Two misconceptions come up most often. The first is that clean beauty is expensive — it doesn’t have to be. The second is that it doesn’t perform as well or feel as pleasant to use. That one used to have some truth to it. When I started looking seriously at ingredients back in 2017, it genuinely wasn’t easy to find products I enjoyed using that also met my standards. That is no longer the case. Formulations have come a long way.
There is a third misconception worth adding: that “natural” on a label automatically means safe or clean. It doesn’t. A product can be marketed as 95% naturally derived, but if the remaining 5% contains controversial ingredients, the overall formula cannot be considered clean. And “naturally derived” can cover ingredients that have been so heavily processed that very little of the original plant or extract remains — it becomes a marketing claim more than a meaningful one.
Clean beauty is not about what’s written on the front of the packaging. It’s about the full ingredient list.
LG: Looking ahead, do you think ingredient transparency will become as important to consumers as price or brand reputation?
I hope so — but I think it will require two things working together: consumer education and regulation. Education alone won’t be enough, because marketing budgets will always be larger than awareness budgets. Brands that are not truly clean will continue to make convincing claims as long as they’re allowed to. Regulation is what ultimately levels the playing field.
That said, I do believe brand reputation and ingredient transparency will become increasingly linked. If you claim to be clean and you’re not, that will affect consumer trust — especially as people become more informed and have the tools to verify what’s actually in a product. In a market with high spending power like the UAE and GCC, consumers who genuinely understand what they’re buying will pay more for something they believe in. Price becomes secondary to trust.
