Natural and Organic Skin Care – Why You Should Pay More Attention to
Having an organic skin care routine is essential. The contemporary lifestyle brings a lot of challenges for our skin. Our faces are constantly exposed to sun rays and free radicals, smoke and pollution, poor diet, and stress, resulting in sun damage and skin aging.
To diminish the negative effect of all these things, we tend to use a lot of skincare products. But, these products are often filled with preservatives, toxins, and petrochemicals that can have a havoc impact not only on our skin but on our health and even the environment.
That is why many people have started to pay more attention to what their products contain and to give advantage to skin care lines that are labeled as ‘natural’ or ‘organic’. But, these terms often add more confusion than clarity.
We’ll try here to explain what the USDA organic label actually means and why it is important that you pay attention to what exactly goes onto your skin.
What Is a USDA Organic Certified Ingredient?
If you have made a decision to use only clean skincare that won’t harm yours or your loved ones’ health, you may run into many obstacles. Numerous skincare lines out there proudly claim on their labels that the products are all-natural. However, there are practically no regulations of what the term “natural” actually means.
However, a label that you can rely on is USDA Certified Organic. USDA oversees the National Organic Program (NOP), whose regulations include a definition of “organic”. Based on the way an ingredient has been produced, handled, and processed, they decide whether it can or cannot be classified as organic.
Based on the percentage of organic ingredients in a cosmetic product, their labeling standards recognize 4 different categories:
- 100 % organic: Excluding water and salt, the product can contain only organically produced ingredients. This category of these pure organic products can display the USDA Organic Seal.
- Organic: Products that contain at least 95 % organically produced ingredients, excluding water and salt, may also display the USDA Organic Seal.
- Made with more than 70% organic ingredients: This category of products cannot display the USDA Organic Seal. However, they can list up to three of the organic ingredients on their label.
- Made with less than 70% organic ingredients: If they contain more than 30% of non-organic ingredients, products cannot use the term “organic” at all. They can only identify specific ingredients that had been USDA-certified as organic.
Why Natural and Organic Ingredients Matter?
So, why is all of this important? Well, mainly because our skin acts like a sponge and absorbs a great deal of what you put on it. That means that all the nasty chemicals the product contains inevitably end up in your body.
Unfortunately, many products these days contain ingredients that were linked not only to skin-related issues (such as sensitivities, irritations, and allergies) but even to severe health issues. And all of us use more products on a daily basis than we are really aware of – an average woman uses 15 – 20 cosmetic products every single day! It’s important to check the full ingredient list of the skin care products you are using, such as facial cleansers, facial oil, facial serum, body oil, makeup removers, etc.
Even if a product contains only small amounts of harmful chemicals, it is easy to see how fast they can accumulate on your skin. That is why it is important to try and use natural organic-certified products as much as possible.
Some of the natural ingredients you find in natural skincare include organic rosehip oil, aloe vera, avocado oil, botanical active ingredients, shea butter, coconut oil, etc.
Natural Skin Care vs. Petrochemical-Based Skin Care
Using only natural (truly natural) cosmetics with natural ingredients is a great way to avoid putting on your skin many nasty substances, such as petrochemicals.
Petrochemicals are chemicals obtained from petroleum and natural gas. They are present in almost any type of product you can think of, that you use all the time. They can be found under many different names (such as benzene, propylene, ethylene, xylene, butadiene, etc.), which makes it nearly impossible to identify and avoid them all.
Petrochemicals are added to so many products, mostly to extend the shelf life, improve the texture and spreading ability on the skin. However, they can cause much more damage than good on the skin. They can dry out the skin, irritate it and even clog pores. Therefore, organic skin care products are a much better choice.
But, it is much scarier what petrochemicals can do to our health. They act as endocrine disruptors, which could potentially affect the central nervous system and even cause cancer.
All of this is more than good enough reason to try and avoid them as much as you can and to rely on a third party, such as USDA, to evaluate the product before adding it to your shelf.
When you choose products from any beauty brands, skincare brands and makeup brands, carefully look at the products ingredient list and make sure they are organic and natural.
Benefits of Natural and Organic Skin Care
So, here are some of the main benefits you can get by opting for clean, organic beauty products:
- First things first – nourish organic skincares are much safer for your health. By avoiding cosmetics that are full of chemicals, you also reduce the possibility of cancer, poor immune system, hormonal imbalance, and many other health issues.
- Organic cosmetics are also much less likely to cause skin irritations, inflammations, and sensitivities, or to harm the skin in any way. Natural beauty helps achieve healthy skin.
- Organic ingredients are full of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, active botanicals, etc. They nourish your skin and have many positive impacts on its health and appearance.
- Contemporary organic cosmetic products are just as effective in dealing with numerous skin problems as their traditional alternatives. Long ago, organic skin care products used to be of a lower quality than chemicals-based cosmetics. But, that is not the case with newer formulations.
- They are much gentler on the skin and more suitable to treat sensitive skin, as well as severe skin conditions, such as atopic dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, etc.
- There are indications that regular usage of preservatives, fillers, and artificial scents and colors can speed up the skin aging process. But, you can avoid this by using products with certified organic ingredients.
- Finally, unlike traditional cosmetics, organic products are safe for everyone around you, including people, animals, and the planet.
Choose An Organic Skin Care Brand
Laloirelle® offers organic and natural skin care that are rich in nutrients and vitamins. Choose your clean beauty products from Laloirelle‘s skin care regiments:
Related articles about healthy skin care tips:
An In-Depth Guide to Identify Your Skin Type
Linoleic Acid Benefits for Clear and Soft Skin
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Sources:
Thrive Global: Why Organic Skin Care?
Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve: Why We Believe In Natural, Organic Skin Care
Skin Care Ox: 40 Best Organic Skin Care Brands of 2020: The Ultimate List
The Good Trade: 15 Best Natural & Organic Skincare Brands For That Perfect Pure Glow