When I was pregnant for the first time, my body made some decisions about what it decided was good for the baby. Alcohol went straight out of the window and just the distant smell of coffee made me nauseous. After a while I also became concerned about the potentially adverse effects of other household products and I tried to avoid spray deodorants (tricky) and smelly cleaning products (not so tricky!).
Ten years on and I’d almost forgotten about those feelings, until a few days ago when I met up with some knowledgeable folk at Neal’s Yard Remedies and the Bristol based Soil Association. These people are passionate about helping us make an informed choice about the products we’re putting onto our skin, but they acknowledge that that isn’t always easy to do.
With food, we’re used to labelling to help us identify what’s in a product. Strict requirements must be met before our food can achieve ‘organic’ certification, but with beauty products it’s much more vague!
Neal’s Yard Remedies, who were the first certified organic health and beauty company, says:-
“There are no legal standards for organic beauty products so some products may be labelled ‘organic’ even if it only contains 1% organic ingredients.”
Soil Association research shows that 4 out of 5 households already buy organic products. So if you agree with their ethos that “what you put on your body is just as important as what you put into it”, and current labelling isn’t fully informing us of product contents, how can we tell what we’re putting onto our skin?
How can we be sure that a beauty product is organic?
Neal’s Yard Remedies suggests:-
“To ensure you are buying organic, look at for organics certification logos.”
Brands have to pass rigorous checks to carry the prestigious Soil Association symbol, which represents quality and trust. If you see their sign, you know your product is organic.
I was given a pot of Neil’s Yards’ Wild Rose Beauty Balm by the Neil’s Yard team and it clearly states the organic percentage as 99% as well as featuring the Soil Association Organic logo.
Let’s be realistic here. I’m not likely to bin my current beauty products in favour of an all organic collection, but it’s good to know I can make an informed choice when I next make a purchase.
I wonder how many of us Mums are as conscientious about what we put on their own skin as we are about that of our little ones?! I know I’m not. How about you?
Jane, I couldn’t agree more. It’s not just about what you eat, what we put on our skin is just as important and the soil association is the only organic standard I will trust. I run baby massage classes and provide all my parents with organic cold pressed sunflower oil to use for massage which has been approved by the soil association. This reassures parents during my classes and also makes them aware of what other baby products are available that market themselves as ‘safe’! I have such a passion for organic food and beauty products that I am also a Neals Yard Remedies consultant, based in Portishead. I mainly take orders from my customers but happy to take orders or run parties for anyone in Portishead and the surrounding area.