Why it’s important to choose your natural cosmetics and skin care products carefully
I’ve been researching the safety of ingredients in food, cosmetics and skin care products since 1991. My research turned to identifying healthy, natural and organic cosmetics and skin care brands in about 1999.
While some of my research has been done in stores, copying ingredients from product labels, most has been done online. The reason, frankly, is because most of the best products are available only online and some products that are potentially good are not available in stores in my area.
That said, another factor to take into consideration, which I’ve mentioned many times before, but which was just blatantly demonstrated to me yesterday, is to make sure you buy from companies committed to producing safe and healthy products.
There are a number of companies on the market who are committed to the ultimate in purity and safety. A great many of them are USDA certified organic. There are some who are just as committed who don’t have the certification. These are the companies I search out.
There are other companies, probably most of them, who are in it for the profit. They claim to be natural and organic and some even get marginal organic certifications even though they don’t really qualify to be certified organic by “true” organic standards.
So, what happened yesterday?
I got an e-mail from a DyingToLookGood.com member who had just purchased Zuzu Luxe mascara, which is a brand I recommended in Dying To Look Good. I just finished researching mascara for the new Dying To Look Good Best Brands project that I’m working on right now. I checked the Zuzu Luxe ingredients online just the other day. They were perfectly fine, so it was my intention to include them in the new program.
However, I was asked by this member about the ingredients in this product because the ingredients label on the product she bought contained titanium dioxide, which I do not recommend.
I asked her to send me the list of ingredients on the label for the Zuzu Luxe mascara she bought…
It looked like two totally different products.
Here’s the list of ingredients that were on the actual label:
Zuzu Luxe Mascara
Agua, Cellulose Gum, Sorbitol, Stearic Acid, Cetearyl Alcohol, Lecithin, Panthenol, Melia Azadirachta(Neem) Leaf Extract, Tocopherol Acetate, Euphrasia Officnalis (Eyebright) Extract, Iron Oxides, Hectorite, Titanium Dioxide, Potassium Sorbate.
Here’s the list of ingredients that were listed on the web as the complete ist of ingredients in the product:
Zuzu Luxe Mascara
Deionized Water, Carnuba Wax, Stearic Acid, Panthenol, Tocopherol Acetate, Iron Oxides, Ultramarines, Cellulose Gum, Grapeseed Extract.
Whether you know what these ingredients mean or not, I’m sure you’ll agree that these two sets of ingredients don’t look like they are for the same product.
Bottom line. Know the companies that you purchase products from. Make sure they are truly committed to producing safe and healthy products AND they operate with honesty and integrity. The mainstream companies starting to create organic lines to get a piece of the organic pie are NOT going to give you the quality of product that the truly committed companies will.
I’ve been chastised by some for being too strict about the way I check ingredients and evaluate products. However, not only does this experience confirm my committment to the best, safest and healthiest natural skin care products and ingredients, I may just tighten the reigns a bit more here.
Zuzu Luxe, you are OUT!
Yours in health,
The Ingredients Investigator
Protecting you from harmful ingredients
www.dyingtolookgood.com
