KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — We know a lot of people pay attention to what they put in their bodies, but now more people are paying attention to what they put on their bodies.
According to research by The Conscious Insider, the global clean beauty market is expected to exceed $22 billion by 2024.
With clean beauty swapping social media with recommendations and tutorials, the trend has made an impact on Gen Z and even some Knoxville business owners.
Grow Salon is located in Knoxville and is an environmentally conscious business.
"I think people are taking more of a cautionary tale of what we're putting into our body and on our body. Your hair is just an appendage of your skin, your skin is the largest organ in your body,' said Shane Archer, owner of Grow.
All of their products follow European guidelines which are stricter than standards here in the United States. For example, for cosmetics, the European Union has banned more than 1,300 chemicals, the United States has banned just 11.
"Not only do we carry brands that represent that, but we also are PETA approved, we have no sodium chloride, a lot of our products are gluten-free, and we even have products for vegan ranges," said Archer.
"A couple that come to mind are sulfates, parabens, petroleum, there's aluminum in conventional deodorant and antiperspirant that's not in products in Europe. It can be a carcinogen, it could be a known skin irritant or it could be a hormone disruptor," said Kelli DeRieux, owner of The Beauty Market.
DeRieux opened The Beauty Market several years ago when she saw a need herself.
"After I became a mom paying more attention to what was in the products that I was using on my kids," said DeRieux.
She soon realized the local community felt the same. "You have to empower yourself to figure that information out on your own," said DeRieux.
Archer agrees. "Be sure when you're looking, you're looking for things that are sulfate-free, paraben-free and cruelty-free is huge."
It's so much easier now to know exactly what you're buying. There is an app you can download for free on your phone called Yuca that lets you scan products to see what rating it gets for being clean.