Kelly’s comment…To the dumbass that said no product can ever be made that is TOTALLY natural, take a look at Giovanni’s ingredients.
The Left Brain responds:
I paraphrased Kelly’s comment from our post on Is Aveda Really More Natural because I think it makes a good point about how to read an ingredient statement. Or rather, how NOT to read one.
Not all natural
Kelly is suggesting that Giovanni’s hair care products are 100% natural and tells us to look to their ingredients as proof. And to the untrained eye, the ingredients do look quite natural:
Tea tree shampoo ingredients
Aqua (Purified Water), Tea Tree (Melaleuca Alternifolia) Oil, Peppermint (Mentha Piperita) Oil, Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus Officinalis) Oil, Rosemary (Rosmarinus Officinalis) Extract, Nettle (Urtica Dioica) Oil, Thyme (Thymus Vulgaris) Oil, Birch Leaf (Butela Alba) Oil, Chamomilla (Anthemis Nobilus Flower), Clary (Salvia Sclarea), Lavender (Lavandula Angustifolia), Coltsfoot Leaf (Tussilago Fargara), Yarrow (Achillea Millefolium) Oil, Mallow (Malya Sylvestris), Horsetail (Equisetum Arvense) Oil, Soybean Protein (Glycine Soja), C12 14 Olefin Sulfonate (Coconut Derived), Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Tocopherol (*Vitamin E), Trace Minerals, Citric Acid (Corn), Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate, Sodium Chloride (Sea Salt), Grapefruit Seed (Citrus Derived)Conditioner ingredients
Aqua (Purified Water), Rosemary (Rosmarinus Officinalis) Oil, Nettle (Urtica Dioica) Oil, Thyme (Thymus Vulgaris) Oil, Birch Leaf (Butela Alba) Oil, Chamomile (Anthemis Nobilis Flower) Oil, Clary (Salvia Sclarea), Lavender (Lavandula Angustifolia), Coltsfoot Leaf (Tussilago Fargara), Yarrow (Achillea Millefolium) Oil, Mallow (Malya Sylvestris), Horsetail (Equisetum Arvense) Oil, Soybean Protein (Glycine Soja), Cetyl Alcohol (Plant Derived), Stearalkonium Chloride, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Trace Minerals, Citric Acid (Corn), Sodium Hydromethylglycinate, Grapefruit Seed (Citrus Derived)Styling natural mousse ingredients
Aqua (Purified Water), Rosemary (Rosmarinus Officinalis) Oil, Nettle (Urtica Dioica) Oil, Thyme (Thymus Vulgaris) Oil, Birch Leaf (Butela Alba) Oil, Chamomile (Anthemis Nobilis Flower) Oil, Clary (Salvia Sclarea), Lavender (Lavandula Angustifolia), Coltsfoot Leaf (Tussilago Fargara), Yarrow (Achillea Millefolium) Oil, Mallow (Malya Sylvestris), Horsetail (Equisetum Arvense) Oil, Soybean Protein (Glycine Soja), PVP/VA Copolymer, Sodium Hydroxymethlyglycinate, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Trace Minerals, Citric Acid (Corn), Grapefruit Seed (Citrus Derived)
But the trained eye spots two issues that make me question the real naturalness of the product line: first, the natural oils are probably listed out of order because such high levels would likely yield an unstable product. (It takes about 5% or so of fatty alcohols to form a nice thick conditioners. If the ingredients in this product were listed in strict order, the natural oils would have to be greater than 5% which means the total oil content would have to be around 70% which is almost impossible for this system.)
Second, after all the natural goodies there are distinctly “chemical” sounding names like PVP/VA copolymer and Stearalkonium Chloride. So stating that this line is “totally” natural based on reviewing the ingredient list is questionable at best.
The Beauty Brains bottom line
Be skeptical about what you read from cosmetic manufacturers. In some cases even basic information like the ingredient statement may be misrepresented. And be VERY cautious when it comes to using ill-defined terms like “natural.”
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{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
I love these debates. There are soooo many people who seem to hanker for “all-natural, chemical-free” stuff. For why? It’s not like nature isn’t choc-a-bloc with toxins – cochineal, snake venom, nettle stings, deadly nightshade etc etc. Indeed, the word toxin applies in the strictest sense only to natural products.
Have these people no sense that the natural products they so crave over “synthetic” are found in plants and are present in the plants for a reason – usually they the plants chemical weapons against infection, and pests?
Give me a highly purified ingredient over a heterogeneous “natural” extract any day…
I wonder where you can get C12 14 Olefin Sulfonate containing coconuts.
If they liked “natural” so much, then why don’t they wear their faces like nature made them?
