There has been a wave of people making the switch to natural skincare and clean beauty products in the past five years. Why? Because as a generation we have become more conscious about the stuff we're putting in and onto our bodies. We are more self aware of the potentially harmful and synthetic chemicals used in our skincare these days and we want to seek out natural solutions in an effort to match our own core values.
The term ‘natural skincare’ can mean different things which can make it a little confusing. The ‘natural’ label isn’t something that is even regulated across the industry and this basically means, companies can choose what the term ‘natural’ means for themselves. Not good. The lack of regulation means that terms like ‘green’, ‘clean’, ‘natural’ and 'organic' can be used on almost any product. For example, an uncertified product can be described as ‘natural’ even if only 1% of its ingredients come from natural sources.
The misuse of the word 'natural'
There is a lot of debate in the industry on what is considered ‘natural’ and what is not. I think the majority of us have an idea on what is a natural skincare product and what it should and should not include, but would you know what you were looking for when looking at a skincare products ingredients list? I can hazard a guess that the majority of us wouldn’t. This is why the term ‘natural’ is often misused by companies because we simply accept the statement without much thought.
What does ‘natural’ mean to us?
Natural skincare is characterised by a high level of natural ingredients, meaning raw produce from nature, from the earth. As a company who strives to ensure all our products are natural, we ensure every single ingredient in our products are derived from nature’s beauty and nothing else. Natural skincare to us means free from synthetic chemicals, fragrances, dyes and certain preservatives such as parabens.
We strongly believe in utilising the very best possible ingredients in our formulations by choosing raw materials that are grown in the wild or by organic farming methods.
What we mean by organic farming methods is that all our skincare products are organic too. In addition to being vegan and cruelty-free.
Check your skincare labels
If you're becoming more aware of the products you are using on your skin then doing a little bit of research into the ingredients list is a must unfortunately.
A perfect place to start is the cosmetic label as it will include ingredients in the product – the INCI list. INCI stands for “International nomenclature of cosmetic ingredients” and is a naming system for ingredients based on scientific nomenclature.
The INCI list might seem confusing and frightening at first. Don’t be afraid of it, take some time to read and investigate it. If you feel lost in all the scientific names, below we provide some resources to help you. In addition to checking out, Your Guide to Clean Beauty and Decoding Labels.
The order of the ingredients matter
The order the ingredients are listed on the label is important. Ingredients are listed in descending order from greatest amount to least amount present in the product (except ingredients present at a concentration of less than 1%; those can be listed in any order).
Allergens may be present in your natural skincare
At the end of an INCI list you will find the allergens listed. These allergens are constituents of natural essential oils or synthetic fragrances (synthetic fragrances are a big no no for us) There are 26 possible allergens including geraniol, limonene and linalool. Often companies mark with an asterisk or in italics which ingredients are essential oil allergens. It is worth becoming familiar with the common allergens as to the untrained eye these allergens can look suspicious.
All seems too much hassle?
Well we have the answer to that. The Wild Rising Skincare product range is 100% natural, clean, green and non-toxic. Every single ingredient has been added to the product for its own beneficial purpose. You can trust our green beauty magic.
Shop our natural skincare range here. You'll find our luxurious body oils, face oils, toners as well as cleansing grains and clay face masks made from botanical powders, botanical waters and plant based carrier oils.
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