Demi’s buzzing about Burt: Is Burt’s Bees bodywash really the bee’s knees (forgive me for the horrible pun)? It is supposedly all natural and has no harmful ingredients. I am just scared to try it because I am a very gullible person and all of their advertisements are so convincing.
The Right Brain’s stinging reply:
Burt’s bees claim to fame is that their products are “natural.” That’s a tricky claim since there are no real standards for what qualifies as a natural cosmetic product.
Unbee-lievable
Let’s take a look at exactly what good ol’ Burt says about his body wash. (By the way, in case you didn’t know, Burt’s Bees was recently purchased by the Chlorox company.) According to Drugstore.com this product is “an all-natural creamy body wash infused with oil beads to moisturize while you cleanse.” It’s also “pH Balanced, Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate Free and Paraben Free.” And here are the ingredients:
Water, Decylglucoside, Carthamus Tinctoria (Safflower) Oleosomes, Sodium Cocoyl Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Glycerin, Fragrance, Coco Glucoside, Glyceryl Oleate, Non Fat Dry Milk, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Xanthan Gum, Glucose, Citric Acid, Glucose Oxidase, Lactoperoxidase
All the ingredients in this formula can be traced to a “natural” source: Decylglucoside is a corn based surfactant that’s chemically derived, ditto for the safflower oleosomes, soy protein, glycerin, etc. Even the preservatives can be said to have natural origins.
Natural but not better
If you’re concerned about synthetic chemicals in your body wash, Burt’s Bees offers you a potential alternative. But, are they better? Well, they are sulfate free which make sense since some people find sulfates to be drying and/or irritating. (Click here to read our previous post on the sulfate free debate.) The value in their paraben free claim, however, is a bit less clear. Parabens are a touchy subject because some of them have been linked to health issues and those are being removed from cosmetics. But the two parabens most commonly used in cosmetics (methyl and propyl) have been given a clean bill of health. (Intrigued? Read more about the perils of parabens.) And just because a product claims to avoid “scary” ingredients, doesn’t mean it will clean or moisturize your skin better.
The Beauty Brains bottom line
For most people, regular body washes like those offered by Olay, Dove and Caress are perfectly fine. But if it’s peace of mind you’re looking for, then Burt may be best for you. However, be prepared to pay: a 12 oz bottle of Burt’s body wash will set you back about $8 while a larger, 18 oz bottle of Olay is only about $6.
What do YOU think? Are you concerned about being tricked by companies selling natural products? Leave a comment and share your concerns with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.
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I can’t speak for all Burt’s Bees products, but I have analyzed one of their body washes and it does in fact contain paraben. I don’t think they are trying to be deceptive, but they probably aren’t thoroughly checking their raw materials, some of which are preserved with paraben. I just wish they’d be more careful given their holier-than-thou attitude toward “natural”. Those that live in glass houses should not throw stones (or something like that).
This is akin to the hypocrisy of the Dove campaign for “real beauty”. Dove, owned by UniLever, shich also makes the wildly sexist Axe ads.
I used to use Dove products, but until UniLever pulls the Axe ads and issues a public apology — I don’t use Dove products. The idea that UniLever uses the Dove brand to educate young girls about how the media hurts female body image and self-esteem is especially awful, abusive, and egregious. UniLever pimps the image of women as sex objects in the Axe ads — and tries to cover the abuse by portraying Dove as concerned about the image of women in the media.
Dreadful.
Anyhoo, the Burt’s Bee’s “natural” claim is almost as disappointing. I’m in love with their tinted lip balm — and my fella uses the plain.
Darn it. When will companies be straight with us?
Never. It’s hard, but it’s that simple. They want your money, and as such they will never be straight with you. Ever.
Minimize your use of their products — it’s about all you can do, unfortunately.
Don’t know about whether Burt’s is better or not, but I wil say it is better for my son. I use Baby Bee shampoo and body wash exclusively for him(he’s now three). All the other supposedly ‘gentle’ baby washes made the poor guy break out in an itchy, red rash! I’ve tried the other washes again as he has gotten older with the same results. A horrilbe red, itchy rash that he will scratch till it bleeds. So whatever is in the ‘cheaper’ washes isn’t better for his skin. Just our experience.
Burts bee products was actually started by a women trying to make ends meet. All the products she made were all natural. they became very popular and she sold the rights to a production company. They may have added things to the product for fda. It’s sad that things like this happen but her story is amazing. I know her and she will be sad to hear about this. It all started in her kitchen and has become big buck for clorox and her too. I don’t think she ever wanted any of it not to be natural.
I will talk to her and maybe she can do something about it.
Lynda, I recall reading a New York Times article about the founders of Burt’s Bees. They were a pair of lovers. The man (for whom the company was named) was a beekeeper and met the woman while she was hitchhiking. They pair co-owned the company until they had a falling out and the woman bought his portion for what some believe to be an extraordinarily low sum. Then she sold it to Clorox and has another business now.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/business/06bees.html?scp=1&sq=burt%27s%20bees&st=cse
According to the book Ecoholic by Adria Vasil, “all types of parabens (Methyl, ethyl, etc.) have been found to be estrogenic” and “have been found in breast tumor samples. Doesn’t sound very safe, but you say they’ve been given a clear bill of health? Why?
@Amy – Because Ecoholic doesn’t base their information on science and it is a book written to scare you.
It is not true that all parabens have been found in breast tumor samples. Specifically methylparaben was found, not others.
And the truth is that in the same study, methylparaben was found in breast tissue that didn’t have tumors. Plus, Methylparaben and propylparaben are widely used as food preservatives. People actually eat parabens! The FDA has determined them to be GRAS (Generally regarded as safe). That is why we say they’ve been given a clean bill of health.
Why does Ecoholic dispute that? The conclusions are not based on science but on something else.
It’s not true that safflower oleosomes are “chemically derived”. They are isolated by physical processing only from seeds. You can check out the website of the company that sells them http://www.botaneco.ca
I love Burt’s Bees. I am serious sensitive to Sulfates and Burt’s is the only easily found and reasonably priced product that I can use. I’ve looked at many other “organic” labels and for the what it is…Burt’s is great. Good luck finding something better. If you do, please post so that others can also enjoy.