Are We Any Closer to Understanding the Natural vs Synthetic Beauty Regime
Recent news from the Soil Association highlights further concerns regarding the beauty industry and the number of harmful chemicals found in beauty products labelled as 'organic' and 'natural' or 'nature inspired'.
According to the Soil Association, ingredients often found in antifreeze, floor cleaner, oven cleaner or car oil and ingredients banned in children's food and toys are making their way into non-certified beauty products labelled as organic or natural due to a lack of industry regulation.
The Soil Association believes consumers are being misled and is calling on the health and beauty industry to use terms like ‘organic and ‘natural’ accurately or not at all.
It is wrong that people are putting chemicals found in antifreeze, paint, oven cleaner and floor cleaner on their skin, when they thought they were buying a product made from only natural or organic ingredients. This must stop.
There is a lot of confusion about organic health and beauty products and the Soil Association is always happy to give advice to producers and retailers. To try and help tackle this problem, we are coordinating a national Organic Beauty Weekend on the 7th and 8th of September. The Soil Association will be organising a range of taster and sample sessions with some of the UK's most significant organic health and beauty brands, producers and retailers. We would be delighted to hear from other producers and retailers who would like to join in.
Peter Melchett, Soil Association policy director
The only way consumers can be sure they are buying a genuine organic beauty product is to look for an official certification label. Under Soil Association standards, to use the word organic in the product name, a product must contain over 95% organic ingredients, excluding water.
For more information visit www.soilassociation.org
Natural vs Synthetic
What this article highlights is the lack of correct labelling and how this misleads consumers who think they are buying what they believe to be 'natural' or 'organic' products.
Many people are now opting for natural ingredients in their skincare and beauty products yet there appears to be little evidence to suggest that natural products are any better than their synthetic equivalent.
It is a personal choice as to whether you want the natural ingredient or the synthetic equivalent in your skin beauty products but it is also wise to remember that just because an ingredient grows out of the ground or is found in nature it doesn't make it automatically good for skin; and the reverse is also true, just because it is synthetic it doesn't make it bad.