I found a wonderful article today I had to share. So many of us want natural and organic products, but how do we know they are what they say they are?
First it comes down to research. Yup. Do your homework, on the company, on the ingredients, and don’t be afraid to ask questions!
This will give you more answers than you probably even wanted to know.
Ask the same questions about natural and organic ingredients that go into personal skin care as you would food. How are these ingredients grown and prepared? Are they grown using the best sustainable practices? What happens when they come out of the ground to be made into skincare products?
Here’s more of a snippet from the article:
If you believe that eating whole, natural, organic, unprocessed food is healthier for you than chemically laden, highly processed, genetically-modified foods, can you make the same assumption about beauty and personal care products? The answer, of course, is yes.
When you realize that the skin is the body’s largest—and most highly permeable—organ, it is easy to understand that it needs healthy nourishment, too. Yet are all natural and organic products equal? The answer is in the journey from the ground to your skin. To make astute choices, it is vital to know what happens along the way.
How are natural and organic ingredients grown and harvested?
Have you ever asked yourself why the best olive oil you have ever tasted holds that place in your taste bud hall of fame? It is likely extra virgin olive oil with the right acidity from a protected region in Italy where the olives are cold pressed and respectfully seduced to give up their precious juices to maintain nutritional content and flavor. It is because the Italian climate, soil and environmental conditions there are conducive to the healthiest, strongest olive trees.
These trees are natural and not forced to grow in an environment that needs to be supported by mass agricultural techniques to yield the largest crop, with no consideration to the quality of the produce. I like to buy food that is in season and is sourced from a region where it does not have to be artificially supported via synthetic and artificial means to produce.
Like olive oil, not all natural and organic ingredients are of the same quality. It is like orange juice made from concentrate versus freshly squeezed. It is a cup of tea’s first distillation from a tea bag versus the second or third cup made from that bag.
The same can be said about the origins of quality natural and organic skin care products
Read the rest if this great article here.