What do the terms 'natural' and 'organic' cosmetics actually mean?
Amid the flood of cosmetic products labelled “natural”, “organic” and “clean beauty” the question keeps arising of what these terms actually mean. Consumers are increasingly aware, and want transparency in the information they get about the cosmetic products they choose, yet the market is confused, because there are no single agreed definitions in this area.
The key differences between natural, organic and clean beauty cosmetics
Broadly, the definitions can be set out as follows:
Natural cosmetics
Contains ingredients of natural origin, that is, raw materials that can be found present in plants and other natural environments. The raw materials are minimally processed, so identical to those in the environment. That does not necessarily mean they are also organically grown or entirely free of synthetic additives. Nor does it mean they genuinely originate in natural material, that is, that they were extracted from plants. They may have been made in a laboratory, only chemically identical to what we would find in nature.
On its own, the term 'natural cosmetics' can be used quite freely — in general there is no universal definition setting out what percentage of natural raw materials a product must contain before it can describe itself as a natural cosmetic. Most products consist to a very large extent (60 % or more of the whole product) of water which, expectedly or unexpectedly, also qualifies as a natural raw material. And the rest?
Organic cosmetics
Uses ingredients that are grown without pesticides and without genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and are certified by organisations such as COSMOS, Ecocert or USDA Organic.
This is a better defined term — organic cosmetics look to the way the raw materials were grown. With organic cosmetics we really are dealing with raw materials that come from nature and were not made in a laboratory. The conditions under which they are grown and extracted are set out by the individual certifications. It is worth familiarising yourself with the requirements of each certification, because on that basis you can then understand what raw materials any given organic product contains.
Clean beauty
Focuses on ingredient safety, and excludes potentially harmful raw materials, regardless of whether they are said to be of natural or synthetic origin.
There are numerous online databases where you can enter an individual raw material (the INCI names found on the packaging of every cosmetic product) and get information on whether it is held to fall within the 'clean beauty' definition or not.
A degree of critical judgement is useful when following cosmetic trends. The industry changes quickly: new ingredients, technologies and marketing concepts regularly attract attention, while established ingredients may temporarily fall out of fashion. That does not mean that an older ingredient has suddenly become ineffective, nor that every new alternative is automatically better. The relevant question is whether a claim is supported by suitable evidence and whether the ingredient makes sense in the formulation, at the concentration used and for the intended purpose.
It is much the same with the term 'clean beauty'. Cosmetic products do not contain only headline actives such as retinol or bakuchiol, but also technical ingredients that are essential to stability, preservation, texture and pH control. Emulsifiers, preservatives and pH adjusters belong here. When an ingredient is described as 'dangerous' or 'un-clean', the claim should be judged against the available evidence and the conditions of use rather than the label alone. A technically necessary and legally permitted ingredient should not be treated as inferior simply because it does not fit a particular marketing trend.
How do you fend off needless fear of 'harmful cosmetics'?
Every cosmetic product placed on the EU market is subject to strict safety requirements. Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 requires a product-specific safety assessment and sets prohibitions and restrictions for substances, as well as positive lists for certain categories such as colourants, preservatives and UV filters. The evidence and testing needed depend on the product, its formulation, intended use and risk profile. No cosmetic product can be guaranteed to be risk-free for every individual, but products placed on the market must meet the applicable EU safety requirements.
The real problem in this area is increasingly cosmetic products bought outside the EU from sellers who do not follow European rules — but that is a subject for another time.
Whether you choose a more expensive product with natural, organic or clean-beauty claims or a simpler lower-priced product, price and marketing labels alone do not determine safety or quality. What matters is the formulation, regulatory compliance, appropriate safety assessment and whether the product is suitable for its intended use and for your skin.
Nor does it mean the cosmetics you have chosen are of poorer quality — not infrequently the opposite. The effect of a cosmetic has long since ceased to correlate with its price, and less still with trends. All that really counts is how your skin responds when you apply a product, and how you feel using it.
