Are you looking for a good, clean skincare brand, buuuuut the thought of spending $50+ on a single skin care product makes your stomach drop? While I love non-toxic skincare brands and their mission to create safer skincare products, the downside is that a lot of those brands can get super expensive. If you feel the same way, you’re probably on the hunt for affordable, non-toxic skincare brands.
Some clean skincare companies are so hyped up and, while they sound fabulous, I get to their site and see “such-and-such face serum: $68.” And then I’m left with an empty cart, thinking Um… I guess I have to keep using sketchy, questionable skincare products until I can afford this.
While it’s true that those nontoxic brands have incredible products, it’s just not a feasible expense for many people (like you and me!). But don’t you fret your pretty little mind, friend. By the end of this post, you’ll have 13 affordable, non-toxic skincare brands that will provide you with safe skincare on a budget!
Psst! Save this post for later by pinning the image below, so you can come back to it!
And if you want to keep this short and sweet, I’ve listed my 4 very favorite non-toxic skincare brands that can fit into just about anyone’s budget!
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My 4 All Time Favorite Budget-Friendly Clean Skincare Brands
| Brand | Favorite Product | Price |
|---|---|---|
| InnBeauty Project | Slushy Serum-Moisturizer | $32 |
| Cocokind | Probiotic Acne Serum | $20 |
| Stone & Spear | Anti-Aging Face Cream | $28 |
| Stone & Spear | Charcoal Tallow Face Wash Bar | $14 |
Organic, Non Toxic, Clean, and Natural Skincare: What’s the difference?
I’m not a dermatologist, (read my full, boring disclaimer here!) but I’ve done my research to help simplify these confusing terms. If you’re wondering the difference between clean skincare, natural skincare and organic skincare, here’s the gist.
Clean and non-toxic skincare
“Non-toxic skincare” or “clean skincare” are terms to describe brands that prohibit toxic ingredients from being in their products.
However, because the term “clean” is not highly regulated, there are differences from brand to brand and company to company.
For example, Target’s standard for clean beauty might differ slightly from Ulta’s or Sephora’s.
But in a nutshell, clean skincare’s primary characteristics are that the products don’t contain toxic elements, and are safe for the consumer.
Keep in mind that clean skincare can be natural and organic, but it doesn’t have to be. A product can be clean even if it contains synthetic materials, so long as there isn’t anything known to be harmful in the formula.
Natural skincare
While some products or brands might be marketed as “natural,” that doesn’t mean those products only contain natural ingredients. It might simply mean “this product contains some natural ingredients, along with a bunch of other stuff as well.”
So, you’ll want to scan the list of ingredients to see how “natural” the product actually is.
Another thing to consider is that natural ingredients aren’t always better for your skin. Likewise, synthetic ingredients aren’t necessarily bad.
For example, natural ingredients like citrus oils are a common skin irritant for those with sensitive skin.
Organic skincare
And finally, “organic beauty” or “organic skincare” means that the product contains ingredients grown without chemical fertilizers, growth hormones or genetic mutations.
Basically, it means the same thing as the “organic” labels on food.
However, it’s important to note that a company can market their products as “organic” without being “organic-certified.”
If the label only reads “organic,” you should read the ingredients because that can mean the product contains mostly organic ingredients, or it could mean it contains a teeny bit of organic ingredients and a bunch of other non-organic stuff.
Why use non-toxic skincare?
So, if non-toxic skincare tends to be so expensive, you might be wondering if it’s even worth the price tag. To ease your mind, here’s why clean skincare is absolutely worth it.
While skincare brands that aren’t considered “clean” might be cheaper, their ingredients can cause so much harm to your health and wellbeing.
Many ingredients in skincare and cosmetics are linked to major health concerns such as cancer. Other common ingredients are hormone disruptors and can cause harm to the endocrine system.
The use of some skincare ingredients can be so detrimental to your health they can literally affect your chances of getting pregnant or decrease your chance at having a successful pregnancy.
However, non-toxic skincare avoids those ingredients, so it’s safe for your skin, your body and the environment.
Did you know that on average, women use 12 beauty products a day? That’s a crud ton of ingredients to be absorbed into your skin on a daily basis.
And the crazy thing is, most people (myself included until recently) don’t even stop to question whether those ingredients are doing more harm than good.
How do you know if a brand or skincare product is non toxic?
Knowing if a brand is non-toxic or not really comes down to the research. Even if a brand claims to be “clean” or uses other terms that make you assume it’s safe, such as “gluten-free,” “vegan” or “organic,” it doesn’t mean the product is free of harmful ingredients.
