Why Organic?

Why Use Organic Beauty and Personal Care Products? 

Excellent question.

When researching the safety of synthetic chemicals and other substances used in cosmetic and personal care products, one theme emerges: There are few, if any, definitive answers. This is partly due to the lack of scientific studies conducted on over 85% of the ingredients currently being used, or on the effects of combining the various chemicals. As you may already know, the American government does not require manufacturers to prove the safety of the chemicals they are using, and has very little power over the cosmetics and toiletries industry in general. So while these companies are likely testing the products to rule out potential skin reactions, they are not conducting the kind of research that would determine long-term effects such as cancer, infertility or neurological (i.e., brain) effects.

In other countries, however, and in laboratories around the world, studies have been conducted on animals to examine long-term consequences of exposure to these substances. The findings are grim: everything from increased susceptibility to breast cancer to a greater likelihood of infertility and even Parkinson's disease have been attributed to exposure to the chemicals many of us slather on, lather up, and spray all over our bodies on a daily basis. And yet, because there is noconclusive evidence that any of these substances are harmful, they remain on the market. In fact, the chemical and cosmetic industries spend millions of dollars to persuade our legislators to keep it that way.

To make matters worse, there are no regulations around who can use the works "natural" or "organic" in their product and brand names. In other words, we could launch a line of skin care and call it, Nature of Beauty Organics, even if only one ingredient in the whole line was actually organic! Manufacturers are dedicating an enormous amount of resources to figure out how to spin their products in a way that makes them sound more natural, organic, and safer than they really are. With increasing public awareness, slowly but surely standards and regulations around these terms are becoming stricter. For now, however, it's still important to read labels, and to not take a name of a brand or product as any indication of what's inside!

The truth is, in order to cover all you need to know to truly understand the complexities of this industry, we would need to write a book. Fortunately for us, someone already did. If you are interested in learning more about what is lurking in your lotions, preserving your pomade, or leeching out of your lipstick, we strongly encourage you to read the book, Not Just a Pretty Face, by Stacy Malkan. For the staff at The Nature of Beauty, this book changed our lives forever. We suspect it may have the same impact on you!

In the meantime, we have compiled a list of ingredients most experts consider to be among the most harmful on the market. They also happen to be the ingredients you won't find in any of our products. Whether you purchase products from us or not, we hope you will continue learning more and taking steps to protect yourself and your family from the potentially harmful and decidedly unnecessary chemicals hanging out in your medicine cabinet, cosmetic case, and diaper bag.