Do Organic Beauty Products Pose Any Health Dangers?

Since organic beauty products are grown without the use of synthetic chemicals and fertilizers on organic farms, they do not pose any health dangers (unless the user is allergic to plants or herbs). Certified organic beauty products are grown free of synthetic herbicides, pesticides and GMO (genetically modified organisms). They do not include any harmful additives, such as fillers, petroleum waxes or artificial chemicals. Due to this higher standard, organic beauty products are made with superior ingredients while typical beauty products are not.

Technically, organic body care products must be certified by one of the third party organizations that certify such products as organic in order to be an organic product. However, a product can be deemed organic if every ingredient used in its manufacture is a certified organic food or agricultural ingredient, thereby making the product organic by default. Most certifying organizations worldwide require anywhere from 70% to 95% of the product’s content to be organic, disallowing any synthetic preservatives and most chemical processing of the ingredients, such as fragrances, petrochemicals, preservatives, etc. Most labels can be confusing as to whether a product is organic or not since it is not a government controlled process. In fact, some manufactures do not list every ingredient on the label in the hopes that the consumer will not notice.

Ingredients for organic beauty products are “farmed” in much the same way as organic food. In fact, the standards used in determining what is an organic beauty product is derived from organic food farming standards. Since synthetic fertilizers and chemicals devastate soil, water and health, manufacturers opt for organic farming which eliminates the use of harmful products. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) may also pose a health risk to both humans and the environment and therefore are not used.

It has been said that over 80% of all beauty products with over 93% of all hair care products are made using ingredients that are on the “Black List”. Some beauty products contain some of these blacklisted ingredients but still label the product as organic. Some of these products are advertised as organic or natural; however, companies use just a small amount of herbal extracts in these products in order to label them organic. A few herbal extracts are added to a synthetic soup of silicones, petroleum, petroleum derivatives, polymers (plastics), artificial colors, artificial fragrances and other potentially harmful substances. Unfortunately, they then market the product by highlighting these few “clean” ingredients, hoping that the consumer will not notice the understated ingredients. Although this practice is widespread, consumers are becoming more aware of this “greenwashing” strategy.

Truly organic beauty products are manufactured from plants, herbs and minerals that are grown without synthetic substances so that they are healthier for both the consumer and the environment, posing no health risk to either. Any ingredients used should have a therapeutic quality for their use in the product. Non-organic materials include petroleum and its derivatives, plastics and other non-biodegradable products. So, when reading the ingredients of any product that claims to be organic, pay close attention to the ingredients and determine that there are no dangerous ingredients before buying the product.