Considering going green in your beauty cabinet? We get the lowdown from organic beauty guru Sharon McGlinchy, creator of MV Organic Skincare.
1. Don't be fooled by the packaging — just because it says "natural" or "organic" doesn't mean it actually is. "You can't be lazy! Instead of just taking the label at face value, you have to go the extra mile and read the ingredient list," says McGlinchy. "Look for the asterisks that denote organic ingredients — if there's no asterisk on anything, you'll know you've had the wool pulled over your eyes because you're getting a token organic product. If quite a few of the ingredients at the top of the list have an asterisk, you're getting into more serious organic skincare territory because ingredients go in descending order of volume."
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2. This is where it gets a little confusing — not all organic products carry a certification logo (like ACO, NASAA, EcoCert, Demeter). But if it does, you know you've got a genuine product. "There are two levels of certified organic," says McGlinchy. "A product that [has] 70-95 percent organic ingredients can say it is 'made with organic ingredients'. Or, you can be certified to food grade standards, which is 95-100 percent organic."
3. McGlinchy advises watching out for moisturisers that have aloe vera as their main ingredient. "Water cannot be included in the organic content count for certification, but aloe vera can, so it is sometimes used to achieve the required percentage for organic certification. Aloe vera is marvelous for burns but it's very sticky and, in the long-term, ineffective as a moisturiser."
4. It's what's not in the ingredients list that counts, too. "Parabens, sulphates and oily petrochemicals are ingredients to be alarmed about," says McGlinchy. Check the ingredients to see if they're using a natural preservative, such as vitamin E.
5. It pays to purchase organic products packaged in air-tight containers. "If you stick your finger into an organic product, the bacteria starts to have a party. In normal products, these parties don't go on because there are so many synthetic preservatives," says McGlinchy. So, go for pump bottles and keep natural products away from direct sunlight. If it's a hot summer's day, pop your organic skincare in the fridge (it will feel extra delicious on your skin that way, too!)
