Being Frenshe is not a fully “non-toxic” brand, though its products are free from some of the most commonly flagged ingredients in personal care. The Environmental Working Group rates most Frenshe products as moderate hazard, with at least one product receiving a high hazard score. The brand is cruelty-free and vegan, but it does use synthetic preservatives and fragrances that some consumers prefer to avoid.
How Frenshe Products Score on Safety Databases
The EWG Skin Deep database, one of the most widely used tools for evaluating cosmetic safety, lists several Frenshe products. Most fall into the moderate hazard category, including popular items like the Soothing Body Serum Stick in Palo Santo Sage, the Glow On Perfume Oil in Cashmere Vanilla, and the Multi-Tasking Body and Scalp Scrub in Lavender Cloud. Data availability for these products is rated “fair,” meaning EWG had enough ingredient information to assess them but not complete data on every component.
One product stands out: the Hair, Body, and Linen Mist Body Spray with Essential Oils in Bergamot received a high hazard rating. That’s the most concerning score on EWG’s scale and suggests the ingredient combination in that particular formula carries more potential risk than the rest of the line.
A moderate hazard rating doesn’t mean a product is dangerous to use. It means some ingredients have flagged concerns in research, whether for potential skin irritation, allergenicity, or environmental impact. But it also means Frenshe isn’t in the same tier as brands that earn consistently low hazard scores across their entire product line.
What’s Actually in the Products
Looking at the ingredient lists, Frenshe uses a preservative system built around phenoxyethanol and ethylhexylglycerin. This combination is extremely common in personal care products marketed as “clean” because it avoids parabens, which many consumers want to steer clear of. Phenoxyethanol is a synthetic preservative that prevents bacterial growth in water-based formulas. EWG gives it a low hazard score of 2 out of 10, though it does flag concerns for skin and eye irritation and moderate concerns related to use restrictions in some countries.
Ethylhexylglycerin, the other preservative booster, also scores a 2. It doubles as a skin-conditioning agent and has similar low-level concerns around irritation and allergenicity. Neither of these ingredients is considered high-risk by mainstream toxicology standards, but they’re also not what most people picture when they hear “non-toxic.” They’re synthetic chemicals doing a necessary job: keeping bacteria out of products that contain water.
Frenshe products also contain fragrance, which is one of the biggest gray areas in personal care. The brand uses essential oils in many formulas, but essential oils themselves can be irritating, especially citrus-based ones like bergamot (which likely contributes to that high hazard score on the body spray). Whether fragrance comes from synthetic or natural sources, it can trigger reactions in people with sensitive skin.
Cruelty-Free and Vegan Status
PETA lists Being Frenshe (manufactured by Maesa) as cruelty-free, confirming that neither finished products nor individual ingredients are tested on animals. The brand’s suppliers and third-party manufacturers follow the same no-animal-testing standard. All Frenshe products are also vegan, meaning they contain no animal-derived ingredients.
These certifications are verified by PETA directly, which makes them more reliable than brands that simply claim cruelty-free status on their packaging without third-party oversight.
What “Non-Toxic” Actually Means for Personal Care
There’s no regulated definition of “non-toxic” in the beauty industry. The FDA does not require cosmetic brands to prove safety before selling products, and terms like “clean,” “natural,” and “non-toxic” have no legal meaning. A brand can use any of these labels without meeting a specific standard.
In practice, most consumers searching for non-toxic products want to avoid a handful of ingredient categories: parabens, phthalates, formaldehyde releasers, sulfates, and synthetic fragrances. Frenshe avoids several of these, which is why it’s often grouped with “clean beauty” brands at retailers like Target. But it still uses synthetic preservatives and fragrance components that stricter definitions of non-toxic would exclude.
If your priority is avoiding the most commonly criticized chemicals in personal care, Frenshe is a step in a cleaner direction compared to conventional drugstore brands. If you’re looking for products that score consistently in the low hazard range on EWG or carry an EWG Verified seal, Frenshe doesn’t currently meet that bar. The brand sits in a middle ground: cleaner than average, but not the cleanest option available.
Which Frenshe Products Are Safest
Based on EWG data, the body butters and serum sticks tend to have simpler formulas with fewer flagged ingredients than the sprays and mists. Spray products disperse fine particles that can be inhaled, which generally raises the hazard profile of any formula, even if the same ingredients would be lower risk in a lotion or balm. The bergamot body spray’s high hazard score likely reflects both the inhalation risk and bergamot oil’s known potential for skin sensitization, especially with sun exposure.
If you want to stick with Frenshe but minimize risk, choosing leave-on products like body butters over spray formats is a practical move. You can also check individual products on EWG’s Skin Deep database before buying, since hazard scores vary across the line.