That’s the core of the whole thing. They love natural so much, so why do they even WANT to wear cosmetics, which are all about — let’s face it — celebrating artifice? Natural eyeliner is okay, but your own natural eyes aren’t?
There’s also the issue of how “coltsfoot leaf” finds its way into the stuff to start with. Do they think little fairey folk dance in circles and pluck the leaves from the bases of ancient magical oak trees? It’s a pretty name for a plant extract.
Cocaine is “coca leaf extract.” Cigarettes are “dried tobacco leaf.” Opium is “poppy elixir.” LESS natural things (and more harmful) you’d never find. There’s nothing natural about what’s done to coca leaves to turn them into cocaine, after all.
But give it a nice new-age botanical name, and people are fooled. The only conclusion I can come to is that it’s because they want to be.
Not only the C12 14 Olefin Sulfonate is 100% not-naturally derived (other than the oxigen to make the SO3), but the Cocamidopropyl Betaine is made from an amine and chlorocetic acid that are not naturally derived. The two count for a good protion of its molecular weight.
Nothing new. The “natural” oax started about 15 years ago and it is getting out-of-proportion. For as long as there is people willing to pay for it, it will never end.
Natural does not always equal good. Corn is in *everything* and I’m severely allergic.
Am I the only one who thinks the picture of the mouse with a steak knife strapped to its back is cute in a weird kinda way?
Cute, yes, but when that tape comes off!!!Ow!!!
There is an appropriate niche of people who legitimately need cosmetic products to be as natural and organic as possible because they have very sensitive skin.
Unfortunately those people have to sacrifice some effectiveness and ease of use for the sake of their safety and comfort. Let them.
The rest of the world needs an organic mascara like I need an organic TV set. There is no need to be evangelistic about it in my opinion.
-Tony
People don’t legitimately need “natural” cosmetics if their skin is sensitive, they need sensitive skin formulations. As discussed above, there are many “natural” products which are irritating; poison ivy comes to my mind.
right Jess. poop is natural—
The “dumbass” in the question really added class, just the kind of person I like to debate science with.
I’m more concerned about packaging than I am with ingredients. Plastic is still relatively new and has been found in unexpected places in the ecosystem, like in microbes. I’m trying to use more bar soaps and shampoos so I can avoid plastic bottles. I wish I could get refills of my liquid brands that I like into glass containers.
Funny, I’m horrified by the image. Then again, I refuse to purchase products that test on animals & for reasons unclear, this pic reminds me of just that abuse (though unintended).
By the way, is it necessary to be so, uh . . . well, brusque when stating your views? Ouch.
Glad I’m not partaking & posting on the subject at hand. For the record, I don’t favor one over the other when it comes to natural or chemical – just the animal testing issue. I know, I know: “OT and wrong thread!” But when I saw that photo in my Email, something drove me to see what the . . . and it brought me here.
Poor ‘lil thing. Removing that duct tape won’t hurt a bit, right people?
I’d say the initial poster pretty much lowered that bar with the dumbass comment.
I don’t know what that tape is called but it doesn’t adhere by stickiness; it’s used to wrap wires and is sort of like latex tape. Really, it doesn’t hurt, try it! Though I certainly wouldn’t recommend wrapping knives on animals. Weaponised gerbils are a danger to all!
On topic: Not everyone carries an ingredients database when we shop so it would be nice to know at a glance what we’re looking at when we read ingredients lists.
I wish a line would come out catering to science geeks and cutting through the woowoo hyperbole. ‘Liquid emulsion-like substance for skin softening sensation scented with rose emulating esters’. I’d buy that.
I think the best thing to assume is just that, if you buy it in a store and it’s in a little palstic or glass bottle with a pump and a colorful logo … it ain’t organic. Period. It’s like looking for organic microwaveable brownies. No such thing.
If you REALLY want organic, you need to avoid prepackaged ANYTHING. Use coconut oil for a hair conditioner. Use water-only or the vinegar/baking soda/whatever scrub for your hair. Use oil cleaning with olive oil and a strigil for your skin. Period. If you buy ANYTHING mass-produced, it’s not organic by any stretch of the imagination. The minute you squeeze something pearly-lavendar out of a plastic tub that smells like Belgian wildflowers, you’ve left organic and natural far behind.
No matter what the natural-herbal-organic types who still want blue eyelids and pink hair say.
Yes, natural doesn’t always mean good. Asbestos is natural…so is petroleum (oil derived.) And there is a big difference between natural and organic. Natural is just a buzz word, completely unregulated, that companies use to sell their products to unsuspecting consumers. There are guidelines for a product to be termed “organic.” I recently blogged about this very topic and the topic can be found in the archives of my blog. Thanks.