A guest article from the wonderful girls at Kosmos w Słoiczku. It discusses the topic of natural cosmetics, their definitions, safety, eco-friendliness, and the link to veganism and cruelty-free status. The article also addresses certification issues, natural and synthetic ingredients, as well as the impact of cosmetic production on the environment. You will also find links to reviews that Ada and Olga wrote after testing our products. These are extremely valuable opinions written by two girls – cosmetic industry insiders – with different, extreme skin types. Over to the girls!
Natural cosmetics – what does that actually mean?
Natural cosmetics were a niche group of products not so long ago. Today, they are somewhat of a requirement, and their popularity continues to grow. Are natural cosmetics better than conventional ones? Does natural mean safer? Can all products in this group be considered eco-friendly? Let’s find out!
What does a natural cosmetic mean?
Exactly! It would seem to be the basic question we should answer in such considerations. And here arises the first and fundamental problem. There is no such thing as a legal definition of a natural cosmetic.There are several private organizations that provide certification according to their own guidelines. You are surely familiar with labels such as NaTrue or ECOCERT. More about the requirements met by products with these labels can be found in our pre-vious post -"Cosmetic product certificates part II - natural, organic."
The latest attempt to categorize natural products is the introduction of the ISO 16128 standard. ISO – International Organization for Standardization – is an independent, international, and non-governmental standardization organization. The ISO 16128 standard refers to cosmetic ingredients. This regulation established the definition of natural raw materials and those of natural origin. Natural ingredients can be obtained from plants, animals, microorganisms, and minerals using physical processes or fermentation, but without chemical modification. On the other hand, ingredients of natural origin are those that are 50% derived from natural sources, obtained by chemical or biological methods with the intent of chemical modification. Thanks to the ISO 16128 standard, we can determine the so-called naturalness index, which is why packaging increasingly features declarations like "90% ingredients of natural origin." This regulation also defines the organic nature of ingredients, where we can also determine its level using an index.
Every organic cosmetic will also be natural, but not every natural one will be organic.
Can we only consider cosmetics with certification as natural?
Let's say it loud and clear – NO! Obtaining NaTrue or ECOCERT certification involves huge costs, audits, and a lot of "paperwork." Not every manufacturer, especially those at the beginning of their journey, can afford such procedures. A cosmetic may meet all the requirements of NaTrue or ECOCERT but not have the logo on the packaging simply because they didn't pay for its use. This does not mean it is "less natural" in any way. Having the logo of specific certification bodies on the packaging gives us certainty that the cosmetic meets certain requirements. If we don't have these types of labels, we simply have to verify the level of naturalness ourselves.
A good example here is the brand Söppö, which clearly communicates why you won't find the logos of well-known certification bodies on their packaging –"Precisely because certificates cost money that we could have allocated to better formulations, more thorough testing, and higher-quality raw materials. Instead of buying a seal that confirms what is already written on the packaging according to the law, we decided to lower the cost of cosmetics to the lowest possible level given such rich compositions full of valuable raw materials in high concentrations."
If you would like to explore their range, we invite you to the website soppocosmetics.com. You can find our subjective feelings from using these products here, here and here.
Naturalness declarations and the law.
Since certificates shouldn't be our only indicator, how do we know what is natural and what is not? We must remember that EVERY cosmetic is subject to the same regulations. All products must comply with EU Regulation 655/2013, which states that all claims must be legal, truthful, and supported by evidence. You can find more on this topic in our article –"Marketing claims – empty slogans?!".
In practice, this means that if a manufacturer declares "90% natural ingredients," they must have evidence for it. The ISO 16128 standard, which is free, helps us specify these issues greatly.
However, we warn you against catchy marketing slogans such as "green" or "environmentally friendly." It is very difficult to prove their validity here because does green refer to the color? How do you confirm "greenness"? Does "friendly" mean likeable? Unfortunately, the law – and not just in cosmetics – has many "gray areas," so look primarily for specifics and remember that you can always contact the manufacturer with a request for clarification.
Are natural cosmetics safer?