There are two things you can do to ensure you’re getting a non-toxic product.
Tip 1 when looking for non-toxic products
Look for specific claims from the brand like “phtalates-free,” or “paraben-free,” and other solid claims. If a skincare brand has gone through the trouble of creating a clean formula, they’re gonna be real noisy about it in the packaging.
Tip 2 when looking for non-toxic products
Read the ingredients. Toxic ingredients like parabens, phthalates, and PEGS are just a few of the main ones to avoid.
What toxic ingredients should you avoid in skincare?
This blog post on the best affordable non-toxic skincare brands wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t touch on the biggest no-no ingredients in clean skincare.
This list gives you a good summary of the worst ingredients to avoid in skincare. (Although with new studies coming out so often, this list isn’t exhaustive.)
Some of these ingredients may not be the worst thing in small quantities, but why risk it? I aim to avoid them altogether to ensure my skin is getting the best, healthiest products.
- Parabens
- Carbon Black
- Petroleum jelly
- Fragrance/parfume
- Oxybenzone
- Phthalates
- Formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives
- Ethanolamines (DEA, MEA, TEA)
- Polyethylene glycol (PEGS)
- Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA)
Where can you shop for affordable, non toxic skincare brands?
While you can totally shop online for clean skincare, my favorite brick-and-mortar places to shop are Target, Ulta, and Sephora.
Target and Sephora have designated “Clean Beauty” categories that make it easy to find clean skincare all in one spot. Similarly, Ulta has a “Conscious Beauty” section where they keep their clean skincare.
But remember, “clean” is not a regulated term, so make sure you check out the ingredient labels of anything you buy to make sure it meets your standards for non-toxicity.
My personal favorite way to find new clean beauty products and brands is through Kinder Beauty Box. It’s an ethical, eco-friendly and non-toxic beauty subscription box that offers the perfect way to get clean beauty and wellness products at a great price.
Check out my full, honest Kinder Beauty Box review here!
And finally, here is the list of affordable, non-toxic skincare brands that I know you’re going to fall in love with!
List of Affordable Non-Toxic Skincare Brands
1. Stone & Spear Tallow
Price: $5-$78, but most products are in the $14-$28 range
The first time I used a tallow-based moisturizer, I applied it right after dermaplaning my skin and going to bed. I woke up with the most youthful, glowing, and even skin tone I’ve had in actual years.
Wondering what the big deal about tallow is in skincare? Oh boy, get ready. This stuff literally changed my life (and not in the way influencers say “ohmygosh this new lipgloss from Sephora literally changed my life and it’s only $97).
Tallow is the #1 ingredient in my skincare routine that makes my skin glow like crazy, look plump and hydrated, and keeps my skin calm from breakouts.
Stone & Spear prioritizes tallow in all their skincare and body care products because tallow has been proven to help promote skin cell regeneration, which allows your skin to renew and regenerate itself more quickly.
Thanks to the omega 3’s, fatty acids, and vitamins loaded in tallow, it’s just about the best ingredient you can find for all things skin — including cleansing, nourishing, and hydrating.
Can’t hype this one up enough, friend. Try this one out, and you’re gonna be obsessed.
Clean benefits: Every product is 100% natural with no harsh or sketchy ingredients at all. Most products have between 2-6 ingredients, such as the Anti-Aging face cream (grass-fed beef tallow, collagen peptides, beeswax, hyaluronic acid, and essential oils)
My favorite products: anti-aging face cream, charcoal tallow cleansing bar.
PRO TIP: Order your products with the citrus vanilla scent. It makes you smell like a freakin dessert all day long (think orange creamsicle!)
Buy it: Shop for Stone & Spear tallow skincare and body products right from their website!
Plus, use code SAVDUFFY for 10% off your order 🙂
2. InnBeauty Project
Price: Mostly $22-$34.
One of the top things you’ll love about this brand (besides the price tags) is that they’ve created a proprietary plant-based formula they call the “Even-Out Complex.” This complex targets one of the biggest skin concerns: uneven skin tone.
Even-Out Complex improves uneven skin tone by helping hyperpigmentation, redness, blotchiness, dark spots, sallowness and dullness.
And as someone who’s been using the InnBeauty toner and serum-moisturizer combo religiously for months, I can attest that it is effective.
Clean/Sustainability benefits
InnBeauty Project is cruelty-free, vegan, and non-toxic. Their products are formulated without 2,700 shady and questionable ingredients.
Plus, their products are free of the EU’s list of 14,000 banned ingredients… Because apparently the US has only banned 11 ingredients.
