Posts Tagged ‘makeup’

An Introduction to Organic Skin Care

Many people are confused by the term organic skin care. Generally, we have an idea that organic things are good for us. Most of us do not have a good definition for the word organic, though. We tend to assume that organic skin care is good simply because it is natural. While this is true in part, there is far more to organic skin care than simply natural ingredients. To get the most out of buying organic skin care, you need to know how to read the ingredients properly.

The law says a product can be labeled “organic” if it has 95 percent organic ingredients. Things that contain carbon are considered organic. It follows that a product that contains 95 percent carbon-based ingredients can be considered organic. When it comes to skin care, this means a product full of petroleum can still be labeled organic. Take methylparaben, a suspected carcinogen – it is carbon-based and present in many skin care products. It is pretty certain that when you think “organic skin care” you are not thinking of crude oil derivatives that might give you cancer. As a result, you need to be very careful to reconcile your interpretation of organic skin care with the legal definition before you buy.

In order to get organic skin care that meets your requirements, take some time to think about what you want. Most people are just looking for natural, unaltered ingredients. (You will have to allow for a minor amount of preservatives and processing compounds present for health reason.) Traditionally, most people think organic products are related to “green” products. They want to be sure that their investment did not hurt the environment.

The best way to be sure that you are getting the type of product you want is to simply read the label. Look for compounds that have been derived from other things. For example, say you spot “Cocamide-DEA derived from coconut oil.” You might assume this compound is organic because it is derived from a natural substance. Turns out, processing this compound cannot occur without using a known carcinogen. In reality, derived ingredients are seldom organic in the sense that most of us use the word.

You can also factor in water content when evaluating how organic a product is. For example, if a product’s main ingredient is water (and most times it is) and a product is labeled 75 percent organic, then most of that organic volume can be attributed to water. Generally speaking, organic skin care products should be totally organic or not labeled organic at all.

The benefits of using truly organic skin care products are immense. Your skin is a natural organ, and as such can derive great benefit from natural elements. However, in order to get true value from organic skin care, you need to understand how to spot the “good stuff” and how to spot a wolf in organic clothing.

This information provided as a courtesy of http://www.BeautyCtr.com, America’s leading source of free, unbiased information and reviews about health and beauty products.