This will no doubt come as a surprise to many people but, according to WHO (the World Health Organization, not the Doctor) herbal products could be a threat to consumers’ health.
As explained in this article on Science Daily, WHO tested a variety of herbal alternative medicines and found that 59% of the products were contaminated (either with plant species that were NOT supposed to be present or with other fillers.) Furthermore, the plant extracts that were used could be toxic or have other side effects. So clearly, just because these products are “all natural” doesn’t automagically mean they are safe and effective. And if herbal medicines are contaminated it’s not unlikely that herbal cosmetics are as well!
This doesn’t mean that “synthetics” are safe from contamination either. As we discussed in our recent post petroleum jelly must be properly purified to remove carcinogenic contaminants. But when properly refined, petroleum jelly is a very effective ingredient that is completely safe to use.
So let’s stop the ridiculous argument that “all natural is good and all synthetic is bad.” Instead let’s focus on making sure that the ingredients in our products are safe and effective regardless of their source.
End of rant.