We strive to improve our awareness about the product ingredients we consume both in our homes and for our skincare, and there are entire consumer/industry movements shifting behavior toward cleaner beauty in general. In the age of fast information, we sometimes fall prey to quick unchecked fact-gathering through unresearched social media posts and less than honest product labeling. 

Terms like “natural,” “clean,” “pure,” and “organic,” are thrown around to describe products that may only stay true to them with some of their ingredients and not all. So even though it’s legal to do so, we may sometimes be using products that are not what they advertise themselves to be. The term to describe this behavior is greenwashing.

Beyond the more obvious villain ingredients such as parfum, fragrance, parabens, and petrolatum derivatives, brands claiming they are 100% or all-natural often mix in ingredients that, to most of us, sound natural, but are actually synthetically produced.

Examples of Ingredients That Sound Natural:

Vitamin E (tocopherol) 

Vitamin E in skincare is generally synthetically created. The only way to access the benefits of this essential vitamin is to use skincare products that contain the fruit or plants where it originates in nature such as avocado oil. 

Zinc Oxide

Zinc oxide occurs naturally in the mineral zincite, but the zinc oxide used in skincare is created synthetically, not sourced in nature.

Magnesium hydroxide

Magnesium hydroxide is found as the mineral brucite in nature. This one is also produced synthetically and not sourced in nature for skincare ingredients.

In modern society’s mass produced, competitive market for skincare products, all working to win their place in consumer focus, it could be an extremely tall order to find what is fully natural. Having knowledge about ingredient sources and how they interact with our bodies and the environment empowers us to make informed decisions based on values. Though there may be a lot to consider down the rabbit hole of health and natural product use, partner yourself with brands on the same path toward improvement and awareness.

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At Ellovi we believe skin health is deeply connected to overall health and well-being. Our mission is to offer wellness using pure ingredients with safe and transparent methods. Self care is not just a luxury and it cannot wait. We’re here to remind you to invest in your health from head to toe, inside and out. 

Team Ellovi 🌺