Green beauty, clean beauty, natural beauty, organic beauty explained

When we decide to buy a new skincare product, we now come across so many words that we might not know or understand fully.

We would like to make sense of all these terms that are often mentioned in the beauty industry, such as green beauty, clean beauty, natural and organic beauty.

What is green beauty?

Green beauty is a general term that refers to beauty or skincare products that are made with 100% natural ingredients. It is also important that they are ethically-made, taking particular attention to the processes involved, sustainability, and the packaging used.

We need to make sure though that we don’t come across green washing practices, which we will explain next.

What are green-washing practices in the beauty industry?

The rise in awareness and interest in natural skincare is sweeping across the beauty industry, whilst   we live in a climate crisis. Customers are not just looking for what the product claims to do but also how sustainably and ethically it is produced, and when we say sustainably, we mean the absolute best way we can.

There are many misconceptions when it comes to the beauty industry. Brands take advantage of words such as ‘natural’, ‘green’, ‘clean’, which are very imprecise and could mean anything! As these words are not regulated, they use marketing skills and tools to target wider audiences. They also get away with taking advantage of popular and often expensive ingredients by using marketing to hype up an ingredient, for example 'Argan Oil Shampoo' when actually the shampoo in question has less than 1% argan oil in the product. The term ‘green-washing’ means plant ingredients being ‘washed off’, so pay attention, the products are literally diluted, this is ‘green washing’!

What is clean beauty?

Clean beauty usually refers to the ingredients in the products being non-toxic, implying no harsh synthetic ingredients that can be potentially harmful.

What is natural beauty?

Natural beauty means that the ingredients contained in the skincare or beauty products such as oils, powders, vitamins, exfoliants, etc. have been sourced from plants as opposed to synthetic (or chemical) ingredients such as fragrances and colourings. Natural ingredients such as active plant oils and essential oils perform in a unique and supportive way which encourages your own natural skin’s equilibrium to flourish, as well as can aid your mental wellbeing.

What is organic beauty?

Organic beauty means that some or all of the ingredients used in the products are a result of organic farming. The ingredients in the products are as organic as possible, and they would be used as opposed to their natural or synthetic form, if available and sustainable to use. Organic skincare or beauty products are not regulated by law, so they could be or not be certified organic.

And what is certified organic beauty?

Certified organic means instead that the skincare products have been certified by the Soil Association COSMOS (in the UK) or other certifying body internationally, and that the ingredients have to reach a certain organic percentage in order to be certified organic. For COSMOS certified products, at least 95% of the plant-based ingredients must be organic, and at least 20% of the total formulation, which becomes 10% in the case of rinse-off products such as body washes and shampoos, needs to be organic. This is because some ingredients cannot be organic even though they are of natural origin, such as water, minerals, salts.

The process begins with organic certified farms who grow and supply the botanical ingredients. These farms do not use harmful and toxic chemical fertilizers or pesticides that destroy the soil and pollute the atmosphere on the crops, let alone degrading the quality of the plants and depleting their properties.

Organic skincare is overall more nutritious for the skin, and its antioxidizing properties much higher.

What is the healthiest way to care for my skin? And how can I have a beautiful skin naturally?

There are a few tips or suggestions that you can follow to keep your skin healthy and naturally beautiful:

• Drink water regularly and in between meals.
• Be conscious of how ‘natural’ or ‘clean’ a product really is.
• Use a moisturiser, a facial oil or serum, and floral waters.
• Try to stick to a routine for your skin in the morning, throughout the day if you need to, and also in the evening (check out our evening skincare routine here).
• Massage your skin regularly with a good facial oil and a body oil.
• Let your skin see daylight and soak in some sun for vitamin D intake, bearing in mind that too much sun will be damaging for the skin. Wear sun protection when needed.

What are the safest beauty products for me and my family?

The safest beauty products are those that do not contain harmful ingredients such as fragrances, SLS or similar synthetic ingredients, and petrochemical derivatives.

If you have sensitive skin or looking for something for your children, opt for essential-oil-free products as they will be gentler to sensitive skin. Terre Verdi offers a range of certified organic pure oils for the skin here.

How to choose the best beauty products?

We recommend to take these steps to find the best beauty products to buy:

• Look for the organic certifier’s logo on the labels, as it is best that the words natural and organic are backed up by this logo.
• Learn to read the labels fully, including how the list of ingredients is showing (the INCI list), where the product is manufactured and by whom.
• Look for an expiration date, and if this is not showing, try to find out the manufacture date and decide if it is still safe to purchase the product.

To summarise on the different types of beauty products available on the market.

Our recommendation is to decide before you purchase anything new whether you wish to use the conventional synthetic, or clean, perhaps green, maybe natural, or organic, or better yet certified organic skincare products for yourself and your family. Awareness is the first step. As with food, beauty and skincare products enter our body daily, so being aware of the different types that are sold on the market, will make it easier for you to make a decision.

Terre Verdi offers certified organic products that are fully natural, and we proud ourselves to fully believe in the benefits of green and clean skincare.