Organic Ingredients In Personal Care Products

Why Organic?

If we accept the principle of trying to avoid synthetic chemicals in our lives, it makes sense for us to try and use organically produced products wherever possible. This applies not only to the food and drink that we consume, but also to the products we use to clean our homes, our clothes and most importantly, ourselves. Unfortunately this is not always possible and this article has been written to try and explain the difficulties facing all of us who want to follow an organic lifestyle.

It is now a well-established scientific fact that continued exposure to a wide range of synthetic chemicals leads to detectable accumulations in body tissue. These chemicals include hormones, preservatives, pesticides, artificial fertilisers and antibiotics – the list is extensive. Many of these chemicals enter our bodies from the foods that we eat, particularly if that food has been mass-produced.

Other chemicals enter our bodies either through the air that we breathe or through our skin. We all know of the health risks associated with tobacco smoking, but it is a good illustration of how potent chemicals, in this case nicotine, can pass from inhaled air into our blood steam and hence throughout the body.

It used to be thought that our skin was impervious and that no chemical substances could penetrate it and enter the body. This is now known not to be the case and skin patches containing nicotine and hormones are routinely used as an effective means of delivering these drugs into the body. It’s not just medicines that can be absorbed – it is estimated that up to 60% of any chemical that comes into contact with the skin may be absorbed into our bodies.

Since we now know that chemicals applied to the skin can be absorbed into the body, doesn’t it make sense to examine just what we are putting onto ourselves? We think so, and that is why Green People produce a wide range of personal care products that avoid using unnecessary synthetic chemical ingredients. To understand what ingredients we do use and why, we need to understand some of the basics behind basic personal care products.

Herbs and herbal infusions

Depending on the formulation these can form a substantial part of a product. A key ingredient in many Green People products is organic Aloe Vera juice, well known for its soothing and calming properties. Herbs are chosen for their particular properties, whether they be soothing, cleansing, astringent or whatever. Generally speaking, all of the herbs used in Green People products are either certified organically grown or are wild-crafted from ecologically maintained stable environments. Very occasionally, we are unable to locate an organic or wild-crafted source and have to use a non-certified plant – an example is the Water Lily extract used in some of our skin creams.

Few other companies are as strict as Green People in their policy towards the use of genuine organic herbs in their products.

Oils and Waxes

Many different plant oils are used in Green People products and, just as with our herbs, the vast majority are certified organic. Examples include Palm Kernel oil, Olive oil, Almond oil, Sunflower oil and Hemp seed oil, all of which are used in our new Certified Organic Baby Salve. We also use certified organic Bees Wax in a few of our products where they need to be water resistant. Some oils are obtained from wild-crafted sources which are carefully monitored to ensure that plants are harvested in a manner that is sustainable and which does not harm the environment.

Green People have a policy of never using any oil that is not from a natural plant source – for example we will never use a mineral oil or one derived from petrochemicals in any of our products.

As with herbs, few other companies are as strict as Green People in their policy towards the use of certified organic oils and waxes.

Fragrances and Scents

The fragrances found in Green People products come from herbal infusions, floral waters and essential oils. Our herbal infusions are made using certified organic herbs and pure spring water – nothing else. The floral waters we use are obtained through the distillation of certified organic flowers.

These are true floral waters made using 1kg of herb to 1ltr of pure water, not weak infusions or fragrance added to water! The essential oils we use are normally certified organic except where they are not available – an example is Myrrh.

Compare these ingredients with the anonymous scents listed by most manufacturers under the blanket name of ‘Parfum’.

Emulsifiers

Any personal care product that contains both water based and oil based ingredients must also contain an emulsifier. It is the emulsifier that enables these two normally repellent ingredients to mix together to form a cream or lotion. Without using an emulsifier, creams and lotions would separate into their different ingredients in much the same way as French Salad Dressing does when allowed to stand.

There are many different emulsifiers in use today. Some are very mild in action and also mild on the skin, whilst others are more powerful and may be more irritant. Some are extracted from natural plant sources whilst others are synthetically produced. The emulsifiers used by Green People are all extracted from plant oils such as coconut, palm kernel and olive oil. They are all mild in action and have no record of causing skin irritation. They cost more to use than some of the more powerful, synthetic emulsifiers but we believe they are worth the extra cost.

At the moment, none of the emulsifiers available on the market is certified organic, but we are hopeful that this may change in the future with the introduction of new ingredients.

Surfactants

These are used to enable products to produce foam and to have a cleansing action. They are sometimes called ‘foaming agents’ and are found in all shampoos, shower gels, bubble baths, etc. As with emulsifiers, surfactants can be mild or strong, gentle or aggressive and from natural sources or synthetic.

Once again, Green People only use surfactants extracted from natural plant material, and choose those which are known to be mild and gentle. Examples of the surfactants we use are Cocamidopropyl betaine, extracted from Coconut oil, and Decyl glucoside, which is extracted from corn.

At the present time no certified organic surfactants are available for us to use.

Preservatives

Any personal care product containing the range of ingredients described above has the potential to support the growth of bacteria, fungi and moulds, and can also deteriorate through the process of oxidation. Responsible manufacturers must therefore look for ways to ensure that such contamination and deterioration does not take place during the expected life of the product. Some High Street brands achieve this by using preservatives which have been linked to the formation of formaldehyde, a known irritant and carcinogen. Others use high levels of ethanol (alcohol) which has been shown to have a drying effect on the skin in long term use.

Green People have found that by using a range of plant extracts taken from citrus seeds, rosemary and myrrh resin in combination with tiny amounts of a food grade preservatives such as Sodium benzoate and Potassium sorbate, we are able to achieve good product stability and safety whilst minimising exposure to synthetic chemicals.

Occasionally, in formulations with particularly high levels of organic ingredients, a stronger preservative is required in which case we may use tiny amounts of Phenoxyethanol. Although this is a synthetic ingredient, it has an excellent safety record and is very well tolerated. It is also on the list of permitted preservatives for use in cosmetics certified as organic by the Soil Association, and is approved under the Nordic Swan mark scheme that measures the environmental and health impact of cosmetic ingredients.

We are continuing to research this area in the hope that one day we may be able to avoid the use of all non-plant sourced preservatives.

At the present time, none of the preservative ingredients available to us are certified organic, although we hope that this may change in the future.

Summary

As part of our commitment to our customers, Green People will continue to search out and wherever possible use certified organic ingredients, and will also continue to avoid using unnecessary synthetic chemicals in our products.

We firmly believe that consumers have a fundamental right to know every ingredient in the personal care products they buy, and remain opposed to the use of blanket descriptions such as ‘Parfum’. We will continue to give full ingredient disclosure not only on our product labels, but also in our catalogue and on our website.

If you don’t already use Green People products, ask yourself if the company who makes your personal care products is as open about the ingredients they use.

© The Green People Co Ltd 2006 – All Rights Reserved