Cosmetics directly from mother nature
Natural cosmetic is something beautiful. Vegetable agents, which were used already by ancient healers to alleviate skin irritations, are as well part of it as essential oils of the Orient, which fascinated Alexander the Great, or herbal extracts, once used by medicine men of the Maya to make the most diverse salves. That is what makes natural cosmetics so unique: its ingredients are vegetable and the knowledge of their effectiveness has been inherited from one generation to the other. Our time has the great advantage, that we can just use macadamia nut oil from Brazil’s rainforests as easy as Australian tea tree or extracts of the African baobab. While traditional medicine used the different plants based on century-old knowledge, we have today technical means that prove plant’s effectiveness in a scientific way. High hygiene standards avoid germ formation. Conventional anti-ageing research has analysed skin ageing processes so deeply, so that makers of natural cosmetics now can systematically counteract skin ageing just by combining vegetable agents, without applying synthetic components. And there is more in natural cosmetics: no animal testing is done to check new agents for adverse reactions.
The origin of professional natural cosmetics
The pioneers of natural cosmetics – mostly owner-managed middle-sized companies – have developed natural cosmetics on vegetable basis for years now. Long before the arrival of the natural cosmetics boom their products was available in organic products and food markets and health food stores. The self understanding of these companies regarding how to work with nature did not need any guidelines or legal requirements. Natural cosmetics were mostly made for own needs. Due to the rising demands, higher volumes were produced later. The unconditioned abdication of animal testing and the targeted use of plants and herbs were deeply nested attitude in the owner’s minds. Since the end of the 1990’s German consumers decide more and more often for organic products. The growing demand for natural food automatically led to a rising demand for pure cosmetics.
Natural cosmetics, organic cosmetic, nature cosmetics
Many people who buy natural cosmetics think they buy organic cosmetic. But this is not true, as organic cosmetic is not a protected term. Each manufacturer is, in a given framework, able to create own definitions without being held accountable by the legislator. In the food sector things have developed further. The German “Bio” signet can only be put on products that have been produced according to strict and detailed production standards, whose compliance is checked and controlled without prior notice. Many German organic food producer organisations like Demeter, Bioland and Naturland put the hurdles even higher. For example, an additional feeding with conventional forage is consistent with the organic farming guidelines of the European Union, but here it is strongly limited or just completely prohibited for participating farmers. 100% organic animals have to be fed with 100% organic forage. When it comes to cosmetic products, such guidelines vanish. So it can happen that one buys a care product which is largely marketed by stating one organic ingredient. A closer look discovers that the product does contain crude oil derivatives, such as paraffin and silicone.
Non-consistent definitions for the term “natural cosmetics”
Most consumers have a precise understanding what natural cosmetics should be like: vegetable ingredients from nature, preferably grown organically, medicinal herbs, no chemicals and no allergenic substances. But the term natural cosmetics can not be defined precisely enough with just a few words. The regulations and guidelines of the German Ministry of Health as of 2000 define what natural cosmetics truly are. Unfortunately, these guidelines and definitions are very hard to understand by common people, unless one has an extended knowledge of chemistry. In contrast, for terms like “bio-cosmetics” or “natural cosmetics” no guidelines exist. The cosmetics industry – with several billions turnover a huge economic factor – orients itself towards trends. And one of the recent trends is natural cosmetics, thus making it possible that chemical cosmetic is quickly marketed as “natural cosmetic” or “bio-cosmetic” just because a few drops of plant extracts or oils from organic farming have been added. This may be questionable, but it is not against the law.
A clear statement: controlled natural cosmetics
The classical natural cosmetics manufacturers now reached a point where they did not want to wait longer for legislative regulations. They searched for a way to signal the consumer: this product is natural cosmetic without restrictions. Most of the German producers are organised in the BDIH (a German organisation of makers and sellers of medicine, body care and other by-products). The BDHI task group “natural cosmetics” worked out a guideline, accounting for the requirements. Since 2001 everyone can tell from the logo “Kontrollierte Natur-Kosmetik” that the respective care products have been checked and certified. Natural cosmetic products carrying the logo “Kontrollierte Natur-Kosmetik” comply to all the following requirements: the products contain only vegetable primary products, as largely as possible from controlled organic farming or collection in the wild. Animal testing is generally prohibited. Synthetic colorants and fragrances are consciously avoided. For preservation, only natural or nature-identical agents are permitted. Additionally, the packaging follows ecological friendliness in terms of sustainability and recyclability.