InnBeauty’s products are also sustainable, as is their packaging.
My favorite InnBeauty products
(Yes, I really do own and use each of these products on a weekly basis): The Slushy Serum Moisturizer, 7 Min Glo Mask, Down to Tone, 10+10 Daily Moisturizer, Pimple Paste, and any of their lipglosses (I have Glazed Donut and Berry Jam).
Where to buy
3. Cocokind
Price: About $17-$25 per product, with lots of affordable skin care bundles available.
Cocokind offers sooo many incredible products that address all your primary skin concerns.
You can shop for a certain item, by routine, or build a routine as you go along. If you’re not sure where to start, you can take their skincare quiz to figure out which Cocokind products you should include in your routine.
They even have a bundle of products for a beginner’s skincare routine, and I love that because I know a lot of people just starting out in skincare can get overwhelmed.
Sustainability/Clean benefits: How can you know that the Cocokind product you’re looking at is safe for your health?
Easy.
Because of the new addition to Cocokind packaging: the “Formula Facts” section! On the back of any Cocokind product, you’ll see the formula broken down and spelled out for you to take all the mystery out of it.
And when you shop online, just click on an ingredient to see more information about it.
Cocokind heavily scrutinizes each ingredient and the dosage used to ensure they are safe and ethically sourced. They don’t use unnecessarily fillers, and put all new products through a consumer study with at least 100 participants. Cocokind is also 100% cruelty-free.
Currently, they’re working on adding a “Sustainability Panel” to give you the deets on the carbon footprint of that product’s lifecycle.
My favorite products: AHA Jelly Cleanser, Daily SPF, Probiotic Acne Serum
Where to buy: Shop at Cocokind’s online store, Ulta, Target, Wholefoods, or Walmart
4. Fleur & Bee (UPDATED! and sadly, no longer really “affordable”)
It breaks my heart to remove Fleur & Bee from this list. Not because they’re no longer clean or vegan, but because of how dramatically their prices have increased.
When I originally wrote this blog post, their anti-aging eye cream was just $26. Today, it is $65.
While you can still get their lip treatment, toner, and cleanser each for around $30-$35, all their other products are in the $60-$80 range. Still clean, and I’m sure still fabulous, but no longer what I would consider “affordable.”
But of course, Fleur & Bee has other fantastic products to try out. Each one is packed with effective and good-for-your-skin nutrients. Try their cleanser, toner, serum, moisturizers, and mask as well to complete your non toxic skin care routine.
Sustainability/Clean Benefits: All Fleur & Bee products are free of parabens, sulfates, phthalates, silicones, GMOs, artificial fragrances, gluten, dyes – and 1,300 other potentially harmful ingredients. All products are sustainably sourced and made with 100% renewable wind energy. Their packaging is made with 100% recycled post-consumer waste paperboard, and all products are vegan and cruelty-free.
My favorite products: Eyes Eyes Baby: Anti-Aging Eye Cream
Where to buy: Fleur & Bee, Amazon
5. The INKEY List
Price: $5 – $15 for individual products
The INKEY List has quickly become a cult favorite, in part due to the simple and effective formulas they sell and also the fabulously affordable price tags.
So many skincare products on the market are bogged down with unnecessary ingredients, but not the INKEY List.
They keep it as simple as possible to maximize effectiveness and keep their formulas as pure as possible.
Another huge advantage to this brand is their emphasis on knowledge and education. They don’t want to just sell you a product, they want to help you understand what your skin (and hair) needs.
You’ll find all the product info on their site’s ingredient index. Plus, if you’re not sure which products will best meet your needs, you can always take the short quiz to get a personalized skincare recipe.
Sustainability/Clean Benefits: The INKEY List is 100% cruelty-free and fragrance free. 93% of their products are vegan-friendly, with all products vegetarian-friendly. Their mineral SPF is also oxybenzone-free. All of their ingredients are listed in their ingredients index, so rest assured you’ll know exactly what you‘re putting on your skin.
Where to buy: Sephora, Amazon, the INKEY List online store
6. Versed Skincare
Price: $10 – $25
Versed might be the cleanest drugstore skincare brand around right now. This brand focuses on affordability, sustainability, and clean ingredients.
Besides the pretty pastel colored packaging (which I love), Versed does a good job of addressing all your skin concerns while being completely transparent about ingredients.
While some Versed products contained PEGs and polyethylene in the past, one of the brand’s goals for 2021 was to remove those ingredients from their current and future formulas. Versed was specifically concerned about PEGs potential to harm aquatic life, as stated in this article.
