Natural cosmetics. How to identify them?

Organic, ecological, bio, natural? It is easy to get lost in the cosmetic jungle. What are the advantages and drawbacks of natural cosmetics? How to tell which is which? The marathon through the drug store shelves will be easier with the below guide.

The healthy food and eco products trend affects our cosmetic shopping as we more and more look for natural versions. These have many benefits:

• contain exclusively natural ingredients;
• skin adjusts to it fast;
• no animal ingredients,cause way fewer allergic reactions;
• safe for us and the environment.

However, you need to know that natural cosmetics have also their flaws. The most vocal are voices saying that the issue is short expiry date, that these are difficult in use (you have to be extra careful not to contaminate it) and that these are expensive (unless you decide to do it yourself). Nonetheless, these are minor obstacles in the face of an immense number of advantages natural care has.

NATURAL COSMETICS, WHICH ARE THOSE?

Natural cosmetics can be differentiated into ecological and organic. The second one involves more restrictive norms. Natural cosmetics stand out mostly with the content of many vegetable and mineral components. These do not contain synthetic substances nor those proven to be harmful (out of the list of banned ingredients created accordingly to the standards of global organisations). On top of it, natural cosmetics production is based on physical methods, like, drying, pressing, cream or filtration and the packaging itself is usually also ecological.

Main ingredients. How to tell the difference between natural and standard cosmetic?

In natural cosmetics are mostly:

• fats in form of vegetable oils (not the mineral oils),
• vegetable wax, e.g. rice or animal like lanolin (not the mineral wax),
• herbal distillates (not the water as the 90% of the composition),
• vegetable emulsifier (not PPG and PEG),
• emollients in form of vegetable oils (not the silicone and synthetic components),
• essential oils as an aroma (not the synthetic fragrances),
• acid and salts as preservatives (not the paraben and artificial preservatives),
• mineral filters (not the chemical filters).

The substances that are forbidden for natural cosmetics are, among many, animal ingredients from dead animals (e.g. mink oil, animal collagen), vegetable and animal ingredients that were genetically modified, fragrances and synthetic colourants, glycol and its forms, but also ingredients obtained in the process of crude oil distillation.