With the lack of government regulation, the words “natural” and “organic” on personal care product labels mean little nowadays. Companies are taking advantage of consumers’ trust in organics and profits are skyrocketing as these products explode on the market. Products listed as “organic” or “natural” may list several botanicals on their labels but only contain a few drops of one or two highly processed plant extracts along with many synthetic chemicals that are linked to cancers, reproductive defects, and hormone dysfunction.

The skin is the largest organ in the body and because of its substantial surface area, it has a greater potential than the stomach to absorb dangerous chemicals and pass them on in the blood stream. Therefore, we need to make sure the products we rub into our skin are just as whole and pure as the food we eat. This means making sure to choose ingredients that are certified USDA “100 percent organic” for use in foods. The United States Department of Agriculture in 2002 began enforcing a national set of standards governing the term “organic” in food products

What Does USDA “100 Percent Organic” Mean?

In order to be labeled “100 percent organic,” foods must contain only organically produced ingredients. To be labeled as simply “organic,” foods must consist of 95 percent organically produced ingredients. To carry the label “containing organic ingredients,” the food must have 70-95 percent organically produced ingredients. Organic food is made without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation. The same law doesn’t apply to personal care products, but since the government won’t protect us in this area, this is the best rule of thumb to follow.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit research and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., focused on safeguarding public health and the environment,  has provided an online database entitled Skin Deep that provides safety information and ratings of 14,841 name brand personal care products and the 7,093 ingredients that form them.

Structure of Organic Skin Care Products: Organic vs. Synthetic

EWG has provided TerrEssentials, a manufacturer that makes personal care products with 100 percent certified organic ingredients, with safety ratings that reflect a very low concern for safety in their products’ usage. The following are TerrEssentials’s guidelines for choosing healthy, organic ingredients:

1. Emollients - the liquid substances (oils) that provide barriers to moisture loss, preventing the drying of the skin.

• Organic: Certified organic oils include those that are cold-pressed from fresh fruit, seeds or nuts to preserve beneficial nutrients necessary to optimal human health. Cold-pressed oils and natural waxes have been used for thousands of years on humans.
  • Examples: Almond oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, hazelnut oil, jojoba oil, olive oil, palm oil, pumpkin seed oil, safflower oil, sesame oil sunflower oil, tamanu oil, wheat germ oil, beeswax, cocoa butter, and  karate butter (shea butter)
• Synthetic: These emollients are modern chemicals which are created through the usage of fossil fuels, under high pressure and with temperatures as high as 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit for a duration up to 12 to 14 hours. At these high temperatures, the vital ingredients in the product are often destroyed. These conditions are needed to split the natural vegetable oil molecules and create a new molecule not found in nature. This often requires carcinogenic catalysts or agents in the manufacturing process.
  • Examples: Castor oil, cottonseed oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, pomace-grade olive oil, and rice bran oil.

2. Surfactants - certain substances (soaps) that clean the surface of liquids and have the property of being attracted to both water and oil. Many have a negative charge and are created with unnatural petrochemical plastics to prevent static electricity.

• Organic: Natural soaps are surfactants and are made from a combination of vegetable oils. Plant saponins are high in natural surfactants. Soaps, however, must be made under carefully controlled conditions and are not created in nature, making them technically synthetic through the process of crafting them. However, vegetable oils and plant saponins make them more natural than their detergent based counterparts.
  • Examples of Certified Organic Oils: Almond, cocoa butter, coconut oil, hemp seed, jojoba, olive, palm, safflower, shea nut, and sunflower.
  • Examples of Certified Organic Plant Saponins:  Soap bark, soap berry, soapwort, and yucca.
• Synthetic: Commercial soaps are typically made with slaughterhouse tallow from cattle or even euthanized cats and dogs. They are often made in combination with synthetic foam boosters that create the illusion of a rich, luxurious product.
• Examples: Ammonium lauryl sulfate, cocamine DEA or MEA, lauramide DEA, sodium lureth sulfate, sodium stearate, and gluceral stearate.

3. Extenders and solvents- serve the purpose of extracting plant herbs and botanicals and come in a diluted, dissolved form.

