January 5, 2012

Mislabeling of "Natural" Products

To be or not to be natural. That is the question!





So the bottle says "pure", "natural" or "organic". Great! You can trust it, right? Well, not quite!

But Uncle Sam has my back!

Ya think? Despite commonly held belief, there is no federal regulation of the cosmetics industry. The following comes directly from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website.
  • The FDA's legal authority over cosmetics is different from other products regulated by the agency, such as drugs, biologics, and medical devices. Cosmetic products and ingredients are not subject to FDA pre-market approval authority, with the exception of color additives. 
  • [Moreover,] cosmetic firms are responsible for substantiating the safety of their products and ingredients before marketing. Failure to adequately substantiate the safety of a cosmetic product or its ingredients prior to marketing causes the product to be misbranded unless the following warning statement appears conspicuously on the principal display panel of the product's label: "Warning--The safety of this product has not been determined." 
Said in layman's terms....
  • The industry is self-regulated. The FDA's scope of oversight is limited to labeling but even there, the cosmetic industry has an out. By placing the statement " The safety of this product has not been determined" on the label; manufacturers waive most of their legal liability. 
  • Combine the lack of cosmetic industry oversight with the USDA's loose standards for describing a product as "herbal", "natural" or "organic" and you can appreciate why it's important for you to take responsibility for knowing the ingredients in the products you purchase. 
Lets try it.....


Example 1: Queen Helene Royal Curl, Curl Shaping Creme

                                                 

Despite that "all natural" label, below are the ingredients to this product. 
  • Aqua (Water), Glycerin, Pectin, Agave Rigida (Sisal) Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Royal Jelly Extract Carbomer, Disodium EDTA, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Triethanolamine, Phenoxyethanol, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Amyl Cinnamal, Benzyl Benzoate, Benzyl Salicylate, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Citronellol, Geraniol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene Linalool, Fragrance (Parfum).
Do those ingredients sound "all natural" to you? Me neither!
  • If you can't pronounce it, and you can't define it, you probably shouldn't use it!
  • Also remember, ingredients are listed in order of concentration. The more of an ingredient in a product, the closer it is to the top of the list. Given this, I see a lot of less than healthy ingredients in more than acceptable levels!
      • Example: Check out the -ates and -ols in the ingredient list. That usually means sulfates and alcohols. These ingredients dry, strip and damage your hair!
So you be the judge. After reading the ingredient list, would you call this product "all natural"? Would you buy it?

Example 2: Softee Coconut Oil Hair and Scalp Conditioner



It says it's pure!
Pure coconut oil. Awesome! An all natural product, right? Slow your roll curlfriend! While the coconut oil used in the product reports to be 100% pure, the product is not made up of just coconut oil! Nope! In fact, the product is mostly petroleum. In truth, the label should read petroleum plus high-quality coconut oil. But that would be silly, right? The goal is to SELL the product. 

So what's the moral?
Caveat emptor or buyer beware! While the examples above come from the low-end of the product scale, these labeling practices are used across the board. Don't be fooled because a product costs a lot, comes from a high-end manufacturer or because it has a bottle beaming with beautiful fields of grain, tropical rain forests laden with coconuts, or models with long, luscious, locks of strong, shiny, weave...I mean hair! Before you purchase ANY product, do yourself (and your hair) a favor- read the ingredients!
  • Food for thought: While others have been slow to take their lead, effective June 1, 2011, Whole Foods Market began requiring suppliers labeling their product as "organic" to be in compliance with the USDA standards for certified organic products. While this does not impact the inclusion of genetically modified ingredients (GMO), it's a start! Read more on Whole Food's policy change here>>>  Whole Foods Stance on Organic Labeling
Learn the lingo!
Great! You're convinced that reading ingredient lists is important. Now you need to know what you're reading. Not sure of your skill level? Here's a quick quiz:
  • Do you know the pros and cons between using rain, filtered, tap or deionized, water?
  • Do you know how temperature and humidity impact the function of humectants?
  • Do you know why parabens, emollients, emulsifiers and PEGs are commonly used in products? 
  • Do you know when to use and when to avoid alcohols, mineral oil/petroleum, silicones, sulfates and proteins? 
  • Do you know the difference between an essential oil and a carrier oil? 
Did you pass? If you did, GREAT! If you didn't, don't sweat it! While you don't need to become a scientist, you should spend some time familiarizing yourself with some of the more common ingredients, such as those listed above. Not sure where to get started? No worries! 

Whether you're a natural newbie or a curly connoisseur, you can learn/brush-up on it all in The ABC's of Hair Speak.From African black soap to zinc, I've got you covered! You'll lean all the lingo to help you navigate your way to healthy hair including the ingredients, the techniques and some of the other over-hyped hair stuff; like hair typing, protective styling, transitioning and more.

Does your mind tend to go blank once you step into the hair aisle? Not a problem. You can own your very own bound copy of The ABC's of Hair Speak for $20. This 5x7 booklet includes colored pictures for 30+ term! It's the curly consumers best friend! Just email your request to journeytomyroots@live.com. You'll never shop unarmed again!


See the video version of The ABC's of Hair Speak here




Wanna hear more?
Check out Curly Chronicles' take on the inappropriate use of the "natural" label.