The term “Green Beauty” is thrown around quite a bit these days. The word “holistic” is as well. We live in an era where the knowledge of how harmful synthetics and chemicals are widely diffused in our food crops, water, air, and the products we use on our bodies. There are floods of information out there, and a lot of it unfortunately isn’t always accurate, or even worse...designed to guide you into purchasing things you think are healthy and whole, but are actually anything but.
The regulations in our country are super lax compared to the standards in a lot of the European countries, and other nations. Chemicals considered toxic in many places around the globe unfortunately skirt that type of scrutiny here. This happens across the board, from our food to our cosmetics.
On a positive note, because of this greater awareness, the demand for a higher standard of high performance, non-toxic cosmetics has given birth to a whole range of new and sophisticated plant based and botanical ingredients for us formulators to work with. The “Blue Beauty” movement brings this to a whole other level...demanding accountability not only for our non-toxic, clean standards, but for our carbon footprint in cosmetic production from sourcing ingredients to packaging.
So how can you tell the difference between Green Beauty and Green washing? Green Washing is when a company claims to be “Green”, “Holistic” or “Natural” but when you dig deeper you will discover their claims are empty or the opposite of what they really are. To know the difference, first and foremost you must read and understand the ingredient list. All natural ingredients have a scientific name and an INCI listing that sound super scary...and can sound just as bad as the dirty ingredients, so you have to do a little research on what is what. What is natural or naturally derived and what is harmful. To add to the confusion the term “synthetic” also doesn’t always mean harmful it just means synthesized or lab created, and the term “chemical” doesn’t always mean bad… for example the element Water is also the chemical h2o. There are some agencies that do this work for you to make it a lot simpler, such as the EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetic database. So many products, and companies claim to be “holistic”, but when you dig deeper and understand exactly what they are using, the effects of long term use of these substances not only in and on our bodies, but the runoff in our water, and the buildup of these synthetics in our eco systems...well, it’s pretty horrifying. All life forms are affected, human, animal and plant life from hormonal disruption to links of various cancers, to toxic soil and water that obviously affect our crops.
You also have to consider ratios of ingredients in a formulation. For example essential oils often get a bad rap through the database, simply because they are so concentrated and can irritate some folks with sensitivity, especially around the mucous membranes. It doesn’t mean they are unsafe, but they can get a bad rating from the EWG. Generally speaking they should only be about 1 or 2 percent of the total formula, and it is important that the formulator is knowledgeable of the risks and benefits in using them. I also believe they should never be used internally. This is a great source of debate in the Herbalist community.
Then there is the debate on preservatives and emulsifiers. Luckily, as I mentioned before, the demand for natural and non toxic beauty is at an all time high, which in turn has led to the creation of high performance, plant DERIVED preservatives and emulsifiers. These are substances that are derived from plants, and synthesized or blended for a higher efficacy in a lab...and remain non toxic. This allows for the formulator of plant based beauty products to create all kinds of water based products without the very real risk of contamination, mold, harmful pathogens and bacterial growth in their products. You can not create a water based product, products containing any type of water designed to have ANY sort of shelf life without these ingredients. They are harmless, although stigmatic to the old school purist, and actually help the over harvesting situation of certain plants in the long run. A stellar example of science and botany coming together to create something good. That said, I also love me a facial toner created for immediate use with pure hydrosols and that’s it!
There are so many options to choose from these days, and there are a million ways to be fooled by clever marketing. Multinational companies claiming to use natural and botanical ingredients when in fact they are using lots of synthetics, especially in the fragrance arena. These fragrances usually contain phthalates which have been shown to disrupt the endocrine system and hormone balance. Things like those “botanically scented” plug ins, or Reed diffusers.
To add to the confusion there are also some smaller brands that practice White Labelling. This is usually a brand that begins with one or two items they make themselves, such a soap or candles and within a very short time has expanded their line with many new products (with very sophisticated ingredients), but they are actually mass produced by a larger company that wholesales outright for folks to put their own labels on. There is very little input, if any at all, in the formulation process although they may have researched some of the key ingredients to have talking points and a basic knowledge on how they work. Now, there is nothing wrong with this, they may even choose to work with labs that produce safe products. It depends on how important it is to the consumer to know that the brand they purchase was the actual creator of the formulation and not a third party, and although they may have input on tweaking the formulation to be more personalised, it’s just one more level of separation from the brand owner and the product ( how and where ingredients were sourced and a fundamental knowledge and deep understanding of how they work and synergize).
It should be education first and not the other way around when it comes to complicated formulation and creating a brand. I also believe you should have a deep relationship with the plants to understand their energetics, dynamics, chemical constituents and so forth. This type of education takes time, a lot of time and fosters a sense of duty in caring for the plants, and our ecosystem as a whole.
Indie brands, usually created by Herbalists, Botanists, Naturopathic doctors and practitioners of Ayurveda or Chinese medicine are usually the best way to go, especially if they have made the extra investment on learning botanical cosmetic formulation. These are usually folks that are also deeply invested in stewardship of the planet.
In conclusion, do your research, learn the ingredients, and above all...ask the questions. The formulators should know the answers intimately and first hand. Remember, the word “Holistic” is super trendy, especially in the Beauty industry these days. Real holistic beauty encompasses a lot, first and foremost the well being of the self and others (do no harm), and equally the well being of the other Kingdoms, Plant and Animal (do no harm). Give back what you take, and only take what you need, and honor what you take. Know your sources. Be an educated consumer.