Ambrosia Services

Natural Beauty Or Not?

POSTED: 4:28 pm PDT July 18, 2006

UPDATED: 9:33 am PDT July 19, 2006

SAN DIEGO -- It's being called the "green movement" in makeup, but a Mother Nature makeover may not be as organic as is seems.

It's one of the cosmetic industry's most-profitable campaigns ever, but critics are wondering if health and environmentally conscious consumers are getting greener makeup.

Most women know exactly what they want in their makeup, and these days what they want is the nearly $5 billion in natural and organic makeup sold in the U.S. last year.

"Organic makeup is becoming more and more popular," makeup artist Doris Lew-Jensen told NBC 7/39.

But is organic makeup really organic? No is the answer NBC 7/39 got from just about every cosmetic professional that was consulted about the question.

"The whole package can't be totally organic," Lew-Jensen said. "It does have to have chemical ingredients in it, because otherwise the makeup wouldn't last as long -- the preservative alone would counteract anything that's organic."

David Bronner, the president of Doctor Bronner's Magic Soaps, an industry gold standard in natural and organic skin care products since 1948, warns buyers to beware of organic claims.
"The only way you can know it is if you have a USDA seal or certified label on a product," said Bronner.

NBC 7/39 could only find a seal of organic authenticity on lip balms.

"It's really hard to find '100 Percent,' because most makeup -- they have to have some type of preservative in there so it doesn't create bacteria in the product," said Janet Little of Henry's Farmer's Market

None of the makeup NBC 7/39 found at natural food stores or online actually claimed to be 100 percent organic; instead, most claim to be a "natural" product.

" 'Natural' can have only 10 percent of the product -- maybe of Vitamin A in it -- and the rest can be synthetic, and they can call it natural," said Little.

A very popular brand of from Europe called Doctor Hauschka Cosmetics firmly stands by its organic claims, saying, "All of our products are organic and biodynamic certified according to strict European standards. We've never had a complaint about the quality or performance of our ingredients."

Biodynamic certification, says the Organic Consumer Association of America, has tougher restrictions than USDA labeling of cosmetic products.

"The essential oils and herbs that may be used in the makeup are taken from organic producers," said dermatologist Nancy Satur
Satur said "organic" can be good.

"Pesticides are not present, and synthetic chemicals are minimized -- in general, that's a good thing," said Satur. "It's a positive thing for the world, for waterways and for our own bodies and complexion."

Still, Satur warned that Mother Nature makeovers can sometimes be less than congenial.
"Poison oak is organic," said Satur. "It's natural, so I think some consumers perhaps mistakenly believe they will never become allergic or irritated by an organic makeup -- but that's not necessarily so."

The Organic Consumer Association told NBC 7/39 that new state guidelines similar to the strict ones that now govern U.S. organic food products will be applied to cosmetics companies in the coming year.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FREE articles about self-help, self improvement, wellness, holistic health, and fitness. To see our full line of e-Books visit: www.ebooks4selfhelp.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

posted by Cheryl Levesque @ 1:26 PM