Going natural, naturally
If you’ve been a fan of herbal cosmetics and have tried nothing else to keep your skin young, supple and glowing, get ready for a New Age upgrade. The ‘organic’ cosmetics — made sans chemicals — are now a fad the world over. So, if Body Shop has Nutriganics (a certified organic skincare range), Oriflame’s new Olive and Bamboo Nature boasts of 100 per cent organic extracts, while Surya Brasil products are vegan (with no animal ingredients or testing) all through.
Body Shop’s Nutriganics is already a well-accepted range among customers. “The line is designed to hydrate and smooth the first signs of ageing for a more revitalised complexion. It is for all skin types and has brought about significant incremental sales to products in our skin care category,” says Smita Sahoo, Training Manager, Body Shop India.
A product tagged “organic” means it is made of ingredients sourced from certified organic practices (grown without any synthetic chemicals or genetically modified organisms) and has acceptable ingredients for preservation and processing. “The raw materials and the finished products go through a certification. For instance, a berry used in a skin lotion would be grown on land that has natural minerals and not in an area that is supplied by synthetic fertilisers. Moreover, animal testing is not acceptable,” says Fernanda Drumond, Sales & Marketing Consulting, Surya Brasil.
The driving force behind the trend is the consumers’ inclination to move away from harmful oils and chemicals (that are heavily used in non-organic cosmetics); the widespread use of antibacterial agents (like triclosan) and biocides (like nanosilver); exposure to phthalates — endocrine-disrupting chemicals — and a few chemicals that could lead to obesity, speed up puberty, increase infertility and cause birth defects. Besides, ‘going natural’ brings into the chain the use of interesting products like bamboo, tamarind, etc.
Summer Rayne Oakes, international model, activist and author of Style, Naturally, and founder, Source4Style.com, says that organic and naturally-derived cosmetics and other beauty products are growing at double-digit percentages every year. “The global sales are increasing by over US $1 billion a year according to current market research. Organic ranges can now be found in major stores like Sephora, Whole Foods and, to a smaller extent, Target. They are also popular online and in boutiques. I do find that women are demanding more from their cosmetics, especially after the backlash against toxins in chemicals,” she says.
Though growing, Oakes agrees that “natural” and “organic” are still very ill defined within the beauty sector. “There is no international standard to what ‘organic’ or ‘natural’ means. It’s one of the reasons why it’s difficult to compare the efficacy of different products. However, if more chemists spent time formulating naturally-derived, nutritious chemistry for our skin, body and hair, we’ll be better off,” she says.
Yes, the cosmetics industry is certainly
doing its bit to change with the changing times where going back to nature is smiled upon!
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