If you have chosen the wrong product, only your own skin can tell you so.
Biotechnology-derived ingredients in cosmetics: is 'laboratory-produced cosmetics' still natural?
What exactly are 'biotechnology-derived ingredients', and why does understanding the term matter?
Biotechnology makes it possible to produce ingredients that are identical to natural ones but are not obtained directly from natural material (they are not, for instance, pressed straight from a plant, but produced in the laboratory). They are exactly the same as those found in nature, only obtained by a different route. This often raises the question of whether such ingredients are still “natural”.
Examples of biotechnology-derived ingredients in cosmetics
Hyaluronic acid: Synthesised by bacterial fermentation rather than extracted from animal tissue. The production route is considerably cheaper and far more humane.
Bakuchiol: A natural alternative to retinol that can be produced by synthesis, with a lower environmental burden and better stability of the raw material as a result.
Most biotechnology-derived ingredients are genuinely more sustainable than traditional extraction methods (they avoid over-exploitation of plant sources, for example), which means such cosmetics are technically less damaging to the environment and more defensible ethically. Not infrequently it goes hand in hand with the fact that a product which would otherwise not be vegan becomes vegan.
Are 'natural cosmetics' free of chemicals? What does the word chemical actually mean?
The truth about “chemicals” in natural cosmetics
We often come across claims that a given cosmetic is “chemical-free”, which is misleading, since every substance is a chemical — water and vitamins included. The term “chemical” is a technical termdescribing the chemical composition of any substance; it says nothing about its purpose or about any harm to people. The real question people are asking, when they want to know about 'cosmetics without chemicals', is rather whether we can formulate cosmetic products entirely free of synthetic additives.
The main challenges of 100% natural cosmetics
100 % natural cosmetics, as imagined by a buyer not well acquainted with the term, effectively do not exist. And rightly so, because they would have more negative effects than positive ones.
Product stability
Ingredients from nature that have not been purified of allergens and impurities, or controlled during growing and formation, would mean a high risk of allergies and irritation. They are also not adequately preserved, which means harmful bacteria proliferate in the product.
Microbiological safety
Without proper preservatives a product would become a breeding ground for bacteria and moulds, which would break down the skin's natural bacterial flora and acid mantle.
Efficacy
Synthetic ingredients in some cases deliver better results than natural alternatives, precisely because of their purity and the absence of impurities.
The practical answer is to use ingredients permitted in natural cosmetics but controlled in the laboratory, and to choose minimally processed yet stable ingredients that are identical to those present in nature. Which is what natural cosmetics does take into account, and that is a good thing. The raw materials in natural cosmetics are still chemicals, and still controlled or made in a laboratory.
What does ‘greenwashing’ mean?
Greenwashing is a marketing tacticin which companies exploit the popularity of natural and sustainable cosmetics without their products actually meeting those standards.
Or else they do meet the standards, but exploit the uninformed impression a buyer has of what green cosmetics is really supposed to mean.
The signs of greenwashing in cosmetics are often vague labels that mean nothing in themselves — “natural”, “green” and “eco”, without any proper certification. The percentage of natural ingredients is minimal — it contains only a small proportion of raw materials matching those claims (or the main 'natural raw material' is water), yet it is promoted as entirely natural.
Often there is also excessive emphasis on a single “star” ingredient — a product might contain a small quantity of a popular ingredient (argan oil, say), while the formulation is otherwise largely synthetic.
Natural cosmetics are enormously popular, but the definitions and standards are not always clear. Biotechnology opens up a sustainable future in which natural and laboratory-produced ingredients work in synergy. At the same time, consumers and companies alike need to watch for greenwashing, and to demand transparency and quality when choosing cosmetic products.
Above all, “non-natural” does not automatically mean unsafe or lower quality, just as “natural” does not automatically mean safer or better. Safety and quality depend on the formulation, ingredient specifications, manufacturing controls, intended use and product-specific safety assessment — not on the natural or synthetic label alone.
