This kind of cosmetics reduces or eliminates the use of chemical additives, The plants used in the formula come from organic farming and in this way they can promise more respect for personal care and that of the environment.
There could be many more situations, but I’m sure we’ve all been in one of these circumstances when we decided that not only do we want our food and kitchenware to be ecological, but we also want the products that we use to cleanse and protect ourselves. Protecting ourselves from the sun, perfume ourselves and putting them on our skin are also ecological.
Marga Roldán, specialist in natural and ecological cosmetics, reveals to us what aspects to take into account when choosing a good natural and ecological cosmetic. Don’t be fooled, don’t let them give you poison econatural.
When you buy eco-, bio-, natural cosmetics, in short, TOXIC FREE, what happens is that:
- You go to an ecological store, physical or virtual, and buy according to your instincts and what you find attractive or safe.
- You go to an organic store and you start looking at the ingredients in it, but you don’t understand anything there. Ultimately, you choose what smells good and ends up in your eyes.
- You want the cosmetic to have a warranty seal”ecological”. We will talk about the seals in eco-natural cosmetics in another post; It’s quite a complex topic to explain.
- You decide to do a little more research and go to specialized stores, pharmacies or organic stores, knowing that there are words that should not appear in your cosmetics. You avoid those words and buy the ones that don’t have them.
- You go to a store and ask for an “ecological” cosmetic that works for what you need.
There could be many more situations, but I’m sure we’ve all been in one of these circumstances when we decided that not only do we want our food and kitchenware to be ecological, but we also want the products that we use to cleanse and protect ourselves. Protecting ourselves from the sun, perfume ourselves and putting them on our skin are also ecological.
And there comes a time when you happily consume “ecological” and “responsible” cosmetics and feel better about yourself, until one day you wonder what is in that product you put on your face and what the difference is with the supermarket or pharmacy; apart from the price?
Then you start investigating and realize that you don’t understand anything and that it is a huge mess. What do those sometimes unpronounceable names mean and why are these the ingredients of the product you use?
And you decide:
- I don’t know anything, but this will be good: it says ecological on the label.
- It doesn’t matter, I like the way it smells…although the truth is that the shampoo on TV left my hair much better.
- With a magnifying glass in hand you investigate, you search the networks, books, everything you find, you ask… YOU DESPERATE.
- You think this is a “scam” and you go back to buying the cream at the supermarket that left your hands beautiful and also CONTAINS OLIVE OIL!…it says so on the label.
As has been the case before… the possibilities are endless, but the feeling of not really knowing what we are buying I think clearly sums up the feeling that is generated. Some of us may take more or less time to feel this way, but we’ve all experienced that moment.
Rest! First of all, don’t think that you are ignorant or that you have been fooled. It’s something as simple as the lack of information and ambiguity within the world of cosmetics in general and in our case eco-natural cosmetics in particular.
To ensure that you never find yourself in a situation like this again, I am going to tell you what authentic eco-natural cosmetics are, based on my experience and the knowledge I have acquired during these years. Thanks to great professionals who shared knowledge with me, I was able to form criteria for choosing a good cosmetic. And I’m sure it can help you too.
What is a cosmetic product?
According to the European Cosmetics Regulation (EC Regulation 1223/2009) “A cosmetic is any substance or preparation intended to be brought into contact with the various superficial parts of the human body (epidermis, hair and capillaries, nails, lips and external genitalia ) or with the teeth and oral mucosa. With the sole or main purpose of cleaning, perfuming, changing the appearance or keeping it in good condition.
Therefore, a cream advertised as “cream to eliminate joint pain” cannot be considered a cosmetic product, but rather a drug.
When we talk about cosmetics and personal hygiene products, we are talking about the same thing, according to the definition given by the law. Well, the main function of personal hygiene products is to clean the surfaces where we put them.
A cosmetic is not just a product that we use to decorate the skin; change our appearance. Cosmetics are also a toothpaste, a bar of soap, a shampoo or a sunscreen. Products that we use every day.
And an eco-natural cosmetic?
At the time I thought that the word organic for cosmetic was not very accurate in the vast majority of cases and I was tired of having to say or write natural and ecological cosmeticsthe word “econatural”.
An eco-natural cosmetic can have:
- All natural ingredients: all those ingredients that can be natural. What do I mean by they can be natural? For example, in soap it is necessary to use soda (sodium hydroxide; made with minerals that have undergone an electrolysis process) for saponification to occur (reaction between soda and oil that creates soap). This ingredient cannot be considered natural; But let no one be afraid! in the soaps econatural There is no trace of this ingredient left.
- Some of the natural ingredients are organic: they are organically grown.
- All ingredients of natural origin are organic: all those ingredients that can be classified as natural (as was the case in point 1) are organically grown.