The beauty industry could do with a bit of clarity…
The lack of regulation around marketing language in the beauty industry has led to serious confusion. People are struggling to separate fact from fiction.
One significant claim that irks me is when salespeople or celebrities say something is “free from chemicals”.
Not only is this statement false, but it’s downright impossible. Everything from electronics, to food, and even your body is made up of chemicals.
So today, I’d like to debunk the following myth:
MYTH: “Natural” skincare products are always good, and synthetic skincare products are always bad.
This is simply not true.
You see, the word “natural” isn’t regulated by the FDA at all.
That means companies can use the term with reckless abandon and stuff their products with ingredients that are not natural… with no consequences.
In fact, an Australian chemistry teacher, James Kennedy, decided to create an ingredient list for popular fruits. This list highlights the common misconception that “human-made” chemicals and natural compounds are different.
Yes, your all-natural, organic banana contains 2-hydroxy-3-methyl ethyl butanoate…
And that’s okay.
There’s even a term for consumers’ newfound fear of synthetic chemicals…
Chemophobia.
Beauty companies capitalize on this fear to “greenwash” you into buying their products, which is doing more harm than good. They do this by using tricky language to convince you that their product is healthy, safe, and environmentally-friendly (when it might not be).
So what can you do when there’s all this disinformation floating around? My advice is this…
Search for products using clean, safe ingredients and avoid products using toxic ingredients—whether they’re synthetic or not.
If you’re currently using cleansers and lotions, an excellent place to start is scanning the ingredient label for parabens, phthalates, sulfates, essential oils (natural), alcohol (also natural), and synthetic fragrances.
These substances are known to harm the health of your skin.
Also, find a company that is transparent about the ingredients they use. Instead of focusing on the source (in nature or the lab), choose a company that relies on science to determine ingredients that will give you clear, glowing skin.
Like Del Mar Laboratories 🙂
Thanks to loyal customers like yourself, we can continue to innovate, working with top ingredient suppliers, and always being honest about what’s in our products—clinically-studied ingredients that provide real results.
Dr. Chasan, myself, and the entire Del Mar team look forward to many more years of cutting through the nonsense so you can nourish your skin from within…
And feel safe doing so.
