The Rose Standard: How We Choose What Touches Your Skin
Every bottle on our shelves and every jar in our treatment rooms had to earn its place. Not because a label said “clean,” but because we read it, lived with it, and would trust it on our own skin.
Why ours is stricter than a store's
A shop is where you try a tester. A spa is where our Roses breathe, touch and apply products all day, client after client. So we hold everything to the standard we'd want for the people working with it hour after hour. If it's safe enough for them, it's safe enough for you.
What earns a place here
Would we wear it ourselves? We read every ingredient list against the list below and the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics' Red List.
Does it actually work? Our team lives with a product for weeks, across different skin types and skin tones, before it ever reaches you.
Who made it? We look for small, independent makers whose values sound like ours. For some of them, Lena Rose was their very first shop.
Can we tell you its story? Once it's on our shelf, we'll share who made it and what's inside. Ask any Rose; we love this part.
What you'll never find here
The short version: if it's on this list, it doesn't come through our door.
- Parabens
- Phthalates, often hidden inside "fragrance"
- Synthetic or undisclosed fragrance: if a brand won't tell us what's in its scent, we pass
- Formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives
- PFAS ("forever chemicals")
- Triclosan and triclocarban
- Oxybenzone and other hormone-disrupting UV filters
- Heavy metals: lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium
- Talc
- Hydroquinone, resorcinol and coal tar
- Toluene
- BHA and BHT
- Sodium lauryl and laureth sulfate
- PEG compounds and other ingredients that can carry 1,4-dioxane
- Ethanolamines (DEA, TEA, MEA)
- Methylisothiazolinone and methylchloroisothiazolinone
- Mineral oil and petroleum-derived fillers
The science keeps moving, and so does this list. When the evidence on an ingredient changes, we change with it.
Our own House Line
The scrubs, butters and oils we make by hand in small batches in our Naperville lab are held to the same standard, and they're what we use in your service. Shop the House Line.
Come see for yourself
Curious about an ingredient, or what's going on your skin today? Ask. We'd love to share what we know. Book at Lincoln Square · Book in Naperville