Why Choose Organic Skin Care Products?

Could choosing organic skin care products be important to your health? Recent studies indicate that we may actually absorb more toxins through our skin and through inhalation, than from foods we eat. The skin is the largest organ of the body and what is absorbed will reach the bloodstream within minutes and may remain in the fatty tissues indefinitely. This is likely the reason more consumers are reaching for organic skin care products.

The average adult uses 9 personal care products, exposing them to approximately 126 chemicals daily. 89% of the 10,500 high volume ingredients used in most over the counter personal care products have not even gone through minimal toxicity testing.

The American Cancer Society reports that cancer rates have increased since 1901 from only 1 in 8,000 Americans, to being 1 in 3 today! By the year 2010, this disease will afflict 1 out of every 2 individuals. Dr. Samuel Epstein, chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition states that mainstream industry cosmetics and personal care products (CPCPs) are the single most important, yet generally unrecognized, class of avoidable carcinogenic exposure for the overwhelming majority of citizens in major industrial nations.

According to market statistics, consumers are willing to pay significantly more for personal care products branded "organic" or "natural" which they believe do not contain petrochemical-modified ingredients or toxic contaminants.

Unfortunately, most "organic" or "natural" labeled personal products at your local health store are not USDA certified, and most contain only cheap extracts of organic herbs and maybe a few other token organic ingredients for organic veneer. The core of these products usually consist of conventional synthetic cleansers and conditioning agents often including toxic petrochemicals.

With no government regulation of the use of the words "organic" or "natural" in the personal care product industry, companies eager for profits will often list a few botanical ingredients on their labels to entice consumers, hoping they won't notice the list of synthetic petrochemical and oleochemical emollients, thickeners, detergents, fragrances and preservatives that follows. It is no wonder consumers are confused and alarmed by such deceptive industry and labeling practices.

In March '08, the Organic Consumers Association reported test results indicating that a carcinogenic chemical by-product called 1,4-dioxane, was found in many popular so called "organic" or "natural" labeled products. Some of those companies are currently facing lawsuits for making false claims.

It should be noted that according to the Organic Consumers Association testing, all skin and personal care products made exclusively from Certified Organic ingredients, tested completely free of the toxic 1,4-dioxane contaminant.

Based on these facts the safest choices for consumers, are organic skin care products made only by companies that are committed to using only safe natural ingredients, or that contain at least 95% ingredients certified under the USDA National Organic Program.