If you want to be 100% ethical when looking after your skin, it’s super important to understand what words like organic and vegan really mean when it comes to the skincare products you buy. Here’s what to look out for.
organic
Did you know products can include just 1% organic ingredients and can still sell themselves as organic? Yikes! If something is organic, it means the ingredients are organically farmed, but you need to check the small print to find out exactly what percentage of ingredients are actually organic. Look out for the Australian Certified Organic logo; it will help to decipher the fully organic products from the one percenters.
Australian Certified Organic (ACO) is the main certifying body for organic cosmetics. It follows the COSMOS standard, developed by five different European bodies, specifically for cosmetics.
Other major Australian certified organic organisations include:
National Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Australia (NASAA)
AUS-QUAL Limited (Aus-Qual)
Bio-Dynamic Research Institute (Demeter)
vegan
This is where it’s at. Products labelled 'vegan’ or ‘vegan-friendly’ contain no animal products or byproducts. HOWEVER! Much like vegans can eat Doritos (you know it’s not actually cheese, right?), vegan skincare can still contain synthetic chemicals, as long as no animals were harmed in the process. The same goes for plant-based skincare, where many ingredients do not stem from plants, rather from those used in conventional cosmetics. This misinformation is known as ‘greenwashing’ (read more here). So if you’d rather not use these products on your skin, be sure to – once again – read the ingredient list!
Stay tuned for part three, where we explore some of our favourite natural, organic and vegan skincare brands.