Organic Beauty Products - Au Naturel or No?
When it comes to choosing beauty products, are you mindful of the ingredients that are printed on the label? More and more people are flocking to all-natural or organic beauty products. But what does that mean - natural and organic?
According to USDA, organic means food and plants that are grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms, or ionizing radiation. The product that is label by the USDA also meets certain requirements as well.
Here is a list that can clear up some confusion.
• 100% Organic - contains 95% organic ingredients and carries the USDA organic seal.
• Made with organic ingredients - contains at least 70% organic ingredients. This cannot carry organic seal.
• Organic or certified organic - minimum 95% of content, excluding salt and water, is organic by weight. These products also have the USDA organic seal.
• Less than 70% organic - can only list the organic products its made with on ingredient list. This cannot carry organic seal.
• EcoCert - process includes a rigorous inspection by European certification body accredited to guarantee products are at least 95% organic.
There is a difference between organic and natural. By definition, natural means the product was created from botanical sources without additives or preservatives. There has been no regulation on what is natural and what isn't. Companies have been prone to label their products natural when they contain one or 2 natural ingredients. However, there is now an organization that governs these companies about using the term 'natural'.
The Natural Product Association has lobbied and succeeded to add guidelines to products that claim to be 'natural'. Since the wave of natural products is high and will probably continue to increase, some companies are tying the natural name to their products. Without regulations, these companies rely on the consumer not checking the ingredients.
Natural Product Association will begin regulating natural products in the summer of 2008. For the first time, you will be able to see if your natural products carry the seal of approval. Here are some of the new guidelines that the Natural Product Association has laid out for natural products:
• Product must be made up of at least 95% truly natural ingredients or ingredients that are derived from natural sources.
• No ingredients with any potential suspected human health risks.
• No processes that significantly or adversely alter the purity/effect of the natural ingredients.
• Ingredients that come from a purposeful, renewable/plentiful source found in nature (flora, fauna, mineral).
• Processes that are minimal and don't use synthetic/harsh chemicals or otherwise dilute purity.
• Non-natural ingredients only when viable natural alternative ingredients are unavailable and only when there are absolutely no suspected potential human health risks.
Some beauty training schools have even started using all-natural products . Future estheticians are learning early that these products are good for their clients as well as for the Earth. Through esthetics training , students can learn about some of the natural products out there and the benefits from using them.