Sustainability/Clean Benefits: Versed products are all formulated according to European Union standards, avoiding over 1,350+ toxins and questionable ingredients. Everything is free of artificial fragrance, parabens, sulfates, added phthalates, silicones, talc, BHA, BHT, micro beads and so much more icky stuff.
My favorite products: Keep the Peace Acne Calming Cream Cleanser and Day Dissolve Cleansing Balm (for makeup removal)
Where to buy: Versed online shop, Target, or Dermstore
7. Acure
Price: $10 – $20
Acure is an amazing, affordable non-toxic skincare brand for your skin and hair needs. They put their focus on clean and eco-friendly products that you can feel good about using.
Sustainability/clean benefits: Acure is completely paraben-free, sulfate-free, mineral oil free, petrolatum-free, formaldehyde-free, cruelty-free, and vegan.
Where to buy: Acure online shop, Target, and Sprouts Farmers Market
8. Derma E
Price: $8 – $37
Derma E is an affordable non-toxic beauty brand that offers effective skincare products formulated with the most potent natural antioxidants and targeted vitamin solutions.
Personally, I love when brands like Derma E make shopping easier on me. You can shop by skin concerns such as acne and scarring, discoloration and sun protection, dryness, fine lines and wrinkles, and oil control. Or, shop for collections like CBD Relief, Body Care, Sensitive Skin, Anti-Acne, and more.
Sustainability/clean benefits: Derma E has cultivated a “Refuse to Use List” of over 2,700 common ingredients that are toxic to both people and the environment. Their products don’t contain any of those ingredients to make sure they’re safe for everyone.
Their line of skincare is 100% vegan, cruelty-free, and doesn’t contain parabens, phthalates, sodium lauryl sulfates, petrolatum, mineral oil, artificial colors, gluten, soy or GMOs.
Where to buy: Derma E store, Target, Ulta, and Amazon
9. Honest Beauty
Price: about $13 – $30
Honest Beauty comes from founder Jessica Alba’s and her team’s desire to create clean, non toxic beauty products that are safe for us and safe for the planet.
Featuring affordable beauty products, baby products, and bath and body products, this brand is all about quality and sustainability.
Sustainability/clean benefits: Honest Beauty creates products according to the standard of their “NO List” –a list of over 2,500 chemicals/materials they choose to avoid in their beauty products.
The Honest Beauty site states, “[Our] NO List™ is made up of category-specific lists, because what causes a chemical/material to pose a risk is dependant on how and where it’s used.”
Basically, that means some ingredients may be used because they were evaluated and determined to be safe in a certain quantity, or when used for a specific purpose.
My favorite products: Stay Hydrated Hyaluronic Acid + NMF Serum
Where to buy: Honest Beauty online shop, Ulta, Target, Walgreens
10. Bliss
Price: About $8 – $27
When it comes to affordable, non-toxic skincare brands, Bliss is one of my favorites. They offer skincare, hair care and body care that’s effective, fun to use, and doesn’t cost a fortune.
Bliss also recently launched a new line called “Youth Got This” that features a retinol-rich serum and moisturizer to fight wrinkles and keep your skin looking young and supple.
Sustainability/clean benefits and concerns:
[UPDATE] Some Bliss products do contain PEGs, which are controversial as they are linked to contamination with ethylene oxide and 1,4-dioxane. Both of those ingredients are associated with cancer, but only in certain quantities. While Bliss is cleaner than many other skincare lines, they are not the cleanest so use at your own discretion.
All Bliss products are cruelty-free, free from more than 1,300 harmful ingredients, and 100% recyclable. Bliss World is free of parabens, SLS/SLES, added phthalates, formaldehyde or formaldehyde donors, triclosan, triclocarban, petrolatum, talc, NPE, BHA, BHT, plastic micro-beads and much more.
My favorite products: Block Star: Invisible Daily Sunscreen, Mighty Marshmallow Brightening Face Mask
Where to buy: Bliss World online store, Target
11. Pacifica
Price: $5 – $24
Pacifica is an affordable and eye-grabbing non-toxic skincare brand. You’ll probably notice this brand the moment you step into the Target beauty aisle.
One benefit of Pacifica is that they consistently drop new collections to keep you excited and interested in their brand, like their vegan collagen collection for skincare and makeup.
You can shop from their skincare, suncare, bodycare, haircare, and fragrance products for a wide variety of fun and effective self care items.
Sustainability/clean benefits: All Pacifica products are 100% vegan and cruelty free. Their products are formulated without SLS, parabens, sulfates, phthalates, mineral oil, animal testing, animal ingredients, peanut oil, and propylene glycol.
