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Natural cosmetics?
Last reviewed: 08.07.2025
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On many labels of modern cosmetic products you can now see the inscription "completely natural" (or "all natural" in the case of foreign cosmetics). Such marking invariably attracts the consumer's sympathy to the cosmetic product - after all, in the minds of most people "natural" means "safe" and "useful" (which is very strange, considering how many plants in nature are poisonous and how many living creatures are dangerous to humans). Apparently, man's desire for natural cosmetics embodies his longing for nature, from which he is increasingly moving away, and fear of the side effects of synthetic drugs (as well as ubiquitous carcinogens), and faith in the healing powers of nature - the last hope of all sufferers.
Meanwhile, not everyone understands which cosmetic ingredients are natural, what should be included in natural cosmetics, whether “natural” is always better than “synthetic” and how realistic it is to create completely natural cosmetics.
Natural and organic products which in 2000 the US Department of Culture defined organic products as "products grown without the use of pesticides, growth stimulants, mineral fertilizers and other substances that may have a negative impact on human health". It is expected that in the near future in the US will be formulated and legislatively enshrined a certain organic cosmetics.
The situation with the term "natural" is much worse. Cosmetic companies can interpret it as they please, and they are not obliged to prove the naturalness of their products. Therefore, in principle, a cosmetic company can use the term "natural" even if only one ingredient in its cosmetics is natural. For example, if it contains natural beeswax or natural essential oils. Moreover, even in relation to one ingredient, the meaning of the word "natural" can be different.
It could mean:
- A substance obtained from natural sources.
- A substance obtained from natural sources and not significantly modified.
- A substance obtained from natural, unpolluted sources, containing no artificial additives (pesticides, growth stimulants, mineral fertilizers), not significantly modified, and well compatible with the skin. Most often, consumers mean the last group of substances by natural cosmetics. At the same time, they want all components of cosmetics to be natural.
Therefore, from the consumer's point of view, a completely natural cosmetic product should contain:
- Vegetable oils instead of silicones, petroleum jelly, fatty acid esters, etc.
- Natural polymers (eg hyaluronic acid, chitosan) instead of synthetic thickeners, natural emulsifiers (proteins, phospholipids, free starches) instead of synthetic emulsifiers, essential oils instead of fragrances, natural antimicrobial agents (benzoic acid) instead of synthetic preservatives.
- Plant extracts, natural vitamins and other components instead of synthetic analogues.
The question arises: is it necessary to replace all the ingredients of cosmetics with natural ones only for marketing reasons or will such cosmetics actually be more useful and safe?
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