I was very lucky, growing up, to see first hand the difference between home grown and mass produced fruit and veggies.

I grew up in the city, but my grandparents had a house in the country side in the north of Italy, so I used to spend every summer at their place, where they grew a lot of vegetables in their back yard. I learned very quickly that their produce, although with some minor aesthetic imperfections (compared to the perfectly shaped ones I’d see at the supermarket), tasted so much better.

Tomatoes had a plumper, more succulent flesh, strawberries tasted amazingly sweeter and by touching just one basil leaf would make my fingers smell amazingly for hours. Smell, taste, texture, everything was just so intensely good!

There was no secret: everything grew up following natural cycles, grandpa never used pesticides or chemical substances, nothing was genetically modified and the soil never lost its natural balance of minerals, organic matter, water and air.

I understood at that very young age what “organic” meant. As an adult, I now fully appreciate it.

Over the last few years the attention from the public towards the “organic world” has grown exponentially. More people, every day, choose natural, sustainable products, as the awareness on the harmful effects of chemicals present in many types of ingredients is increasing among consumers.

What are the most common motives that motivate people to turn to organic goods? Studies have shown that QUALITY OF PRODUCTS, ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN, HEALTH CONCERN AND LIFESTYLE are the most important ones.

So, we have learned (or better, still learning) how to improve the quality of the food we use to feed ourselves, don’t you think it’s time we did the same for our skin?

The world of cosmetics is turning towards organic products too, but what are the practical benefits compared to the old, non-bio formulas?

Why is it of paramount importance to make the conscious choice of opting for natural ingredients?

Are organic skin care products really effective?

Those are only few of the questions asked every day in the skin care world, so let’s try to understand what it means for a cosmetic to be organic, natural and sustainable.

Organic Cosmetology

Organic Cosmetology is dedicated to study and produce cosmetic products in the most NATURAL and SUSTAINABLE possible way, which means excluding harmful ingredients from formulations and prioritising the use of all the components coming from organic farming, grown adhering to the highest safety and quality standards.

Since consumers started to learn more and do more of their own research, awareness around the world of organic products keeps growing and many have switched to natural products as they realised that most of the skin care formulations in the shops had ingredients which could potentially be harmful for their health.

Still, in this day and age, unfortunately we see a lot of products containing substances used to improve their chemical structure or increase the overall level of conservation, but which are also toxic for our body.

Parabens, allergens, petrochemical-derived ingredients are often the cheapest choice, but the unhealthiest too. They can cause allergic reactions. People with sensitive skin (like me!) know exactly how easily irritated and sore it becomes.

What we put on our skin penetrates into our body and is absorbed exactly like the food we eat does.

Our skin breathes be cause pores, they expel toxins through sweat and they absorb what’s applied on them.

Always read the label

We have no doubts whatsoever about what’s good or not for us and our planet. Organic cosmetics are far superior in terms of quality, health and sustainability. They are simply the best food you can nourish your skin with. It’s no coincidence that our star functional ingredient BioSurice® is a registered, patented FOOD PRODUCT. A very yummy one too!

But how can you recognise the good stuff from the bad stuff in this jungle of cosmetic products advertised with super cool catch phrases, slick images and slogans promising to make you look younger in less than a week? Are they all made with ingredients safe for your health? How can you spot the intruder?

The fundamental rule is: READ THE INCI!

INCI stands for International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient, it is basically the list of ingredients shown on the label or description of the product if you’re buying online. That will make you avoid dodgy substances which would end up on and under your skin otherwise.

But how easy is to read an INCI? I’ll admit, it can be a bit daunting. And it shouldn’t be.

It’s not easy to figure out if a product is good for you by trying to decipher some very complex names of the ingredients (sometimes even in Latin or Greek to make things a bit more complicated!!). Luckily we can help ourselves thanks to INCI Beauty, an app/website where you see immediately if the ingredient is good or bad for you using a traffic light system (green=good, red=bad) providing feedback about it too.

ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN for example. Sounds a bit scary, right?

I looked it up, took a screenshot and there’s nothing to worry about. Easy peasy.

Always make sure the products you’re shopping for meet all the necessary requirements to be certified organic. It means that regulations have been adhered to, ingredients are not harmful in any way, they’re produced using farming techniques fully respecting Mother Nature, the final products haven’t been tested on animals and packagings are recyclable.

Organic, natural products might be slightly more expensive than non-organic ones, but they surely are more cost-effective as you only need small doses. The concentration of actives is extremely high and some of the natural ingredients in them have been known and used as remedies for centuries. FROM NATURE TO HUMANKIND VIA SCIENCE.