Are Natural, Organic Skin Products Really Better For You Or Is It Just Clever Marketing?

People are making an effort to be more eco-friendly in all areas of their life, including the skin products that they use. In the last few years, a lot of new organic, natural products have entered the shops, but are they really worth it? 

Let’s look at the facts, and get to the bottom of this often tricky situation.

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You might wonder whether these natural products are actually better for you or whether it’s all good marketing. This is a tricky issue because, in some cases, there are problems with greenwashing. This is when companies use marketing tricks and packaging to present products as being all-natural and better for you and the planet. But in reality, these products are no different from any other products you find.

However, the good news is there are plenty of great natural skin products out there and if you do your research you can easily find them. The question is, are they really worth it?

Here are 6 reasons why you should use organic and natural skin products. 

Reason #1 Less Exposure To Chemicals

Exposure to chemicals is one of the big reasons why natural products are becoming so popular. Traditional cleaning products and cosmetics are filled with all sorts of different chemicals and we don’t always know what the long-term impact of these will be. 

Unfortunately, people don’t always see the chemicals in skin products as an issue. But what you have to remember is that anything you put on your skin is absorbed into your body to some extent. So, if you wouldn’t feel comfortable breathing these chemicals in or eating food that contains the chemicals, you should think twice about using a skin product that contains that ingredient. 

Exposure to chemicals on the skin’s surface is a problem too. Just because a product is made for your skin, that doesn’t mean that it will only bring positive benefits. Some skin products contain chemicals such as ammonia or alcohol, for example, and these can dry your skin out and cause redness.

But if you look for brands like aesop that use only natural ingredients, your skin will be healthier. Natural ingredients will nourish and heal your skin, and the products don’t contain any harsh chemicals that could actually make your skin issues worse. 

Reason #2 Improved Skin Microbiome

Bacteria gets a bad rep and people always associate it with illness. But there is actually a lot of healthy bacteria inside your body and on your skin, and it has a very important role to play in health.

Although the research is fairly new, we are already beginning to understand how gut bacteria can impact your weight, your digestion, and even your mental health. There is also a lot of research into the microbiome on your skin and how a good balance of bacteria can keep your skin healthy. 

When you use products that are filled with a variety of harsh chemicals, these can kill off good bacteria and upset the microbiome, ultimately leading to skin problems. Products like alcohol are particularly bad for this. Skin care products with natural ingredients tend to be much kinder to the skin and they are less likely to damage good bacteria on the skin. 

Reason #3 Problems With Testing 

The regulations around testing skin products have many loopholes. Although animal testing was banned on the 1st July 2020, the other rules around how products should be tested are very lacking. For instance, companies do not need to apply for a license of any kind before they start manufacturing cosmetics. They are also not required to submit products to any kind of government agency for testing before they hit the market. Guidelines about what information has to be included on the label are also very basic. All of this means that when you buy skin products, you can’t always tell exactly what is in them and how safe the ingredients are. 

Companies understand that it’s bad business if their products cause serious skin irritation or allergic reactions, so it’s likely that some testing will be carried out. But there are no guarantees and it’s less likely that they will consider the long-term health effects of the ingredients they use. 

When you use natural products, the ingredients used are far more likely to be safe. We know that coconut oil or citrus isn’t going to cause you problems because we eat these. So, even though a lot of standard skincare products will be safe, using natural, organic alternatives is the best way to be sure that the ingredients are good for you. 

Your health and wellness go far deeper than what’s on the surface. Delve deeper and look and what supports the growth of your health and wellness. Look beyond the surface and find what makes you feel gorgeous.

Tricia Leanne Snell

Reason #4 Reduced Impact On The Environment

Trying to live an eco-friendly lifestyle is so hard these days because it seems like everything that you buy has an impact in some way. People often start with the big things like driving less or changing their diet. But if you are really dedicated, you should take a look at your skin routine too. 

The ingredients that are used in your skin products are washed away and they go down the sink. So, they end up back in the water supply and leak out into the surrounding environment. Therefore, if you use products that are packed with a lot of man-made chemicals, you could be doing more damage to the environment. The manufacturing process for a lot of these ingredients can also cause damage to the environment. 

Packaging is a big issue too. Plastic is one of the biggest environmental challenges we face right now and finding products that are packaged in eco-friendly ways is a good way for you to make a positive contribution. Skin products with natural, organic ingredients don’t necessarily have environmentally friendly packaging and many of them will use plastic. However, if a company is already focused on creating natural products, they will be more likely to give the same attention to the packaging. 

Then there’s the use of animal products in cosmetics too, which has an environmental impact. More people are deciding to go vegan because of the impact of animal products. Many traditional products still use animal products like gelatin and tallow, so if you want to be more ecologically responsible, you should look for vegan products. 

But you need to be careful about the products you choose. Just because something uses natural ingredients, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s eco-friendly. You also have to consider how those natural ingredients are grown and whether they use a lot of pesticides etc. That’s why you should always research brands to make sure that they are dedicated to sustainability at every stage of the process. 

Reason #5 Healthier Fragrances 

When you put a product on your face, you want it to smell nice. The problem is, a lot of chemical-based skin products do not have a nice natural smell. So, manufacturers will put a lot of fragrances in there to cover the smell and make the products more pleasant. Unfortunately, if these fragrances are chemical-based, they can be irritating to the nasal passage when you breathe them in. 

The good news here is that there are plenty of natural fragrances that can be used instead. Things like vanilla, cucumber, almonds or cocoa butter all smell great, and they are far less likely to cause irritation. So, why use chemicals to mimic these smells when you can use the real thing? 

The answer is you don’t need to, but you may need to consider people with sensitive skin. That being said, any kind of fragrance can be irritating, so if you have sensitive skin, it might be better to avoid fragrances altogether. 

Reason #6 Easier Allergen Management 

Anybody that is prone to allergies needs to be careful about what they put on their skin. Natural ingredients can cause an allergic reaction just as much as man-made chemicals. However, natural products make it easier to identify allergens because the ingredients are simpler. But people often get caught out by traditional products because they don’t recognize the ingredients. For instance, you might not have heard of a product, so you assume that you’re not allergic to it. The reality though is that you may have a reaction to the product because it is derived from an ingredient that you have an allergy to. 

So, if you are prone to allergies, you might be better off sticking with natural products because you know where you stand, and identifying ingredients is far easier than with man-made products.

How To Find The Right Natural Products 

As you’ve discovered, natural products have a lot of benefits. But you need to be able to identify the good ones from the ones that are just well packaged and cleverly marketed. To do this follow these steps:

Step #1 Check the ingredients list of the product you’re looking to use. This quick check is the best place to start because you can get a sense of what is actually in your skin products.

Step #2 You need to know more about where the ingredients come from. So, do some research into the brand and find out what their values are. If they give a lot of information about how the ingredients are sourced and their dedication to sustainability, that’s a great sign. 

Step #3 You should pay attention to how ingredients affect your skin. Remember, you’re using these products in the first place to improve your skin health. If something irritates you or dries your skin out, you shouldn’t keep using it just because the packaging says it’s organic. 

As long as you follow these steps, you can find the right natural skin products to improve your health and protect the environment. It’s a win, win situation and it makes you feel better in more than one way.