There is no such thing as a safer cosmetic. The same product may prove extremely effective for one person, while it may cause allergies and irritation for another. ALL cosmetic products, if they are placed on the market in accordance with applicable law, must meet the same requirements. The safety assessment and the requirements of the State Sanitary Inspection do not distinguish between natural and synthetic products. All must be subject to exactly the same rules.
Remember that even ECOCERT allows the use of 5% synthetic ingredients, and conventional raw materials will never go out of use completely. If you are prone to allergies, you must also remember that extracts, distillates, or essential oils are multi-component mixtures. It's harder to achieve 100% product consistency here, as they may contain more or fewer impurities depending on the harvest. Additionally, their multi-component nature can be a cause of allergies. A good example here is chamomile, where in the form of an extract it has much higher irritant potential than synthetically derived bisabolol, which is a component of chamomile and the main ingredient exhibiting anti-inflammatory effects.
Natural ingredients can cause irritation and allergies just as much as synthetic raw materials.
Are natural cosmetics eco-friendly?
Very often, cosmetics that declare their naturalness are more eco-friendly because it goes hand in hand with their brand concept; however, THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE. This also raises the question: what does eco-friendly mean? In terms of packaging, it is assumed that glass containers are more eco-friendly. This is true because glass is the only material that we can recycle an infinite number of times, BUT transporting glass packaging carries a larger carbon footprint due to its greater weight. Often, it's also a matter of safety. Can you imagine a glass container for shower gel? You take a glass bottle with a wet hand while standing barefoot in the shower; if the bottle just slips, an accident is guaranteed... Plastic packaging will stay with us for longer whether we like it or not. It is worth paying attention to whether the material is recycled and whether it is recyclable. Increasingly, we can also find boxes produced, for example, from corn, which are suitable for disposal in bio-waste bins. It is worth noticing and appreciating such details.
Glass packaging can be recycled an infinite number of times, but due to its greater weight, its transport generates a larger carbon footprint.
Here again, a good example isSöppöwhere cosmetics are packed in bottles made fromrecycled HDPE material, and the cardboard boxes are made from certified paper. You can find their products at soppocosmetics.com
Very often, the production of natural ingredients itself is less eco-friendly than the production of synthetic raw materials. In the case of extracts, for example, we must consider that to obtain them, we need plants that grow on hectares of fields. To obtain land for cultivation, forests and other green areas are very often cleared. Every plantation also requires heavy watering, which involves the use of hectoliters of water, and often artificial fertilizers. All of this, unfortunately, has a negative impact on our ecosystem.
Are natural cosmetics always vegan and cruelty-free?
Once again, they very often are, because it fits the brand concept, but THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE. Vegan products do not contain ingredients of animal origin or animal-derived products. You won't find dairy products, animal waxes like beeswax, honey, or carmine – an intense red dye derived from insects. When it comes to vegan declarations, certification bodies like The Vegan Society and Viva! also help here. You can read more about this in the article - "Cosmetic certificates part I – vegan products"
Yes, just like with certificates certifying "naturalness," in the case of vegan products, using the logos of all the above associations is paid. However, this does not mean that products without labels are not vegan.
When it comes to animal testing, this is a separate topic that has nothing to do with the "naturalness" of a cosmetic, as is often mistakenly assumed. We remind you that since 2004, testing of products and cosmetic ingredients has been banned in the European Union. However, these regulations do not apply in all countries outside the Union, but that is a topic for a separate article.
If you are looking for cosmetics that respect animal rights to the extent that they even use their image on their packaging, we invite you once again to soppocosmetics.com
Summary...
The entire aspect of the naturalness of cosmetics is an extremely complex subject. Because there is no clearly standardized definition, the question arises: what do we consider naturalness? For us, this topic should certainly be considered in a broader context than just the use of natural ingredients. We should increasingly pay attention to the ecological aspect and look for confirmation of the declared actions of manufacturers toward caring for our environment. Naturalness itself should not be the main driver of our purchasing choices. We have many cosmetics on the market produced in an ethical manner and with respect for nature, yet not necessarily positioned as natural products – for example, due to the use of synthetic ingredients. However, this is in no way inferior. Remember that every skin is different and needs individual care. Naturalness continues to be a trend of sorts and does not definitively influence the effectiveness or greater safety of use.
