The NATRUE label guarantees that natural ingredients dominate.
It is equally important that plant ingredients are treated with care to obtain the best possible quality.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
Because cosmetics are complex mixtures. They also have a function to perform: some products are there to cleanse, others protect and nourish your skin.
And not all functions can be achieved with natural ingredients alone.
Two examples:
- Facial creams and lotions are mixtures of waters and oils.
They cannot be stabilised without emulsifying agents.
- Shampoos and other cleansing products cannot clean without surfactants.
That is why we need strict rules, respecting a maximum level of naturalness.
THREE TYPES OF INGREDIENTS
We achieve this by strictly regulating three ingredient groups:
Natural ingredients (including water)
Nature derived substances, and
Nature identical substances
1. Natural Ingredients
These are ingredients found in nature.
Only physical processes may be used to obtain them.
2. Derived natural substances
These are ingredients that are found in nature but chemically modified.
Only a limited number of processes are allowed to modify them, and, this is only allowed when the function of the ingredient cannot be achieved by natural ingredients.
An example for this are surfactants in shampoos. They are allowed because their cleansing function cannot be achieved by a natural ingredient alone.
However: Chemically intensive reactions are excluded and surfactants must be completely biodegradable.
See the full criteria to see which reactions are permitted.
3. Nature-identical substances
Nature-identical substances are substances that exist in nature but are produced synthetically.
In other words, the same substance exists in nature but is produced in a laboratory.
These ingredients are only permitted for preservatives and minerals and only when the natural substance cannot be recovered from nature in the desired quality and/or quantity.
Why are nature identical preservatives allowed?
For safety reasons. Producers need to ensure the microbiological safety of their products. Preserving products with purely natural ingredients is often very difficult and at best requires a very special know-how.
Companies with a long tradition have this know-how but it would not be fair to place such demands on producers who wish to enter the Natural Cosmetics market.
Only a few nature-identical preservatives are permitted and their use must be clearly indicated on the product packaging guaranteeing transparency for the consumer.
Why are nature identical MINERALS allowed?
Minerals are seldom found as pure crystals in nature. Mingled with other substances, they are normally impure.
In this state, they cannot be used in cosmetic products which require high levels of purity. That is why they may be purified and reconstituted in the laboratory.
And what about Water?
Water is a natural and vital ingredient in many cosmetic products. But, it is not counted when calculating the level of natural ingredients.
Why? Because it would be easy to make a product seem more natural by simply adding water.
Different functions require different ingredients and that is why different types of products call for different rules.
We certify to three levels, which depend on the ingredients they contain: are they natural or are they also of organic origin?
