Natural Skin Care Products

What Are Natural Skin Care Products?

According to the Food and Drug Administration, there is no legal definition for "natural" as pertains to natural skin care products.

The term natural implies that ingredients are derived from extracts of plants and animals instead of being synthetically produced. Still, according to the FDA, "There is no basis in fact or scientific legitimacy to the notion that products containing natural ingredients are good for the skin."

Instead of trusting the label that says "natural," the FDA advises that you look at the ingredients for any product you are thinking about using. That will tell you a lot about what is in the product and whether it contains something that could cause a reaction for your skin.

Other common labels on these products include:

• Hypoallergenic: This label implies that the ingredients will not cause an allergic reaction, but there is no legal substantiation to this claim.
• Noncomodegemic: The ingredients will not clog pores.
• Fragrance free: The product is lacking in perceptible odor, though fragrance may be added to something labeled fragrance free to eliminate an unpleasant odor from other ingredients. Check the label.
• Alcohol free: Traditionally, this means no ethyl alcohol, but there are many other alcohols now used in cosmetics and skin care products.
• Cruelty free: This label implies no testing on animals. However, it may just mean that the finished product was not tested on animals. Many individual ingredients have been tested on animals at some point.

Shopping Tips

Reading the label is the most important thing you can do when shopping for natural skin care products. If you shop online, find out as much as you can about the company you are buying from and the ingredients in any product you are considering before you buy. If you are trying to prevent allergic reactions, you will probably end up buying different products than those who are most interested in buying products that have not been tested on animals.

Determine the reason you are shopping for natural skin care products and search for products that are labeled with that particular emphasis.

Product Ingredients

You would expect natural skin care products to include only ingredients derived from plants and sometimes animals. For instance, clay is a popular ingredient in masks for clearing up acne because of its drying properties. But, how do you know that what you're getting is all natural, especially when there are chemical names in the ingredients list?

Some companies are very open about what is natural and what is not in their products. Burt's Bees products show a percentage of natural ingredients included in the product. The numbers are often very specific; for example, their royal jelly eye cream is 94.2 percent natural. The company explains that some things can't be made naturally. For example, vitamin E is wonderful for the skin but unstable in nature.

To learn more about natural skin care products, check out the wonderful glossary of natural ingredients at Herbal Luxuries. If something in the product you are considering isn't on the list, odds are you're looking at a product that isn't 100 percent natural.

If You Still Have Questions

All cosmetic and natural skin care companies these days have websites with product information. However, if you can't find the information you need online, you can contact the company's customer service by phone or e-mail. They should be happy to help a potential loyal customer find out all the information she needs. If they aren't, or if you aren't satisfied with their answers, shop elsewhere. It's your skin; you know what is best for it. Happy shopping!