So, you see this product from your favorite Instagram vendor and it claims to be a natural organic product and you buy it because, I mean natural, organic and “has no chemicals” would sound like safe, right?
I get really confused when people come marketing their homemade-now-commercially-sold skincare products to me saying “it’s organic” or “it’s natural” another famous claim is “there are no chemicals in this one”.
But, the question is, what really is organic, what is natural? Do these terms even mean safe? Is it possible to have a product that’s chemical free?
When people (read: Nigerians) say organic products, I make a silly joke in my head about Carbon and Hydrogen compounds but I doubt that’s what they mean, I also doubt they know what they mean.
The term “organic” means that the ingredients used in a product must have been grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, Genetically Modified Organisms or ionizing radiation. If animal products, the animal wouldn’t have been given antibiotics or any growth hormones.
Before a product can be certified “organic”, an approved certifier inspects the farm where the plant is grown to make sure the farmer meets all the necessary standards.
So, who certified your product “organic” lmao.
Does the term organic even mean safe?
Sometimes no. I mean, it depends on a lot of factors.
An Ingredients source doesn’t determine its safety, because it could be organically grown but still be toxic or allergenic. The term “organic” is merely a marketing claim it says nothing at all about the formulation ethics et al.
Does organic mean natural?
This is really simple.
No.
Organic doesn’t mean natural.
Many people believe that natural products are better for their skin and there’s currently no scientific evidence to back that up. A lot of companies add one or two “natural” ingredients and brand a product “natural” and said product ends up being bad for your skin. Worse still, there’s no body that regulates these claims, which means in reality, anyone can stick “Natural” on their product.
And because a product contains synthetic ingredients doesn’t make it bad.
Let’s note that I’m not saying that there are no natural products that are good for the skin, but, seeing a product as safe or effective just because of the tag “natural” can be very misleading, especially with the rise of Instagram Skincare vendors.
In my opinion, natural would mean anything occurring in nature; Iron, air, water, plants, sand…the list goes on.
When next someone gives you a lotion with the claim natural, think twice, ask questions.
Very related to this, I wanted to try out a formulation and I needed lecithin, I met a vendor who asked me to use egg yolks for it because “it’s a natural alternative”.
Ugggh.
Another point here is that, Natural products might not be as effective as their synthetic counterparts, because the latter are modified to function even better, last longer and withstand many environmental factors.
Also, there is no product that doesn’t contain chemicals. I know the word chemicals sounds scary but a chemical is any substance that consists of matter in solid, liquid or gas form. There are natural occurring and Artificially made chemicals. This means that your favs, water and air are also chemicals so would you run away from them too? What you should stay away from is harmful/toxic chemicals that would harm your skin like Lead, Formaldehydes, mercury, Chloroform and many more.
You can check the FDAs list of prohibited cosmetic ingredients if you want to be thorough.
I’m almost sure you didn’t know this, you are welcome.
The Chemist. 