Sometimes "All Natural"...Isn't!

Read Your Labels!!!

We all want to do what's best for our bodies, including ensuring that what goes onto our skin and into our bodies is natural. But sometimes knowing what is truly natural isn't so easy. Because of this, I recommend reading your personal care labels as you would your food labels. To help you become label savy, I put together a few tips on what to look for.

 -Separate the Naturals from the No-No's
 To better understand the potentially harmful ingredients that may be in your personal care products. Here you can learn how to separate the naturals from the no-no's.  

 -If a product claims "All Natural" or "100% Natural," it may not be.
 Look for declarations of percent natural like the percent natural bar that we use on our products. If you don't see them, call the manufacturer consumer help lines. Be sure to ask how they define natural and what percent natural their product formulas are.

 -Be leery of product names using variations of "natural," "organic" or "botanicals."
 There are no regulations currently on what a product can be called â?? only on how a product is used. Products with "natural," "botanical" or "organic" in their names don't always contain natural ingredients.

 -Watch for language like "nature inspired," "natural origin" or "made with" natural or organic ingredients.
 Be wary of this wording because it doesn't necessarily mean there are high levels of natural or organic ingredients inside. In fact, it means that the product may contain a synthetic form of a previously natural ingredient after it's been processed.

 -A single natural ingredient in a product doesn't make it all natural.
 Just as you read food labels, I encourage you to read personal care labels and ingredient statements. Especially important is to look for ingredient order - if cucumber extract is the last ingredient on the list, chances are your Cucumber Melon Lotion isn't very natural.

 -Certain ingredients are giveaways that a product is not natural.
 Watch for the following commonly used ingredients: Sulfates (Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate), Parabens (Methyl-, Propyl-, Ethyl-, Butyl-), Petrochemicals (petrolatum, mineral oil, paraffin), Chemical Sunscreens (Oxybenzone/Avobenzone) and Phthalates. These ingredients should never be used in a product labeled "natural."

 -A product can be certified "organic" even if not all ingredients are organic.
 Educate yourself on FDA Definitions of Organic and look for the USDA Seal. It may be surprising to know that current regulation for "organic" labeling requires that only 70% of the product must be organic â?? and the remainder can be anything. Look for asterisks next to the ingredients as these may be the only ingredients in a product that are organic.

 -Just because an ingredient has a long or scientific sounding name doesn't mean it's a chemical.
 FDA regulations require the use of Latin and scientific names for ingredients. This means that even natural raspberry oil is called rubus idaeus oil on a label. To familiarize yourself with the scientific name at reference websites such as www.cosmeticdatabase.com.

 -Vitamins aren't always natural.
 Most vitamins are synthetically processed, which isn't bad, just not truly natural. Look for words like Acetate and Palmitate which are clues that the vitamin has been processed.

 -Be wary of non-industry endorsed seals.
 These may mislead you into believing a product is endorsed or meets certain standards when it really doesn't. Along with the Natural Products Association and several leading natural personal care companies are working to create a Natural Seal that will help you to easily identify truly natural products. Be on the lookout for the Seal to start appearing on products later this year!

 I hope this information helps! :)

<3 Rea