Is there a difference between Natural and Organic Skincare?
What parents need to know when choosing skincare for their babies
A baby's skin is 5 times thinner than an adults and experts are saying that up to 60% of what is put on a baby's skin can be absorbed into the bloodstream within minutes of application! So why take any chances with the products you put on your precious baby's skin, babies really need very little and the best thing to do is to keep things as natural as possible. Read on for our top tips in choosing truly natural or organic skincare for your baby.
What's the difference between traditional commercial products and natural or organic skincare
Just because a product says its "natural" doesn't mean that it's made of only natural ingredients.
Commercial non-natural skincare contain synthetic chemicals as thickeners and fillers to make lotions smooth and creamy, to make bath products bubbly and give products a longer shelf life.
These synthetic chemical ingredients can be potentially harmful to baby, irritating baby's delicate skin and even contributing to skin conditions such as eczema, and certainly harm our planet. Whereas natural and organic products use naturally derived ingredients that promote cell growth and skin rejuvenation and generally don't include these synthetic chemicals.
Organic products are regulated, to be certified organic a product must conform to standards set by an official organisation - generally these include production standards for sourcing, storage, processing, packaging and shipping that include, avoidance of most synthetic chemical inputs. Natural products are not regulated - this is where understanding labels is really important.
Avoid the 'greenwashing'
Many traditional commercial products are cashing in on the rise of demand for natural and organic skincare, creating products that they claim are "natural and/or organic", yet they still contain one or more potentially harmful chemicals one would have thought would not be present in a natural product. However, Current Australian trade regulations state that only 1-5% of ingredients need to be natural for a product to be labelled as such. So the onus is on the consumer to know how to read labels so they can choose the product they want.
Understanding labels
Current labelling laws require ingredients to be labelled in order of volume, so the first ingredient that you see (often water) makes up the largest part of the product, with the final ingredient being the smallest quantity. Unfortunately, when reading the labels of many commercially available products with 'natural' claims you'll find that the natural ingredient features near the end, following a long line of chemical sounding names. Basically the manufacturers have added one or two natural ingredients, (often in minimum quantities) to a synthetic base product, so they can use the word 'natural' when labelling the product.
Choosing the right product
Whether you are looking for an organic product or perhaps a less expensive natural alternative the following top tips should help you to choose the right product.
Top Tips for Choosing natural or organic baby skincare:
Buy your skincare from reputable retailers - there are many organic and eco stores around (mostly online); truly organic stores have done the research for you and will be stocking only reputable natural and organic skincare.
If it sounds like a chemical it probably is - all ingredients need to listed, some natural ingredients have complicated sounding names as ingredients need to be listed by their true names not common names, for example sunflower seed oil will be labelled as helianthus annuus but this should be followed by the common name in brackets i.e., (sunflower oil)
Avoid products that contain the following known skin irritants:
Sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) and sodium laureth sulphate (SLES)
Parabens and other synthetic preservatives
Mineral oils
Petrochemicals
Artificial colours
Artificial fragrances
Also avoid Ingredients tested on animals or Animal derived ingredients they are unnecessary and cruel.
If you are looking for an organic product manufacturers who use organic ingredients want you to know as this is their selling point, so if the product is not 'certified organic' but contains high levels of organic ingredients this will be stated on the labelling, for example "contains 98% certified organic ingredients"
If you are looking for a certified organic product this should be clearly labelled on the product.
Certifying bodies include:
NASAA
ACO
ECOCERT
And finally, trust your instincts, some babies can have reactions to natural ingredients as well like essential oils such as lavender, if your baby does have sensitive skin a fragrance free formulation may be the best option.
What parents need to know when choosing skincare for their babies
A baby's skin is 5 times thinner than an adults and experts are saying that up to 60% of what is put on a baby's skin can be absorbed into the bloodstream within minutes of application! So why take any chances with the products you put on your precious baby's skin, babies really need very little and the best thing to do is to keep things as natural as possible. Read on for our top tips in choosing truly natural or organic skincare for your baby.
What's the difference between traditional commercial products and natural or organic skincare
Just because a product says its "natural" doesn't mean that it's made of only natural ingredients.
Commercial non-natural skincare contain synthetic chemicals as thickeners and fillers to make lotions smooth and creamy, to make bath products bubbly and give products a longer shelf life.
These synthetic chemical ingredients can be potentially harmful to baby, irritating baby's delicate skin and even contributing to skin conditions such as eczema, and certainly harm our planet. Whereas natural and organic products use naturally derived ingredients that promote cell growth and skin rejuvenation and generally don't include these synthetic chemicals.
Organic products are regulated, to be certified organic a product must conform to standards set by an official organisation - generally these include production standards for sourcing, storage, processing, packaging and shipping that include, avoidance of most synthetic chemical inputs. Natural products are not regulated - this is where understanding labels is really important.
Avoid the 'greenwashing'
Many traditional commercial products are cashing in on the rise of demand for natural and organic skincare, creating products that they claim are "natural and/or organic", yet they still contain one or more potentially harmful chemicals one would have thought would not be present in a natural product. However, Current Australian trade regulations state that only 1-5% of ingredients need to be natural for a product to be labelled as such. So the onus is on the consumer to know how to read labels so they can choose the product they want.
Understanding labels
Current labelling laws require ingredients to be labelled in order of volume, so the first ingredient that you see (often water) makes up the largest part of the product, with the final ingredient being the smallest quantity. Unfortunately, when reading the labels of many commercially available products with 'natural' claims you'll find that the natural ingredient features near the end, following a long line of chemical sounding names. Basically the manufacturers have added one or two natural ingredients, (often in minimum quantities) to a synthetic base product, so they can use the word 'natural' when labelling the product.
Choosing the right product
Whether you are looking for an organic product or perhaps a less expensive natural alternative the following top tips should help you to choose the right product.
Top Tips for Choosing natural or organic baby skincare:
Buy your skincare from reputable retailers - there are many organic and eco stores around (mostly online); truly organic stores have done the research for you and will be stocking only reputable natural and organic skincare.
If it sounds like a chemical it probably is - all ingredients need to listed, some natural ingredients have complicated sounding names as ingredients need to be listed by their true names not common names, for example sunflower seed oil will be labelled as helianthus annuus but this should be followed by the common name in brackets i.e., (sunflower oil)
Avoid products that contain the following known skin irritants:
Sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) and sodium laureth sulphate (SLES)
Parabens and other synthetic preservatives
Mineral oils
Petrochemicals
Artificial colours
Artificial fragrances
Also avoid Ingredients tested on animals or Animal derived ingredients they are unnecessary and cruel.
If you are looking for an organic product manufacturers who use organic ingredients want you to know as this is their selling point, so if the product is not 'certified organic' but contains high levels of organic ingredients this will be stated on the labelling, for example "contains 98% certified organic ingredients"
If you are looking for a certified organic product this should be clearly labelled on the product.
Certifying bodies include:
NASAA
ACO
ECOCERT
And finally, trust your instincts, some babies can have reactions to natural ingredients as well like essential oils such as lavender, if your baby does have sensitive skin a fragrance free formulation may be the best option.
Victoria Crombie is a mother of 2 preschoolers, a Biologist with Masters Degree in Health Promotion and owner of an online Organic & Eco-Friendly Mother and Baby Store http://www.downtoearthbaby.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Victoria_Crombie
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