So called ‘Natural’ brands

One of the things I rant about more than anything else is the brands that print natural or organic on their products when in fact they’re actually full of ingredients that no true organic brand would touch. There are lots of them out there, but I’m going to focus on one product, simply because the other half brought it home when he did the shopping this week (I thought I had him better trained than that!).

I asked him to pick me up a hand wash, and he came home with Palmolive Naturals Milk and Honey, he’d read the packing and thought it would be okay as it contains milk, honey and aloe vera, and has “Extracts of 100% Natural Origin”. That’s true, it does have extracts of milk and honey, but it also has:

Sodium C12-13 Pareth Sulfate and Glycol Distearate: both of which are synthetic derivitaives from petroleum, as well as Tetrasodium EDTA, Polyquaternium-7, Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer and Laureth-4.

It’s products like this that make it so difficult for people to know which brands are truly natural, and which are just jumping on the green washing band wagon!

NEOM Limited Edition Sensuous Candle

My new favourite scent!!

I’ve been a big Neom fan for years with my favourite ever candle being the fresh smelling mint and basil Energise candle. This was discontinued a couple of years back, and since then I’ve alternated between the other fragrances, my most frequent purchases being Refresh and Tranquillity. I love using the uplifting scents of the Sicilian Lemon and Basil in the Refresh candle as a pick me up, or to make the house smell amazing before friends come to visit. In the evenings I light the Tranquillity candle to help me wind down from a stressful day; it’s guaranteed to help me drift off to sleep. As well as the beautiful scents, I love that NEOM candles are made using vegetable wax and pure essential oils, so they don’t give off any nasty toxins!

You can only imagine my excitement when I heard that NEOM have released a limited edition candle in the same black glass as my old favourite.  When my candle arrived I instantly fell in love with the packaging, and I could already detect the gorgeous scent inside. Then I lifted the lid to reveal the beautiful Sensuous Candle, with its calming oils of Ylang Ylang, Frankincense & Patchouli, and instantly this candle became my new favourite. It’s one of those candles that manage to ease all of life’s tensions. The Ylang Ylang keeps the scent sensual, the patchouli spices it up a little, whilst the Frankincense stops it from being too feminine.

I think I’ll follow NEOMs advice now, and lock myself away from the outside world by lighting my Sensuous candling and curling up on the sofa with a book.

Why I use Organic

One of the most common questions people ask me when I explain that I’ve switched across to natural and organic beauty products is “why?”. My response is generally “why not?!”, although there is obviously more to it than that, I’m certainly not missing out by eliminating man-made chemicals from my products. I can still get the results I need, without Parabens, SLSs and PEGs.

The truth is, “Organic” gets a bad press, as there are a lot of mediocre brands out there, and worse still there are the brands claiming to be organic that in reality may be as little as 1% natural. The reason for this blog is to highlight the good guys, and show people what you can achieve with natural ingredients.

The list of ingredients that I don’t allow in my products appears endless, however with good certification and awareness I find everything I need, and a whole lot that I don’t. There’s still room in the bathroom, just.

For those just starting out, here’s a brief roundup of ingredients to avoid:

Parabens: Synthetic preservatives, a cheap way of making your products extend the use by date. Connected to premature skin aging (and yet often used in anti-aging products?!), and even more serious, linked to breast cancer as it mimics oestrogen.

Polyethylene Glycol: Used to make a product penetrate into the skin, this also removes natural oils, so much so it has a second use as an oven cleaner.

Sodium Lauryl / Laureth Sulfate: A degreasing agent that is an ester of sulphuric acid, it is also used to remove the grease in a car engine! This stuff makes your shampoo’s foam. It also strips the skin of the natural oils, leaving it dry

Diethanolamine, Monoethanolamine, Triethanolamine – When mixed with other ingredients in a product DEAs. TEAs and MEAs can create nitrosodiethanolamine, this disrupts the hormones and is thought to cause tumours.

Silicon: This is most commonly known for its use in hair conditioners as it coats the hair and leaves it shiny. However, its often used in beauty products too, where it coats the skins and traps in dirt and bacteria. This is why people often complain that their foundations cause spots.

Mineral Oils: Distilled from crude oil, Baby Oil is 100% mineral oil. It sits on the surface of the skin, stripping it from excreting toxins, which clogs pores. The toxics are also thought to re-enter the body and cause a build up in the endocrine system. With long term use this product will dry the skin out.

Artificial Fragrances: These are often made from petroleum, and are linked to asthma and allergies. Some artificial fragrances are thought to be carcinogenic

For every argument that is put forward for these products to be avoided, somebody will put forward another one to ‘prove’ these ingredients are safe. From my point of view, I choose to avoid them as there are safer alternatives that work just as well. Yes I may pay a couple of pounds more for my products, but it’s my skin and I only get one body so I’m going to look after it in the best way I can.