Welcome to my first Brand Breakdown! I’ll be deep diving into specific products and their ingredients within a brand to help you make more informed decisions. 

A little disclaimer before we get started: There is no definition of clean. Companies make up what they believe to be clean because there isn’t a regulatory requirement for someone to sell something that’s non-toxic. So, I have my own definition of clean! My 25 Toxins to Avoid List is how I’ll be basing my recommendations in Brand Breakdowns. You can download it for free right here to follow along!

Today, I’m breaking down Summer Fridays, a California-based skincare and hybrid makeup brand sold at Sephora. Their breakout product was a jet lag mask that everyone went crazy for. As someone who hates jet lag, I’m really hoping this product is clean! 

Let’s dive into this brand and its products together!

What I’m Looking For While Reading Labels

The first thing I look for is fragrance. I’ve talked a lot about how toxic and problematic fragrance is as an ingredient. This simple word could contain over 3,000 other ingredients, most of which are toxic. This is a super easy ingredient to spot and avoid while reading labels.

Next, I look for preservatives. If a product has water in it, a preservative is required to prevent mold and bacteria from growing. You don’t want to put mold on your face! Having a preservative is important for a product with water in it.

Does this product have ethoxylated ingredients? Ethoxylated ingredients are made with ethylene oxide, which is a carcinogen. The final version of these ingredients have trace amounts of 1,4 dioxide, which is also a carcinogen. These ingredients are on my Avoid List. 

How Clean is Summer Fridays?

They do use multiple ingredients on my Top 25 Toxins to Avoid List (but not the worst ones), and they also use a lot of petroleum-derived ingredients that aren’t on my Avoid List, such as:

• Synthetic wax
• Hydrogenated Polyisobutene
• Hydrogenated Poly (C6-14 Olefin)
• Liquid plastics like Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate and VP Copolymer

Liquid plastics aren’t known to be toxic to your face or skin on their own, but they do contribute to plastic pollution. When you wash them off your face, they go down your drain and into our water systems. They find their way into our aquifers and eventually into our drinking water, agriculture, plants, and food. We eventually consume them, and they accumulate in our bodies, brains, and organs. We don’t know the long-term consequences or health impacts. 

Because it doesn’t have primary health effects on your skin or known toxicity, it’s not on my Avoid List. However, liquid plastics have secondary health effects, so you should use them with caution.

Clean Summer Fridays Products

These are the products Summer Fridays sells that don’t have any ingredients on my Avoid List. I consider these products clean!

• Jet lag eye patches
• Jet lag overnight eye serum
• Jet Lag Skin Soothing Hydration Mist
• Rich Cushion Cream Ultra Plumping Moisturizer​
• Heavenly 16 All-in-One Face Oil
• Midnight Ritual Renewal Serum (While there are no products on the Avoid List in this, I personally avoid retinol.)

Summer Fridays Products with Toxins

These are the products I found that contain toxins on my Avoid List. For that reason, I wouldn’t use or recommend these products.

• Jet Lag Mask + Moisturizer – Polysorbate 60 Carbomer, PEG-Stearate, Phenoxyethanol
• Jet Lag Deep Hydration Serum – Propylene Glycol
• Cloud Dew® Gel Cream Moisturizer​ – Carbomer
• CC Me Vitamin C Serum – Polysorbate 20, Phenoxyethanol, Carbomer
• Light Aura Vitamin C + Peptide Eye Cream – Polysorbate 60
• Super Amino Gel Cleanser – Fragrance
• ShadeDrops® SPF 30 Mineral Milk Sunscreen​ – Phenoxyethanol and Chlorphenesin
• Sheer Skin Tint – Isohexadecane and Phenoxyethanol
• Lip Butter Balm – BHT, fragrance and depending on the color, contains petroleum derived synthetic dyes like Red 6 (CI 15850), Red 28 Lake (CI 45410).
• Dream Lip Oil​ – Depending on the color, contains petroleum-derived synthetic dyes (like Red 7 Lake (CI 15850) and Blue 1 Lake (CI 42090)

Phenoxyethanol is on my Avoid List, so it isn’t an ingredient I like to see in products. However, it’s one of those middle-of-the-road ingredients. It’s the lesser bad of all the bad preservatives out there.

Overall: Clean-er Than Conventional

Summer Fridays has some amazing, clean products that I’m excited to try out! However, they aren’t a truly toxin-free brand, so follow this breakdown and carefully read the labels of new products before purchasing. Download my free Avoid list to help you catch toxic ingredients in products!

Do you have a Brand Breakdown request? Send me a message on Instagram, and it might just be my next feature!