When you buy skin care products, do you know what’s in them? Many skin care products contain chemicals, some of which can disrupt our body’s natural processes and have harmful effects. Most of us can’t identify, let alone pronounce the ingredients in skin care products so how can we choose products that are good for us? An alternative is to go organic!

There are many benefits in choosing organic skin care products. Organic products:
• are natural
• don’t contain harmful toxins
• deliver results – without sacrificing your health
• must meet high standards – there are strict criteria businesses must meet in order to obtain organic certification in Australia
• are safer than non-organic products.

Here are some tips to help you choose organic skin care products.

Natural doesn’t mean organic
People often think natural and organic are the same thing. Products are ‘natural’ if their ingredients come from plants, animals or minerals. Products are ‘organic’ if they are made without using pesticides and synthetic chemicals. This includes how the ingredients are grown as well as how the product is produced.

Read the ingredients list
Organic skin care products should only contain natural ingredients. Look for products that have natural active ingredients such as Vitamin C, zinc and botanicals like Aloe Vera. Avoid products that have synthetic ingredients such as parabens, phthalates, sulphates, mineral oils and aluminium salts.

Check the expiration date
There are no added preservatives in organic skin care products to help them last longer. Therefore, they generally have shorter shelf lives than non-organic products.

Look for a certified organic label
This means the product has been tested and approved by an organic certification body and guarantees that the product contains all organic ingredients and was produced organically. Each country has its own process to provide organic certification. In Australia, six organisations have been approved to provide organic certification by the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.

We should think as much about what we put on our bodies as what we put into it.