An Introduction to Organic Skin Care

By yogaguid on 3rd July, 2009

Many people find organic skin care mysterious. Generally, we have an idea that organic things are good for us. However, most of us do not really know exactly what the word organic means. We tend to assume that organic skin care is good simply because it is natural. Natural ingredients alone are not sufficient to make organic skin care products truly organic. To get the most out of buying organic skin care, you need to know how to read the ingredients properly.

According to the FDA, organic means that a product has at least 95 percent organic ingredients. Things that contain carbon are considered organic. It follows that a product that contains 95 percent carbon-based ingredients can be considered organic. In the case of cosmetics and skin care products, this means that if a product contains petroleum or petroleum-based ingredients, it can still be labeled organic. This is important to know about compounds like methylparaben, which is a suspected carcinogen that is petroleum based and present in many skin care products. Probably before now, you had no idea anything labeled “organic skin care” might be a crude oil derivative or a health threat. You can see that you must be careful to match your definition of organic skin care with the legal definition before buying.

In order to get organic skin care that meets your requirements, take some time to think about what you want. Most people just want natural, good-for-you ingredients in the highest concentrations possible. (Remember that there will need to be some preservatives and basic processing for health reasons.) Generally, most people also think “green” when they think organic. They want confidence that their product did not hurt the environment.

In the end, the best way to get the product you want is to read the label. Keep an eye out for ingredients that were derived from other things. For example, say you spot “Cocamide-DEA derived from coconut oil.” You might assume this compound is organic because it is derived from a natural substance. But it turns out you can only get it through processing with a known carcinogen. Usually derived ingredients are not organic in the sense that most of us use the word.

Also, look for water content and compare it to the label’s claim about how organic the product is. For example, if a product’s main ingredient is water (and most times it is) and a product is labeled 75 percent organic, then most of that organic volume can be attributed to water. As a rule, organic skin care products should be fully organic or not considered to be organic at all.

You can reap incredible rewards from using truly organic skin care products. You skin, a natural organ itself, will benefit hugely from natural elements. However, in order to get the most out of your organic skin care investment, you need to be able to spot the “good stuff” out of the wolves in organic clothing.

This information provided as a courtesy of http://www.BeautyCtr.com, America’s leading source of free, unbiased information and reviews about health and beauty products.