Saving our internal organs from toxins and chemicals is no new plight - but what about the organ that covers the outside of our bodies? What about keeping all that bad stuff away from our skin?

The average adult uses nine personal care products daily, containing a whopping 126 unique chemical ingredients, according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit research and advocacy organization focused on safeguarding public health and the environment. Narrowing it down to the fairer sex, more than a quarter of all women use at least 15 products every day. Through the use of such items, according to the EWG, one in every 13 women is exposed daily to ingredients that are known or probable human carcinogens, and one in every 24 women is exposed daily to ingredients that are known or probable reproductive and developmental toxins.

There's no way around it - the synthetic mess that you sweep and slather on your face everyday can be scary stuff.

The solution seems simple: go natural and go organic. But beauty brands are smart, jumping the green wagon as they promote "extract of this" and "plant-based that," while under the green packaging, the products aren't as natural as you may think. With few regulations governing the use of the terms "natural" and "organic" in labeling beauty products, many brands that you suppose are toxin- and chemical-free, have mixed the earth friendly bits with synthetic, petroleum-based, carcinogenic, animal-derived, or genetically modified ingredients.

The dirt

On your search for the greenest of the green, you're not going to find the answer in the claims printed on the front of the bottle. In Canada, there are no standards for natural or organic cosmetics, and in the United States, only California has put down its organic foot, stating that a personal care product is certified if only 70 percent of its ingredients are organic. "Natural" and "organic" aren't interchangeable terms, either,  with the latter necessitating the environment be respected in the pesticide-free manufacturing of the products and the former having a definition that changes with every brand.

You'll find clarity by moving past the "natural" or "organic" promises on the product's label and inspecting the entire list of ingredients. If chemistry wasn't your strong suit, turn to your computer or contact brand customer service directly for help deciphering the green from the synthetic on ingredient lists.  Earth-loving lines like Body Shop may sound non-synthetic, but a glance at the ingredients will prove otherwise, and same goes for Kiehl's. Green-by-reputation Aveda has you and the environment in mind when it concocts its products, with a Green Ingredient Policy that promises to use sustainable, eco-friendly, plant-based or non-petrochemical mineral-based ingredients "whenever possible," but the guarantee is evidently not entirely comprehensive, and the company is still trying to move toward using all organics.

Lavera Skin Care is one of those brands. The company, with a mission to provide 100 percent natural cosmetics and a focus on tolerance for sensitive skin, uses ingredients based on the strict guidelines for the Certified Natural Cosmetics seal set by the BDIH, the Association of German Industries and Trading Firms for pharmaceuticals, health care products, food supplements and personal hygiene products, meaning you know you're getting synthetic-free products. But when it comes to going organic, CEO Ulrike Jacob says Lavera will use such ingredients whenever they are available, adding that certain ingredients aren't yet organic in the worldwide market, such as the natural emulsifier lecithin.

The Organic Make-up Company also knows how to make it as pure as possible. The Canadian company, which was created to provide skincare and color cosmetics that were free from petroleum-derived, synthetic, and animal-derived ingredients, recognizes that it's not currently possible to have a full range of products made from certified organic ingredients, due to both cost and availability. In knowing this, the cosmetics brand has made other commitments: the environment has been respected in the manufacturing process; absolutely no synthetic or petroleum-derived ingredients have been used, animal products and related byproducts, as well as irradiated ingredients, have not been used; packaging has been simplified to reduce waste; and vegan practices have been put into place, such as using plant waxes instead of beeswax. Read more >>

go to page 1 | 2