knowledge grows, synthetic is becoming obsolete. Part of our goal is to teach people that you do not
need synthetics to have great, effective cosmetic treatments and great skin.”
Shades of Green Beauty
It’s not uncommon to find labels such as “organic,” “hypoallergenic,” and “cruelty-free” attached
to your favorite skin care products. But when you buy green cosmetic products, it’s hard to tell
whether the word “organic” on a label is a genuine claim. Green claims sound reassuring, but you
should be warned that too often they have little, if any, meaning. More often than not, closer
inspection reveals that such products contain minuscule amounts of organic herbs, and the rest of the
bottle is filled with preservatives and chemicals. The advice in this chapter will help you understand
which natural cosmetics on the market really are what they claim to be and which are hyping their
products as something they’re not. Here are some tips that may help you buy green products that are
truly green, not just colored green with synthetic dyes.
Organic
Variations: 78 percent organic ingredients, made with organic ingredients and contains organic
extracts.
Some people see organic as a way to reduce the environmental load on Mother Nature. To poetic
natures, organic is a return to cosmic harmony and natural rhythms of the universe. Others would
rather support a local farmer and shop for local seasonal produce instead of buying organic kiwis
shipped on an airplane from New Zealand. The rest—the majority of shoppers—would buy organic
because they look for products that contain no harmful chemicals such as preservatives, colorings, or
pesticides. Chemical-free, grown in natural conditions, packaged without preservatives, and bursting
with more nutrients and vitamins: this is what organic means to us when it comes to food.
As defined by the U.S. National Organic Standards Board, “Organic agriculture is an ecological
production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles and soil
biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that
restore, maintain and enhance ecological harmony.” This means that plants used in organic beauty
products are minimally processed without artificial ingredients, preservatives, or irradiation.
“Certified organic” means that an ingredient or the whole product has been grown or produced
according to strict government-enforced organic agricultural standards and verified by an approved
third-party organization. There are many independent organic certifying organizations. Their
standards include the following: no synthetic chemicals, pesticides, or fertilizers; no sewage sludge;
no genetically modified organisms; and no animal testing of ingredients or completed products.
Organic ingredients must be grown without fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, or genetic twisting, and
processed using natural methods, without chemical ripening. Animals raised on an organic farm must
be fed organic feed and given access to the outdoors. They should never be given antibiotics or
growth hormones. It’s impossible to organically certify water and salt, although many food
manufacturers go to extra lengths and use water from springs that flow on organically certified soil.