by Admin
27. February 2008 10:27
Sales of natural/organic skincare, hair care and cosmetics items reached the $6 billion mark in 2006.
Are green cosmetics actually healthier than their synthetic counterparts?
For the most part, what's going into today's cosmetics is very similar to the past. Companies are linking the raw materials to the plant derivative. The labeling is different, but the actual ingredients are the same, or very similar. Previously, a product might have 'ascorbic acid' listed, now it will say 'grapefruit rind.'
Dr. John Bailey, chief scientist at the Personal Care Products Council (
http://www.personalcarecouncil.org/), a trade association for the cosmetics and personal care products industry, offers the following tips for consumers who are making the switch to green cosmetics:
"Natural products use some or all ingredients that are obtained from nature (usually botanical sources, but sometimes mineral). There is an effort to avoid the use of ingredients that are artificial or chemically manufactured.
Organic products take natural a step further by avoiding the use of things like chemical fertilizers or pesticides. The term "organic" implies additional steps to demonstrate the absence of specified substances, via a variety of private and government-certified programs."
The term Natural or Organic does not mean chemical free, but it does mean that wherever possible the ingredients are obtained from natural as opposed to chemical sources. The balance of the ingredients may be different with higher quantities of naturally sourced materials and the use of chemically sourced material minimised.
Taken from an article that originally appeared on commercialappeal.com