I love beauty products but I dislike the harmful ingredients most conventional cosmetics carry. It’s a good thing to take initiative and become more aware of the ingredients in our personal care products and question what exactly are listed on the labels. Cosmetic options are endless that it can be a little daunting, but reading the ingredients and doing a little research before deciding which cosmetic product to use is good judgement in finding the truth about a product and what it contains.

If you have been a green consumer for the past few years, you may have noticed “natural” and “organic” products on store shelves. The difference between the two are that the FDA does not regulate “natural” products but they consider it to be natural because the product contains ingredients extracted directly from plant or animal products rather than being produced synthetically.

An “organic” product uses the process by which the ingredients were grown without the use of toxic pesticides or herbicides and an organic product carries the USDA seal (shown above) to show that it is held in the same standard as organic food products.

There are no government regulations for “natural” cosmetics, so most of the time it is up to the consumer to scrutinize products that claim to be natural. In the United States, however, the Natural Products Association (NPA) has worked hard to defend and promote the natural products industry.  NPA established a certification program for natural products to be made up of at least 95% natural ingredients in order to carry the NPA seal for home care and personal care products. With high quality seals and a little bit of ingredient research, you can find the cosmetics that are safe and right for you. If you are interested in looking up ingredients and reading information, make sure to check the links listed under Cosmetic and Food Safety on the left sidebar. What are some of your favorite natural and organic products?