Ingredients to Avoid
As professionals look for products to retail, they should avoid certain ingredients. Parabens, fragrance, polyethylene glycols (PEGs), sulfates, hydroquinone, phthalates, and synthetic dyes are all ingredients of which to be mindful.
Although paraben-free and sulfate-free seem to be listed on almost every skin care/cosmetics label, the reality is that they have just become more prominent. There are thousands of synthetic chemical ingredients out there that are not as well-known, but are just as potentially harmful. For example, parabens, because they are so well-known, are often replaced with phenoxyethanol, another lesser-known synthetic chemical preservative.
There are a lot of companies that greenwash their products with misleading packaging and marketing. They sell them as natural, even though there are synthetic ingredients and fragrances in the formulas. While fragrance is popular with consumers, additional fragrances do not need to be added to products, as the natural, floral ingredients can provide amazing aromas!
Skin care professionals can reconcile the chemical ingredients in certain sunscreens with the health of their clients by always doing what is best for their client. When it comes to sunscreen, focus on products that provide mineral production and avoid ultraviolet absorbers, which are typically synthetic and not the best health-wise. Furthermore, ultraviolet-absorbing sunscreens need to be re-applied constantly, as they become full of toxins and their effectiveness decreases, versus mineral products which block ultraviolet.

Recognizing a Truly Organic Company
Seals and certifications are the best way to be sure that a product is truly natural or organic; when companies are reputable and serious about their parameters, they seek out a third-party certification. For example, Eco-Cert regulates natural and organic cosmetics worldwide. Checking on a company’s product or website for a seal is really the only way to avoid companies that are all hype.
Skin care products can be set apart from other nontoxic and organic companies by a number of different factors. One important factor is when a product’s performance is driven by many active ingredients rather than just one or two. Formulas should be highly-concentrated with active ingredients. Also, another major factor is whether or not the company uses any synthetics; some use them just to preserve, stabilize, or fragrance a formula. It is best to have everything be 100 percent naturally-derived.