How to spot true natural cosmetics

What are the core values of true natural cosmetics?

The following overview of the established consumer expectations which are the core of the established Natural and Organic Cosmetics (NOC) standards shows which ingredients and methods are banned for the production of NOC products and which ones are approved. 

According to the established standards, it is forbidden:

1. to use ingredients obtained from mineral oil, for example paraffin or colourants based on mineral oil. In order to provide sufficient protection of the formulation, the only exceptions allowed are nature identical preservatives.
2. to use ingredients that are labelled as genetically modified organisms according to Regulation (EG) 1829/2003. This also applies to non-food ingredients which do not fall under the scope of this regulation.
3. to use ingredients obtained from dead vertebrates.
4. to treat ingredients of plant and animal origin with ionising radiation.
5. to use halogen-organic and aromatic solvents.

According to the established standards the following ingredients are approved:

1. Natural ingredients of plant, inorganic mineral and animal origin obtained with the help of physical and biotechnological methods (natural raw material).
2. Reaction products of natural raw materials with respect to number 1 (naturally derived raw materials)
3. Nature-identical inorganic minerals, for example for decorative natural cosmetics or for sunscreens (nature-identical raw material).
4. Only natural fragrances according to ISO 9235.
5. Only detergent surfactant substances which are completely biodegradable (in accordance with Regulation (EG) 648/2004)

If the use of organic raw materials is to be highlighted on a cosmetic product, the criteria mentioned above regarding natural cosmetics should be fulfilled and the respective ingredients must conform to Regulation (EG) 834/2007. This also includes ingredients usually not under the scope of this regulation.

How to recognise true natural cosmetics

When buying true natural cosmetics, it is still reasonable to look for the big established labels such as NaTrue or Cosmos. Contrary to ISO 16128, both of these labels fulfil the criteria mentioned above and therefore represent true natural cosmetics. The differences between the two are only minor. 

Additionally, strict compliance with these criteria is verified by both NOC standards on a regular basis with NaTrue using independent certifiers for maximum impartiality, while Cosmos has its own certifier pool. 

Isn’t ISO better since it is international?

It is true, to some extent, that ISO is more international since more countries have contributed to the development of the standard. On the other hand, ISO has not yet been implemented in a lot of countries so far and therefore it is not foreseeable whether it will really be accepted on an international level in the end.

The NOC labels mentioned above are both international themselves with NaTrue being currently established in 27 and Cosmos being used in 45 countries worldwide.

What are the additional ­benefits of these labels?

Since both labels are awarded by NOC associations, the usage of these labels supports the work of the associations. This work includes the protection of genuine natural and organic raw materials for natural cosmetics but also the struggle for consumer interests with regulatory authorities in Brussels and on a global level. 

One example of these lobbying activities is that the European Commission intended to ban peanut oil for cosmetics due to the assumption that it is impossible to assess the allergic potential of this ingredient. This decision would have hit both natural cosmetics manufacturers, who would have had to reformulate their products, as well as NOC consumers, who would have had to do without many of their favourite products. 

However, due to the intervention of NaTrue, it was possible to show that natural cosmetic manufacturers are in fact able to assess the quality and the allergic potential of crude peanut oil and with the help of purification and regular analytical assessment can ensure that the ingredient is utterly harmless for consumers. 

After this intervention, the European Commission published a regulation that allows peanut oil on premises, provided that certain analytical parameters already used by NOC manufacturers are maintained.