Caos Beauty: why "Free Form" acronyms are not always synonym of transparency. The truth about "organic" and "natural" beauty brands.

We have already talk about the Clean Beauty movement and its importance, highlightning the fact that terms like “Organic and natural cosmetics” show on many packages can be freely added without following accurate rules, becoming at the end misleading.
With this aware purchase guide you identify how to avoid this hassle and explore the vast natural beauty world during our beauty shopping.

1. The brand.

   Get informed on the brand you are going to buy so that you understand its philosophy, its commit in favour of animals and the environment, where its products are made and more. Remember that a clean brand it’s always cruelty free, so against the experiments on animals ( search this claim on the packages).

2. The Packaging.

   Is packaging ecological? Is it in recycled paper? And its content is made of glass, plastic or aluminum? Buying products realized with the least amount of plastic it’s better.

3. The Certifications.

   Look carefully on the package and find one of the following certifications: Soil Association (United Kigdom), Ecocert (France), USDA (United Statef of America), ICEA (Italy), Bioforum (Belgium), Bdih (Germany). These evaluate the natural cosmetics and organic natural cosmetics protecting them in the natural beauty world which is quite common as we have seen. Attention though: if a product doesn’t show certifications, it won’t mean that is being unrespectful to the eco-bio standards and it won’t be otherwise valid. Despite these institutions give a good guarantee on the productive standards, they are also expensive to just born little realities or to family-run brand which have not started the procedures to be certified yet. Discover all on cosmetics cetifications.

4. The Organic Ingredients.

   Choose products which have a high percentage of organic ingredients ( that are grow without chemicals diserbants). This ingredients are always pointed out, usuallly with an asterisk o guaranted by a certificate.

5. The INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients).

   The voice of truth. All the ingredients, from the most used to the least. Actually a lot of brands pretending to be “clean” contains many toxic ingredients, harmful or allergic. Now revealing these products is possibile thanks to our guide to the ingredients to avoid.

If you want to be sure to buy a “clean” vegan cosmetic product, find the corrispondent symbol on the package or read the description given by the brand or the ingredients ( which must not have animal origins derivatives such as honey, beeswax, keratin or lanolin).

Nowadays the market is plenty of products that on the label show sparkling lettering such as organic cosmetics or green, natural cosmetic and words like eco and free from. Very comforting terms. Often though, we realized that it’s not always easy valuing the single cosmetic ingredients or understand if they are clean ingredients by reading the INCI list on the back of the package.

Some websites help you throughout the choice:

• Skin Deep by Environmental Working Group gives in addition to a database of already controlled cosmetic products, the chance to search a specific term and know its risk level. Provides also few useful tips for a safe beauty shopping.
• Biodizionario.it is an ethic project of VEGANOK S.r.l. benefit Company. Each ingredient that is searched has an immediately evaluation thank to its database (vegan friendly).

Watch out the traffic light!

– Red: ingredient to avoid. It might be toxic, hirritating o potentially cancirogenic. But be careful, even the ingredients non-Vegan ok are considered by Biodizionario ” red traffic light “.

– Yellow: ingredient to check. Need dedicated study.

– Green: ingredient approved! Cosmetic ingredients from the healthier to the harmless.

On the website is operating a forum where is possible discuss on vary topics, ask for advice or have more information about an ingredient.

To the next stop! 
23 St Beauty