However, they do have some other ingredients like PEGs, so make sure to read the ingredients of every individual product to avoid other questionable ingredients.
My favorite products: CC Cream, Kale + Charcoal Detox Mask
Where to buy: PacificaBeauty online, Target, Ulta, Walmart
12. First Aid Beauty
Price: $16 – $70
While First Aid Beauty (FAB) is a bit pricier than some of the other affordable, non-toxic skincare brands on this list, it’s well worth the extra dollars. And, it’s still not as expensive as some other clean skincare brands.
FAB is the brand you want if you have sensitive skin that gets irritated or has lots of breakouts. Each of their products undergoes an allergy test and/or safety-in-use tests that are overseen by dermatologists.
They make sure that every product is safe for sensitive skin and clinically proven to solve your skin problems, rather than cause more issues like breakouts or redness.
Sustainability/clean benefits: First Aid Beauty is committed to clean, non-toxic skincare ingredients.
Their products are free of over 1,300 ingredients sketchy ingredients, including artificial colorants and artificial fragrances, parabens, ethanol, ethyl alcohol, denatured alcohol, methanol, N-Butyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, SD alcohol, lanolin, propylene glycol (PEGs), phthalates, mineral oil, petrolatum, formaldehydes, oxybenzone, coal rar, hydroquinone, triclosan, triclocarban, talc and sulfates.
Oh, they’re also 100% cruelty-free and PETA-certified.
My favorite products: Gentle Foaming Cleanser with Amino Acids
Where to buy: First Aid Beauty online, Ulta, Sephora
13. MeowMeowTweet
Price: $12 – $30
MeowMeowTweet is a vegan, cruelty-free personal care brand that offers products for everything from your face and body to your hair and pitties (arm pits). They make all their products in small batches, so you know you’re getting the highest quality and utmost care in your order.
Their facial products include cleansers, toners, facial oils, scrubs, facial soaps, repair creams and more.
Sustainability/clean benefits: All of MeowMeowTweet’s products are packaged in low waste containers such as glass, metal, or compostable paper. They’re a climate neutral and plastic negative company, so you can feel good about your impact on the planet when you make a purchase.
Where to buy: MeowMeowTweet
14. Ethique
Price: $15 – $30
Ethique is a highly sustainable and ethical brand known for their solid bar, personal care products. They offer hair care bars, body care bars, and skin care bars, in addition to solid deodorants.
In terms of skincare, you can choose from a variety of face cleanser bars, one scrub bar, and moisturizer sticks.
But I suggest sticking around online and checking out their hair care products as well.
Sustainability/clean benefits: Ethique uses only renewable ingredients and doesn’t use those that support industries driving the climate crisis.
Ethique products are vegan, certified cruelty-free and guaranteed to be free from palm oil and its derivatives by the Orangutan Alliance. They also work in partnership with Offset Earth to offset all their carbon emissions and are working towards climate positive status.
Their products must fit their 4 main criteria: No ingredients that have any health risk associated with them, ingredients must be sustainably and ethically sourced, they must be cruelty-free and vegan, and they must not contain palm oil or palm oil derivatives.
All Ethique products are free of synthetic fragrance, parabens, dimethicone, mineral oil, PEGs and much more!
Where to buy: Ethique online, Target
Conclusion to 13 Affordable, Non-Toxic Skincare Brands
That brings us to the end of my list!
I know that shopping for clean brands can be a huge hassle–trust me. I even had to slim down this post a bit as I did more research on brands that I thought were clean, but aren’t as clean as I believed.
That said, I hope this blog post on clean skincare brands showed you some amazing new brands that you can fall in love with. And, I hope this post proved to you that non-toxic skincare doesn’t have to cost a fortune.
Buying beauty products that aren’t a health risk should be an option that’s available to everyone! I don’t want you or anyone else to have to sacrifice quality, just because some brands are more expensive than others.
If you want my opinion, InnBeauty Project, Cocokind, Fleur & Bee, and the INKEY List are my very top picks from this bunch overall. In terms of quality, effectiveness, and clean ingredients, they’re killing it.
Related reading
Not sure where to go next?
Check out…
- My Non-Toxic Skincare Routine for Healthy Skin
- 6 Step Body Care Routine for a Natural Glow
- How to Have Clear Skin Naturally
- My Honest Kinder Beauty Box Review: Non-Toxic, Cruelty-Free Beauty
That’s all for today, friend.
Sending you all the love and good vibes,
