Natural ingredients | Healthy Living
Understanding Soil Association Standards in Skin Care
Today’s consumers are more ingredient-aware than ever.
They’re reading labels. Asking questions. Demanding better.
Natural and organic skincare is rising fast.
Our skin is the body’s largest organ.
It acts as a barrier but absorbs what we put on it.
This raises significant questions.
What are these chemicals doing to us, and how do they affect our health?
In this article, we explore the Soil Association.
And the strict standards behind its certification.
Your Skin Acts as a Protector
It allows some substances to enter whilst keeping bacteria out.
We know that certain chemicals can be absorbed through our skin and can have a cumulative effect on our health and well-being.
According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), the average lipstick user consumes around 1.8 kg over their lifetime.
As consumers become savvier about their products, demand for products free from synthetic chemicals increases.
Today, the skincare market is saturated, and companies are benefiting from this demand, using “green beauty” as a marketing opportunity to cash in on this lucrative market.
Despite the surge in popularity of green products, not all offerings in the market are created equal.
Some companies capitalise on the trend with misleading claims, exploiting terms like “natural and organic” “without “adhering to strict standards.
Fortunately, there is one company with great integrity behind it; getting their certification means your skin care product has to undergo vigorous testing.
The Soil Association stands as a beacon of integrity in this crowded space, providing rigorous certification to ensure that products meet the highest safety standards, environmental sustainability, and ethical production.
The Soil Association
The Soil Association is one of the most recognisable organic trademarks in the UK.
Founded in 1946, the Soil Association certifies over 80% of organic skincare products in the UK.
The ingredients within the products have to meet strict criteria to ensure they are not damaging to human health or the environment.
Their standards are based on principles that require a maximum amount of organic ingredients of 95%. They also require minimum synthetic ingredients and minimum ingredients to be processed.
They are also strict about clear labelling, which they believe allows consumers to make an informed choice about the products they purchase.
Certification Requirements
The following points are the soil association guidelines:
- Give clear and accurate information on the label.
- Under no circumstances must the products be tested on animals
- not harmful to the environment or human health
- They must be produced in line with the Soil Association’s standards
- personal care products must contain a minimum of 95% ‘organic ‘ingredients
- The product should be fit for purpose and must have a very high proportion of organic ingredients
- be traceable, clearly identified, and separate from non-organic products at all stages of the manufacturing process
The Soil Association excludes water in their calculation if the water is used to create an ingredient – the water contrasts with the plant’s water used to determine the organic percentage.
This method prevents manufacturers from manipulating their organic content levels and using organic floral waters or hydrosols to boost the organic percentage.
The inclusion of water in a formula is tricky to monitor, especially when it comes to shampoo. The article Organic Shampoo discusses this subject in greater detail.
To conclude. The naked truth
The Soil Association calls the terms Natural and Organic into question by going on record to say the following.
Many customers are using chemicals on their skin, chemicals found in paint formulas, household cleaning products and even antifreeze, when they genuinely thought they were buying a product made from only natural or organic ingredients, and this has got to stop.
They feel that many personal care products deceive customers into believing they are chemical-free.
The Soil Association has imposed high standards, preventing companies from exploiting the term organic.
As a result, any skincare manufacturer that carries the Soil Association standard is well regarded and committed to giving the customers what they want regarding integrity in organic skincare.
References
http://amorganica.com/natural-organic-certifications/
https://www.soilassociation.org/causes-campaigns/come-clean-about-beauty/
https://goodspaguide.co.uk/features/skincare-ingredients-what-is-natural-or-organic