Natural cosmetics: myth or reality?

Nowadays, more and more people are thinking about using only natural cosmetics for themselves. This problem is occupied not only by ordinary buyers, but also scientists, cosmetologists. More and more attention is paid to the cosmetic composition: the study of the ratio of natural components and synthetic substances that may be toxic to human health. I must say that scientists have not yet unequivocally come to a solution to this issue, however, some substances have already been isolated by them and are included in the risk group: these are SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate), parabens, petroleum derivatives (mineral oil) and formaldehyde. The latter has already been banned for use by a number of European countries, although in some it still remains in active use.

So, scientists have not yet come to an unambiguous conclusion. And what, then, are we to do with you, ordinary consumers? Let's just say - do not believe too much intimidation and fears (as you should not forget that no one has died from the use of ordinary shampoo, and all of the above substances are contained in cosmetics in negligible, permissible doses). And at the same time, it is worth thinking about purchasing cosmetics, where these substances are still contained less.

Let's start with what is fashionable now professional cosmetics are not completely natural... Therefore, to consider it natural is a deep delusion. It really contains an increased amount of natural active ingredients, but at the same time, and an almost equal amount of preservatives (that is, the above harmful substances - for example, the same parabens). To confirm our words with facts - consider the composition professional shampoo CHISANA from C: ENCO.

The first components of the composition are water and the familiar sodium laureth sulfate. Around the middle, there are natural ingredients: extract of white tea and the fruit of the Indian tree Cassia. This means that there are a lot of them in the composition. Further - we will see five parabens (ethylparaben, isobutylparaben, methylparaben, etc.), which are necessary in order to fix these natural substances well and prevent them from deteriorating. They are located almost at the very end, which means that the amount of each of them is not too large, however, the joint, common group of parabens makes them quite a powerful weapon of conservation.

For comparison, consider the usual shampoo of the mass market Palmolive apple. Water, sodium laureth sulfate ... Natural extracts are somewhere in the middle of the composition. There are only two parabens, they are also at the end, and the main preservative is citric acid and others. As you can see, the composition is more lightweight, with a simple formula and fewer suspected harmful substances.

Nowadays, much attention is paid to the development of cosmetics based on organic extracts, which has the right to be called more or less natural. Among the manufacturing firms, one can single out Natura Siberica (Russia), Farmona (Poland), IHerb pharmacy store (USA), which represents a large number of organic brands. A similar direction is now supported by the well-known company Green Mama, as well as other companies. The difference between new developments is that they try to replace synthetic substances that are at risk with natural organic ones that also have the ability to preserve (more precisely, food preservatives).

Let's consider the composition of Farmona Herbal Care organic shampoo and try to understand what these substances are. So: water, sodium laureth sulfate (you cannot do without it, otherwise the detergent will not foam), ginseng extract (almost at the beginning - a very high content), sodium chloride (common salt), wheat protein and other natural substances.Further here, a number of organic acids serve as fixatives, which are nothing more than food additives permitted in the production of food (Benzoil Acid, Citric Acid, etc.) However, in its composition you can still find, for example, such a substance as Ethylhexylglycerin is a mild preservative of chemical origin that meets the requirements for cosmetic preservatives and is considered almost natural. From all of the above, we can conclude that the shampoo does not contain irritating detergents - in other words, substances that are at risk: parabens, SLS and formaldehyde.

Natural soap is also produced in large quantities (for example, Ukrainian natural soap "Yaka"). This soap contains the maximum amount of natural ingredients, and its fixing base is alkali.