Natural Vs Chemicals

I have this friend who bangs on about liking this skincare range just because it’s “natural”. Does my head in.

And it’s not just her, the whole beauty industry is on the bandwagon with "natural this" and "natural that" and just because of that it's good for us. 

I have a problem with that.

The general public are being deceived. They need to be educated and informed.

Now, I admit I’m not a scientist. If I were, I’d probably be trying to cure cancer and would definitely not be bothered by such trivial things as skincare, but I do have an interest and willingness to find out more about it.

So if I give you a chemical formula of C10H16O, would that ring a bell? No? Ok, I’ll spare you and just come out with it. It’s one of the most widely used essential oils. Lavender.

What I’m trying to say here is that everything is made out of chemicals. Some are man-made, while the others are freely occurring in the nature. But classing a skincare range as “natural” and better for you just because it contains a few plant extracts is wrong.

People tend to get a lot of allergic reactions to essential oils, and because they contain a mix of chemical components it's difficult to pinpoint what the allergen is. 

I used to do aromatherapy years ago and it was a no-no to use essential oils on pregnant women. Or at least, use with great caution. If it was so safe and wonderful, then why should it be a problem?

I don’t have anything against plant extracts either, after all, the whole pharmacology was based on deriving drugs from plants in order to cure common ills.

My opinion is that people should be informed enough to make their own decisions. Not all chemicals are bad for you and not everything natural is good for you (deadly nightshade is a plant from nature, just saying). I just wish the cosmetic companies would stop giving us the spin of how wonderful their range is just because it contains a couple of plant extracts.

And don’t even start me on the whole lanolin backlash...