• Organic: The most natural solvent is water, which humans have used for years to make soups and teas. As time went on, humans learned that through the process of putting their plants and herbs in fermented alcoholic beverages, they could preserve the product for a longer period of time. Today the most effective herbal extracts are still made from organic alcohol.
• Examples: Water, organic spirits (organic grain/grape/potato alcohol).
• Synthetic: Many companies today looking for a cheaper and quicker method use toxic synthetic solvents to extract herbal extracts. Often chemical residues are left on the final product. Some of the most common include hexane, acetone, and methanol, which are not only toxic to handle and ingest, they also pollute the environment.
  • Examples:  Acetic acid, and glycerine, propylene glycol, ethyl butyl acetate, hexane, methanol, and  butylene glycol.

4. Thickeners and stabilizers - make a product thicker and stabilize an emulsion, which prevents oil and water from separating.

• Organic: Natural and organic thickeners may be botanical or mineral in origin and are approved by the USDA for use in organic foods.
  • Examples: Locust bean gum, guar gum, acacia gum, and clay minerals.
• Synthetic: These are made from the cheapest synthetic formulations and marketers often mislead the public to believe a thicker product means it’s richer and more luxurious.
  • Examples: Carbomer, cocamide DEA, MEA, hydrolyzed wheat protein, hydroxypropyl cellulose, oat protein, soy protein, xanthan gum, and potassium stearate.

5. Emulsifiers - allow oils and waxes to float freely in water without merging together and separating.

• Organic:
  • Example: Lecithin.
• Synthetic:
  • Examples: Acetylated lanolin alcohol, carbomer, ethyl acetate, polysorbate, sodium lauryl sulfate, stearyl alcohol, triethanolamine (TEA), sorbitan stearate, and emulsifying wax.

6. Colorants - found in cosmetics and hair dyes and the majority of the FDA-approved coloring agents for foods and personal care products are synthetic.

• Organic: These are non-chemical fruit and vegetable extracts. However, the FDA has not approved these botanically based colorants.
• Examples: Annatto, beets, blueberries, caramel, carrot powder, chamomile oil, elderberries, grape juice, paprika, raspberries, red cabbage, saffron, spinach powder, tomato powder, and tumeric.
• Synthetic: These colors derive primarily from coal tar and mineral based colors that are created under high energy to refine the mineral and they are typically toxic, mainly known for being carcinogenic.
  • Examples: Aluminum lakes, astaxanthin, carmine, azulene, canthaxanthin, D&C colors (all), FD&C colors (all), iron oxides, titanium dioxide, ultramarine, and zinc oxide.

7. Fragrances -add a pleasant scent to the product, making the product aesthetically pleasing.

• Organic: These are derived from the highest quality essential oils and are certified organic. The safest, most common essential oils are those used in foods.
• Examples: Atlas cedar, bay laurel, chamomile, cinnamon leaf, clove eucalyptus, geranium, ginger, juniper berry, lavender, lemon, lime, orange, patchouli, peppermint, petitgrain, pine, rosemary, spearmint, tea tree vanilla, and ylang ylang.
• Synthetic: Since there is no regulation of the phrases “essential oils” or “natural fragrances,” cosmetic manufacturers are free to label a petrochemical “replica” of an essential oil as natural. Fragrances often mean a formula of many chemicals blended together.
  • Examples: Amyl acetate, anisole, apple fragrance, banana fragrance, berry fragrance, bitter almond oil, cinnamic acid, coconut fragrance, honeysuckle fragrance, lilac fragrance, melon fragrance, plum fragrance, peach fragrance, and strawberry fragrance.

8. Preservatives - maintain the stability of the product and shelf life, while  preventing bacteria growth.

• Organic: These are real, organic essential oils and herbal extracts that our bodies recognize and can process safely. They are easily extracted and meet the National Organic Programs’ standards for organic food processing. Herbal extracts are made from organic grain alcohol and have been used as natural preservatives for thousands of years.
• Examples: Botanical resins, essential oils, herbal extracts, honey, grain or grape alcohol, salt, and sugar vinegar.
• Synthetic: Chemical preservatives are created in acidic or alkaline environments. Synthetic preservatives are known to cause contact dermatitis, be environmental pollutants, and contain parabens that are can be endocrine disrupters, often found in breast cancer tumors.
  • Examples: Asorbic acid, benzyl alcohol, butyl/ethyl/methyl paraben, salicylic acid, chloramines, diazolidinyl urea, isopropyl alcohol, sorbic acid, chloramines,  and chlorobutanol.

Sources: Environmental Working Group (EWG); TerrEssentials, “The Healthy Person’s Guide to Personal Care Ingredients”; and the USDA, National Organic Program.