Vital - distributed monthly within the Detroit Free Press & The Detroit News. Also available free in hundreds of local racks

« Articles

Is Beauty More Than Skin Deep?

Many consumers are going organic in the cosmetics aisle, too. Is putting something on your body and in it the same?

By Megan Swoyer

Call it the next wave in the organic revolution. While organic foods are becoming commonplace on the shelves of grocery stores, their cosmetic counterparts are also staking a prominent place in the beauty aisles. From skin creams to shampoos, organic beauty products are expanding from health stores to mainstream merchandisers.

Many who seek out organic cosmetics are hoping to avoid chemicals commonly found in regular products. “What we put on our bodies is absorbed into it,” says Andrea Brassert, a Troy mother who launched her own body-care line, Lavandrea, using lavender grown in her back yard, agrees. “Why would anyone want to subject their bodies to ingredients that are potentially harmful with long-term exposure?”

The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit Washington, D.C.-based organization that monitors public chemical use, has stated it is particularly concerned with two groups of cosmetics ingredients: phthalates, a plasticizer, and parabens, which are preservatives. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classifies both ingredients as safe.

Not everyone is riding the organic bandwagon. Ali Moiin, M.D., a Troy-based dermatologist and clinical associate professor of dermatology at Wayne State University, says absorption of ingredients into the body from topical treatments is minute compared to absorbing something orally or through blood. He’s more concerned that people maintain high standards of hygiene by using antibacterial soap.

LACK OF GUIDELINES

Those seeking natural cosmetics will discover it’s difficult to determine what is natural or organic. Noelle Wagner of Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Market, with four metro Detroit locations, says the FDA is still in discussions over the labeling of organic body-care items.

“Some companies have been doing so based on the organic guidelines that are currently in place for food,” explains Wagner, whole-body coordinator for Whole Foods’ Midwest region.

According to the USDA, a packaged product can be labeled as organic only if it contains at least 95% organic ingredients, not counting added water or salt, while an item touted as made with organic ingredients must contain 70% organic compounds, and 100% organic means just that.

Because no federal or state regulatory requirements govern organic beauty products manufactured and sold in the United States, consumers may find some products contain only trace amounts of plant-based or non-synthetic ingredients.

Dermatologist Ali Moiin, M.D., says this is a concern. “Because there’s no control over the products, there’s no absolute scientific proof that many of the organic treatments work, or if they are harmful or not,” he says.

Whatever your preference, be careful and communicate with your doctor about products, says Moiin. He suggests trying a small amount of any new product on the forearm first. If you experience no adverse reaction, try more on your face (or wherever else it should go), but continue to monitor your reaction.

TIPS FOR GOING NATURAL

Want to go organic? Here are tips from Jody Villecco, national marketing specialist for Whole Foods Market, and Sharon Houghton, director of All Natural Beauty, a portal to all-natural beauty products and services:

Look for:

• Plant-based oils as an alternative to synthetic and petroleum- based choices.
• Pure essential oils as an alternative to synthetic fragrance. Sometimes called “fragrance oils” or “fragrance.”

Avoid:

• Parabens, sodium lauryl (laurel and myreth) sulphate, methyl and propyl parabens, talc and phthalates. Some studies have linked these ingredients to cancer.
• Products claiming to be “naturally derived.” This means ingredients started naturally, but were changed in the lab.