We have returned from several weeks in the Asia Pacific region attending various trade shows and researching the market of ‘natural skin care’. It’s always a good idea to keep an eye on what the competitors are doing! Time and again the buzz word is ‘natural’- at trade shows we are asked ‘but are you natural?’. A frustrating issue for us is the marketing used by many companies, both large and small which claim their products are ‘natural’, ‘organic’, ‘chemical free’ or they have a long list of ‘free from parabens, SLE’s etc etc’. A full report on the misleading claims made by many retail brands sold in New Zealand can be purchased from the Consumers Institute (www.consumers.org.nz). Then when you look at the ingredients listed you see words like
- Phenoxyethanol (sometimes called ‘rose ether’ (sounds sweet doesn’t it?). Also known by a variety of other names such as ETHANOL, 2-PHENOXY-; ETHYLENE GLYCOL MONOPHENYL ETHER; 2-HYDROXYETHYL PHENYL ETHER; 2-PHENOXYETHANOL; 2-PHENOXYETHYL ALCOHOL; PHENOXYTOL; 2-PHENOXY- ETHANOL; ETHANOL, 2PHENOXY; 1-HYDROXY-2-PHENOXYETHANE; 2-FENOXYETHANOL (CZECH) ; 2-PHENOXYETHANOL
This ingredient is not permitted in certified organic products in some countries. It is known to be a dermal irritant and has some potentially mutanogenic (cell changing) effects on cells. It is used as a cheap and effective preservative.
- hydroxymethylglycinate- based on salts. It is considered a low hazard, however there are reports it is also contaminated with FORMALDEHYDE
- sodium benzoate diazolidinyl urea-used as a preservative. It is a known irritant and may be derived from animal urine (as if you would THAT on your face!)
Fair enough if you don’t give a toss about what goes on your skin, but if you have made a conscious decision to buy a ‘natural’ product or believe a product to be ‘natural’ by its marketing, then you don’t expect to see such words. Even worse, >16% of the ‘natural’ brands reviewed by the consumer institute also contained a multitude of parabens!
For more information on ingredients please visit www.safecosmetics.org.
It is all about having the ability to choose and if you make a conscious choice to use 'natural' products then you don't deserve to be deceived!
As a company which prides ourselves on being ‘100% Botanical’ (that means every ingredient is derived ONLY from plant sources, we are also proud of our organic ingredient content (>70% and up to 95% in most cases). However we are not CERTIFIED ORGANIC (yet). A key reason for us was to wait for some international standards of harmonization to come into effect. Sadly this has not fully happened and we cannot wait any longer for the Europeans to agree. We are now in the process of reviewing and submitting an application to certify all the Dr Wendy’s 100% Botanical Skin Care and Salon range...watch this space for updates.
In the meantime- we would love you to try out the home facial treatments we have put onyoutube Wendy’s personal favourite is the ‘CHOCACIAL’!!
All the best from Wendy and the team www.doctorwendy.net
