Let us introduce you to Sarah Hodrick, Managing Director with Beautycounter, and clean beauty expert. We sat down this month to learn a little more about Sarah, Beautycounter and “clean beauty.”
YW: Welcome! Tell us a little about yourself:
Sarah Hodrick: Thank you for having me! Well, I was raised in a small town in Central Pennsylvania, spent several years in Virginia and North Carolina, and then in 2008, my husband and I moved to Franklin. Franklin reminds me a lot of where I spent my childhood; the beautiful farmland, a quaint downtown, Civil War sites, historic architecture. There is something very comforting to me about living in a small town where you cannot go anywhere without running into someone you know. I love that. At the same time, it is pretty incredible having access to a big city and all it has to offer. I mean, there is no better place to listen to live music than Nashville, Tennessee!
Before settling down in Franklin and starting a family, I studied secondary education and taught high school mathematics. My days are now spent shuttling our children to and from school and activities, playing tennis, spending time with friends, educating consumers on the need for safer ingredients, and advocating for clean beauty.
YW: Can you define Clean Beauty for our readers?
SH: Clean beauty is an industry that focuses on creating and producing personal care products with safer ingredients, both natural and synthetic. Consumers need to understand that natural does not guarantee safe (i.e., poison ivy, lead, cadmium), and human-made does not necessarily mean unsafe. Clean beauty chooses to avoid ingredients with proven or suspected links to human health issues such as endocrine disruption, cancer, infertility, allergies, et cetera. Instead of only selecting natural ingredients, we ask, "Is it safe?"
YW: Why is there a need for Clean Beauty?
SH: Here in the United States, the cosmetics and personal care industry is woefully unregulated. The last time a major federal law was passed regulating the cosmetics industry was 1938! More than 80,000 chemicals have entered commerce since then; the majority of these have not been tested for safety on human health. In fact, in the U.S., only thirty ingredients/chemicals have been banned or restricted from personal care products. In comparison, over 1,400 have been banned/restricted in the EU. Considering we live in a country that seems to regulate everything, this is shocking, right? Due to the lack of restrictions, companies can (sometimes unknowingly), use harmful ingredients and at the same time, legally claim their products to be natural, clean, green, safe, or pure. Until we have more health-protective laws in place governing ingredient safety, the responsibility falls on the shoulders of the consumer.
YW: When were you introduced to Clean Beauty and the need for safer ingredients?
SH: My clean beauty journey began six years ago when I learned what I thought was a healthy lifestyle had a huge missing piece. I was trying to eat healthy foods, exercise daily, and make the best choices I could for my family. As a mother of two very young children, I was spending hundreds of dollars each month on organic foods and countless hours researching everything from the safest cribs to the greenest toys. Not once did I question the safety of the products I was putting on my skin and my family's skin. I assumed that personal care products were regulated and that if they were in stores, they were safe. I was wrong.
It was when a dear friend of mine introduced me to Beautycounter, an industry-disruptive brand at the forefront of the clean beauty movement, that I was enlightened. I immediately knew that I had to be a part of a movement that was sharing information, having significant social impact, and changing the future. So I became a Consultant and have not looked back!
YW: Tell us a little more about Beautycounter and its mission.
SH: At Beautycounter, we believe that all beauty should be clean beauty, and our mission is to get safer products into the hands of everyone. We educate our communities on the need for safer ingredients, and we share information that will help consumers make informed safer choices. We also advocate for stricter guidelines and health-protective laws that will protect consumers and shift the personal care industry away from using harmful and questionable ingredients. Finally, we formulate high performing, safer products, and have proven that beautiful can be healthy! Having curated a Never List™ that contains over 1,500 questionable ingredients that we will never use when formulating our products, we hold ourselves to unparalleled standards of safety. Even more exciting, our products have been recognized as performing as well as, if not better than, other high performing luxury brands.
If given a choice between two lipsticks that are equal in performance, but one contained traces of heavy metals, and the other did not, wouldn't you choose the safer option? We are working towards creating a future where consumers will not have to make that choice.
YW: Sounds like Clean Beauty is not just a fad?
SH: This is not just a women's health issue; it is a human health issue. As more consumers become aware of the lack of regulation, the more they will start demanding products that are significantly safer for their health, and the sooner we will see a significant shift in the industry. What was considered a clean beauty trend is now projected to be a $22 billion industry by 2024, so I would say clean beauty is
here to stay! No one should have to compromise their health when using personal care products, and we at Beautycounter are doing something about it.
YW: What are three Beautycounter must have products for fall?
SH:
1. Rosewood Lip Trio: Rosewood is the perfect lip shade when transitioning from summer to fall. If you are like me and some days you just cannot decide between lipstick or lip gloss, this limited-edition set is ideal as it includes not one, but two lipsticks (one color intense and one sheer), and a moisturizing lip gloss with zero stickiness.
2. Dew Skin Tinted Moisturizer: It’s a minimal amount of makeup with massive results. The sheer coverage will leave skin looking hydrated and healthy. Bonus: The SPF20 will keep protect skin from the UV rays that penetrate clouds.
3. Velvet Eyeshadow Palette in Classic: The soft nudes and neutrals of this palette are stunning, and they work with a variety of skin tones. I love that you can quickly go from a daytime to evening look just by adding a touch of shimmer!
YW: Finally, as we enter colder months, do you have any tips for preventing dry skin?
SH: Between the blustery cold air outside and the dry heat inside, our skin can take a beating during colder months!
1. Drink more water. It sounds so simple, but first, we need to hydrate our skin from the inside out. Keep a Hydro Flask of water with you throughout the day to make it that much easier to continually hydrate!
2. Take shorter, lukewarm showers. I love a ridiculously long, hot shower as much as anyone, but it strips hair and skin of natural oils. Instead, take 5-minute lukewarm showers; your hair and skin will thank you.
3. Install a humidifier: Indoor dry heat wreaks havoc on our skin. Help your skin stay hydrated by adding moisture to the air using a cool air humidifier in the room(s) you use most.
4. Use plant-based oils. Do not let the word oil scare you! Botanical oils will not leave your skin looking greasy, I promise! Instead, they are absorbed instantly, locking in moisture, leaving your skin looking luminous and smelling heavenly. It is best to apply oil to damp skin immediately after cleansing. My personal favorite: Beautycounter’s No. 3 Balancing Facial Oil. It is my can't-live-without product.
5. Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. Did I mention the importance of moisturizing? Creams and balms are what I recommend, as they will seal in moisture and better protect your skin. My personal favorites: Beautycounter’s Body Butter in Citrus Mimosa, Melting Body Balm, Counter+ Lotus Glow Cleansing Balm, and Countertime Tetrapeptide Supreme Cream.