People all want cosmetic and skincare products that really work, right? Yet how many people actually look at what is in them or know anything about the ingredients.
It is normal in today's society to believe what we see on the TV and in magazines.
Beauty products just like food are a product of the ingredients used to create them.
A Michelin star chef uses the finest ingredients and similarly a great cosmetic scientist knows that it's the quality ingredients that make the difference.
Ingredient listing on the labeling of a beauty product is law, however do people really take any notice of it? It is always in small print and most people don't understand the chemical names on there.
Ingredients are listed by their 'INCI' names that is a system called the 'International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients', these are often different to the systematic chemical name or from a common name the consumer may recognize.
A simple rule that helps to sort of the great from the not so great is where on the list the names you do recognize appear.
Quite often the INCI name of natural ingredients is recognizable however this is not always the case.
Ingredients are always listed in order of percentage in the product.
So the first ingredient you see is in the highest quantity.
Often this is water, that's OK! We are made up of 70% water and it is sometimes needed to stabilize the formulation of the product and achieve the desired consistency, it is the carrier.
If you see a natural ingredient before or after the water, chances are you are onto a good product.
Science is amazing and without it we wouldn't have the wonderful products we have today.
We need the technology to make the advances in the delivery systems.
However the best products take their lead from mother nature and harness it into a great delivery system.
Many thousands of products use natural ingredients but it's the quantity used that really makes a difference.
By law if a product contains 1% of an ingredient then it is OK to write on the front of the product 'contains x', x being whatever that ingredient is.
An example of this would be Tea Tree oil.
If there was a body lotion that contained 1% of Tea Tree Oil in its formulation, on the front of the packaging it might say 'contains Tea Tree'.
The problem with this is not that it is misleading but that those simple words will influence sales, as the consumer may think the Tea Tree will have some benefits for their skin.
The truth being that in such a low percentage the benefit would be non-existent.
There are many regulations over claims made on product labeling so as not to appear misleading, but always remember the product is there to be sold so look at the ingredient listing, it doesn't lie.
As well as taking care to note the position on the ingredient listing of natural ingredients you may want in your beauty product, its also important to note the presence or omission of ingredients which you might not want in your beauty product.
I will expand on this in a further post.
It is normal in today's society to believe what we see on the TV and in magazines.
Beauty products just like food are a product of the ingredients used to create them.
A Michelin star chef uses the finest ingredients and similarly a great cosmetic scientist knows that it's the quality ingredients that make the difference.
Ingredient listing on the labeling of a beauty product is law, however do people really take any notice of it? It is always in small print and most people don't understand the chemical names on there.
Ingredients are listed by their 'INCI' names that is a system called the 'International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients', these are often different to the systematic chemical name or from a common name the consumer may recognize.
A simple rule that helps to sort of the great from the not so great is where on the list the names you do recognize appear.
Quite often the INCI name of natural ingredients is recognizable however this is not always the case.
Ingredients are always listed in order of percentage in the product.
So the first ingredient you see is in the highest quantity.
Often this is water, that's OK! We are made up of 70% water and it is sometimes needed to stabilize the formulation of the product and achieve the desired consistency, it is the carrier.
If you see a natural ingredient before or after the water, chances are you are onto a good product.
Science is amazing and without it we wouldn't have the wonderful products we have today.
We need the technology to make the advances in the delivery systems.
However the best products take their lead from mother nature and harness it into a great delivery system.
Many thousands of products use natural ingredients but it's the quantity used that really makes a difference.
By law if a product contains 1% of an ingredient then it is OK to write on the front of the product 'contains x', x being whatever that ingredient is.
An example of this would be Tea Tree oil.
If there was a body lotion that contained 1% of Tea Tree Oil in its formulation, on the front of the packaging it might say 'contains Tea Tree'.
The problem with this is not that it is misleading but that those simple words will influence sales, as the consumer may think the Tea Tree will have some benefits for their skin.
The truth being that in such a low percentage the benefit would be non-existent.
There are many regulations over claims made on product labeling so as not to appear misleading, but always remember the product is there to be sold so look at the ingredient listing, it doesn't lie.
As well as taking care to note the position on the ingredient listing of natural ingredients you may want in your beauty product, its also important to note the presence or omission of ingredients which you might not want in your beauty product.
I will expand on this in a further post.
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