It’s getting harder and harder to know what’s hype and what’s real. Sometimes the natural ingredients splashed across the front of a package are used in such minute quantities as to be almost meaningless. Some natural ingredients are grown and harvested using chemicals about which we understand very little, and some natural ingredients, like Essential Oils, must be used with care. So how can you choose which products to use?
Follow these 5 Simple Steps:
1. Look at the packaging. When you take a product home, how much do you throw out right away? Is there any mention of post-consumer content, or is the packaging itself recyclable? When a company is committed to a healthier world, it’s usually reflected in more than just an ingredient mentioned on the front of the label.
2. Ignore what it says on the front of the package and look carefully at the list of ingredients. Every product is required by law to list ingredients by quantity, so the lower on the list an ingredient appears, the less there is in the product. Be on the lookout for ingredients like Petrolatum and Mineral Oil used by manufacturers mostly because they are cheap. They’re a dead giveaway that a company isn’t serious about natural ingredients. A conscientious manufacturer will also steer clear of Parabens, (a form of preservative) Propylene Glycol, Diazolidinyl Urea and artificial colors.
3. Look for the words “Certified Organic”, which is a legally defined description that manufacturers must back up with certification from their suppliers. Often products will skirt that issue by referring to Organic ingredients, which doesn’t really mean a thing. There are many benefits in being Certified Organic. Organically farmed products don’t add to the chemical load already in our environment, and in fact help make the soil healthier over time. Many Certified Organic farms are family farms. Finally, no harmful trace elements are brought in with the ingredient.
4. Where is the product is being offered? National natural products stores have strict screening processes to weed out products from companies who are simply jumping on the “natural” bandwagon. A local store may be more likely to accept natural claims on face value, without a true process of evaluation. (There are exceptions, of course.) Natural claims will probably become more clearly legally defined in the coming years.
5. Try the product whenever possible. Sometimes in the pursuit of utterly, completely, 100% natural, companies produce products that unfortunately are rather unpleasant to use, or that degrade very quickly. So try the product, and remember if it’s gummy, greasy or smells awful now, it won’t improve with age. Buy products that you enjoy using, instead of adding to the collection of unused, almost-full jars we all seem to have.
A Word about our Scents.
We’re sometimes asked why we don't use all essential oils in our popular Kiran Forest scent, or why we don't do unscented products. There are two answers really.
The first is that scent is very important to people. We've offered both unscented products and those with lots of different scents over the years - some using essential oils and some which are a fragrance blend. Kiran Forest - a blend that combines essential oils with fragrance oils - remains a top seller, because people really love it.
The only thing worse than no scent is a bad scent. Though we have tried multiple times to recreate Kiran Forest using essential oils, the resulting scent changed over time - with some notes fading and others becoming unpleasantly dominant. So Kiran Forest remains a beloved fragrance blend.
On the other hand, our Shower Steamers are made with pure 100% Essential Oils, like Lavender & Rosemary, Eucalyptus and Peppermint, and a mix of Spearmint, Catmint and Peppermint.
If you love the way a product smells, you're more likely to use it consistently - which mean healthier skin in the end, and that is our real goal.
Ann Thariani
GildenTree.com
