| Organic skin care is becoming big business. When | | | | So effectively methylparaben can legally be |
| you are choosing skin care, personal care and | | | | labelled as organic. Now, it is worth noting that a |
| cosmetic products, you should become a label | | | | recent study reported traces of methylparaben in |
| detective. This is the only way to ensure you | | | | human breast cancer tumours. |
| purchase honest and truly natural and organic skin | | | | The second definition of organic is, "The |
| care products. | | | | sustainable system of agriculture that uses natural |
| # 1: Learn To Read Product Labels | | | | substances & methods to create healthy nutrient |
| Be aware of the Rule Of Thirds: | | | | rich and fertile soils" |
| The top third of the ingredients label generally lists | | | | # 4: How much water is in the product? |
| the ingredients that comprise around 90-98% of | | | | In personal communication with a leading industry |
| the product. Most of this is usually water. Read on | | | | expert, I was told what can actually be meant |
| to find out why this matters! | | | | when companies put '73% Organic' on their labels. |
| The middle third generally represents | | | | Basically manufacturers can place a few organic |
| approximately 5-8% of the product. | | | | teabags in a vat of water and let them infuse into |
| The bottom third represents around 1-3%. | | | | the water. |
| # 2: 'Natural' skin care is not always natural. | | | | Because the water constitutes 70+ percent of |
| There are two definitions of the world natural. | | | | the overall product, the manufacturer is allowed |
| The dictionary definition: "Existing in or, formed by, | | | | to claim that the product is 73% organic at the |
| nature". | | | | top of the label (remember # 1 in this article?). |
| The cosmetic industry definition: "Any ingredient | | | | If you removed the water, the actual organic |
| derived from a natural substance". | | | | content of those fancy herbal infusions would |
| Manufacturers commonly use the world 'natural' | | | | probably be less than 0.05% of the total product. |
| on labels to deceive consumers. For example, | | | | # 5: Be aware of inconsistent labelling standards |
| "Cocamide-DEA derived from coconut oil". | | | | In some countries, ingredients that are not |
| Cocamide-DEA may well be from coconut oil, but | | | | allowed in certified organic foods ARE allowed in |
| a synthetic chemical called diethanolamine is used | | | | certified organic personal care and cosmetic |
| in the extraction process. It is known to cause | | | | products. This represents a lack of continuity or |
| cancer. An ingredient is not really natural if it has | | | | consistency in labelling standards. |
| been processed in this way. | | | | How can food and cosmetics products have the |
| # 3: Organic doesn't mean what you think. | | | | same certified organic logo when ingredients that |
| An organic certification on a product label is the | | | | are allowed personal care and cosmetics are not |
| only way to guarantee the integrity of a product. | | | | allowed in food? Remember that if it's on your |
| The definition of certified organic is as follows: | | | | skin, you're drinking it! |
| "An independent third party guarantee of an | | | | # 6: Miracle ingredients don't exist |
| organic claim". | | | | Vitamin C, vitamin E, coenzyme Q10, active |
| Always look for a logo that guarantees the | | | | copper and other ingredients may be touted as |
| product's integrity. | | | | miracle ingredients. The fact is that there is no |
| Certified organic products must contain a | | | | miracle ingredient for the skin or hair, just as |
| minimum of 95% organic ingredients excluding | | | | there is no magic pill for curing illness and disease. |
| water and salt/minerals, with a small allowance for | | | | The quality of the skin is a function of feeding the |
| natural, non-organic ingredients that must comply | | | | body and skin high quality nutrients over time and |
| with very stringent processing criteria. | | | | keeping the toxin levels of the body as low as |
| There are two definitions of organic: | | | | possible. |
| Organic chemistry is concerned with substances | | | | When you use high quality, certified organic |
| that contain carbon. Carbon is present in all living | | | | products, ALL the ingredients are active. They are |
| things. Legally, the cosmetics industry is allowed to | | | | ALL beneficial and they all feed the skin. |
| label any product that contains carbon as 'organic'. | | | | # 7: If it harms lab animals it will harm you! |
| So if it contains petrol, it is organic. | | | | If you read books by Dr Sherry Rogers, M.D, you |
| Methylparaben is derived from petrochemicals, | | | | will discover that in order to give a rat cancer or |
| which are derived from crude oil, which is derived | | | | Parkinson's Disease, it is injected with some of |
| from living matter. It is a widely used | | | | the very same chemicals that you will find in your |
| preservative in organic skin care products such as | | | | cleverly labelled organic skin care, personal care |
| body creams, body wash and deodorants: | | | | and cosmetic products. |