It has never been more fashionable to be green, natural and organic. There has been a greater focus on our own health, the health of the climate and the products we use in our everyday lives. It's great to see a greater demand for clean, natural and organic skin care products that are produced responsibly, but there's also a downside.
Because the increased demand for better products has created a jungle for consumers. Being 'natural' and 'organic' sells, and the marketing can be misleading, even if it fully complies with the law.
It is therefore not entirely easy as a consumer to navigate between the many products, but it is not impossible either. There are some things that can help you when you are looking for the best natural and organic products for your skin.
Certifications
Certifications do the work for you. They look at the product and see if it meets the requirements of the certification. So all you really need to do is familiarize yourself with the certifications.
Look for third-party certifications, which means the product has been certified by an independent organization. It ensures a credible and independent certification process.
You can read more about what characterizes each certification on their websites. For example, the Nordic Ecolabel stands out from many other environmental certifications, as it looks at all phases of a product's life cycle in relation to both the environment and health - right from development to finished product and disposal.
Some certifications relate exclusively to ingredients or specific chemicals. An ingredient may well be certified organic, but the product is not. It is therefore a good idea to familiarize yourself with the certifications, so that you know what requirements are made and for which parts of the product. Then you can use the certifications as a benchmark.
Buy within the EU
The EU has adopted cosmetics legislation that all products sold in the EU must comply with. The legislation sets requirements for animal testing, permitted substances, marketing and much more. This ensures that the products are subject to the legal standard, as long as you buy within the EU.
EU cosmetics legislation is fully harmonised. This means that all countries basically have the same rules and cannot make internal rules or exceptions. However, Denmark currently has two special rules. You can find the special regulations in force at any time on the website of the Ministry of the Environment and Food.
Check the ingredients
Have you ever read the ingredient list on one of your skincare products? You probably have, and it was guaranteed to be no easy task to understand. However, it can be a really good idea to look a little extra at the ingredients list, and there are some tips to make the task easier.
The Consumer Council Tænk has developed the Kemiluppen app, which evaluates the product for you. It's very simple: go to the app and use the scanner on the product's barcode. You will then receive an assessment of the product as well as information about the ingredients. With the app, you can therefore easily avoid unwanted chemicals. If the app hasn't researched the product yet, you can look up the ingredients you're unsure about on the internet.
The list of ingredients also often provides information about which ingredients in a product are organic. They are often marked with an asterisk. The ingredients are listed by quantity, and usually the first six ingredients are a good indicator of what the product primarily consists of. If the organic ingredients appear at the end of the ingredient list, they are not a large part of the content.
Ask the manufacturers
If you are in doubt about a product's unwanted effects or content of dangerous substances, you can obtain this information from the manufacturer. They must provide information on all unwanted effects the product may have or has had and how often they occur. The contact information can be found on the product's packaging or on the Internet.
It can seem confusing to navigate between the large selection of products with enticing words on the packaging. However, with these tips, it should have been a little easier. It is worth it to familiarize yourself with what you use on your body every day. For the sake of the environment and for yourself.