High quality natural cosmetics has to be more recognisable: «NaTrue» A few years later, the limits showed up. There was, for example, no way to distinguish between essential oils made from standard vegetable primary products and an exclusively organic essential oil. Everyone agreed: the label “Kontrollierte Natur-Kosmetik“ was a valuable milestone. For the first time framework requirements were stipulated and supervisory bodies were generated. For some of the bigger German natural cosmetics manufacturers like Lavera, Logona, Primavera, Santaverde, Dr. Hauschka and Weleda this was not reaching far enough. Especially in the European markets, a colourful potpourri of different national labels dominated. A differentiation between the various requirements was practically impossible. Instead of numerous logos, there should be a single comprehensive and unified regulation. In 2008 the European industry organization NaTrue, with its headquarters in Brussels, was founded and basic standards were defined. NaTrue categorises natural cosmetics into three stages: natural cosmetics, natural cosmetics with organic fraction and organic cosmetics. These three stages are made visible by the number of stars in the logo. NaTrue with one star is comparable with the requirements of BDIH. Two or three stars of NaTrue mandatorily require a fraction of organic contents above 70 or 95 percent respectively. Additionally, the NaTrue logo limits compromises to a minimum, as three primary product groups are clearly distinguished: natural products, semi-natural and nature-identical products. For the respective cosmetic product groups minimum concentrations of natural products and maximum concentrations of semi-natural products are precisely defined. Water, for example, is not rated as natural product, this keeping it from being mixed into for boosting the fraction of natural products. In Germany the NaTrue label was officially introduced in 2009 on BioFach trade fair in Nuremberg.
Are NaTrue 3-star products of higher value than 2-star products? This question can not be answered with yes or no. Sure enough, a wild rose oil from 100% controlled organic farming is more valuable than the one with 30% content of conventionally grown plants. On the other hand one has to be aware of the fact that there are many natural cosmetic products that will never get two or three stars but are still highest quality natural cosmetics. Three stars mean that the cosmetic was made from at least 95% organically grown base products. Many body care products use example rhassoul powder, which may has been mined in areas where the powder was encased for an extensively long time and therefore has an extremely high grade of fineness or a high content of minerals. All this contributes to the high quality of the mineral powder. But still it is not biological. Only farming products can be the outcome of controlled organic farming. If the fraction of mineral powder and water exceeds 30 percent, two NaTrue stars are no longer achievable, as the requirement for doing so is a fraction of at least 70% organic components. But still it can be a highest quality natural product.
Are products carrying the BDIH and NaTrue label of higher quality? Also this question can not be answered straight away. Both organisations are not entities that check and rate body care products on the free market, like consumer safety groups do. Interested manufacturers have to apply for certification and approval at the organisation and have to follow in some cases very complex regulations. A certification is elaborate and expensive. Most German natural cosmetic manufacturers are mid-sized companies. Especially for the smaller companies a certification means considerable effort in time, manpower and money. Additionally, companies are competing against each other, but are obliged to disclose sources of supply or even production methods. This can lead to natural cosmetics produced to the highest standards but not labelled with one of the renowned logos. But without question, the jungle of logos will thin out slowly. The most renown natural cosmetics logos give security, as they definitely rule out deviations from applicable quality standards in natural cosmetics. If it comes to natural cosmetics without logo or with self-created logos the customer has to bring in some base knowledge. Most natural cosmetic products come with a complete list of ingredients, which can easily be used to judge their quality. One thing is sure: one will know how raw materials of natural cosmetics look like, taste or how they smell. Is there any better our skin could wish for?
