Why choose organic and vegan cosmetics?

After reading this guide, you will know how to:

• Recognize genuine organic cosmetic products
• Understand the benefits and advantages of organic cosmetics
• No longer hesitate between an organic product and a conventional product for your skincare and makeup routine

Organic cosmetics: what promises?

Taking care of oneself is essential. This is one of the great lessons we have learned recently. It involves our environment, what we eat, and especially what we apply to our skin.

Choosing organic means quality, naturalness, traceability, healthy ingredients and, as far as possible, local ingredients. However, out of habit or lack of knowledge of the benefits of organic products on the skin, many women tend to neglect them and prefer conventional cosmetic products. Yet, organic cosmetics now offer a very extensive and complete range of quality, capable of competing with your favorite foundation or your go-to nail polish for years. It has many virtues and could quickly become indispensable to your daily routine. Explanations.

What are organic cosmetics?

An organic cosmetic product is a beauty product made from natural ingredients such as vegetable oils, essential oils, or natural waxes, all largely derived from organic farming. By favoring these ingredients over the chemical active ingredients of conventional cosmetics, organic and natural cosmetics minimize their impact on the planet, in terms of ingredient sourcing, harvesting methods, production, or packaging.

The guarantee of labels:

Moreover, these active ingredients are respectful of our health because they replace any harmful ingredient for our body such as parabens, silicones, sulfates, synthetic dyes and fragrances, derived from petrochemicals. This also allows for a composition without ingredients of animal origin. For example, pork glycerin is replaced by vegetable glycerin, except for ingredients naturally produced by animals like honey or milk. Additionally, organic cosmetics are, in most cases, also VEGAN (be careful to check labels and verify that the product you have identified truly is). A VEGAN certified product bans animal testing. To ensure that the product you wish to buy is indeed organic, we invite you to refer to independent and recognized labels for their impartiality and strict standards: the Cosmebio and Ecocert labels.

💡 Go HERE for an enlightened deciphering of organic, vegan, and cruelty-free labels

At Charlotte BIO, all our products are certified Cosmos Organic and Ecocert labeled. But unlike other organic makeup brands, being organic does not mean that the products will not be pigmented or long-lasting. Thanks to extensive research and development work and innovative sourcing of ingredients and raw materials, we can now guarantee as much pigmentation, long-lasting wear, and effectiveness as conventional products. For example, test the pigmentation of our organic blushes or our organic highlighters!

A clean and transparent composition

Due to its high demands in terms of formulation and quality, organic cosmetics ban many ingredients derived from petrochemicals that can be found in conventional cosmetics. Thus, ingredients identified as dangerous with harmful effects on health, which can be involved in the development of certain diseases, are banned. This particularly concerns endocrine disruptors, implicated in the development of certain cancers, or preservatives such as phenoxyethanol, which would present risks for the hepatic system and the fetus.

Furthermore, potentially irritating ingredients such as synthetic fragrances, essential oils, detergents like sodium lauryl sulfate are not compatible with organic cosmetics and are excluded from the Cosmebio charter.

Finally, ingredients harmful to the environment, those that have no impact today but whose long-term harms are unknown, do not correspond to the values of organic cosmetics. For example, all ingredients derived from petrochemicals, whose creation process has serious consequences due to their composition based on petroleum or plastic derivatives, and the fact that they are absolutely not biodegradable. The most well-known are polyethylenes, paraffin, polymers, which are most often used as texture agents but bring no effectiveness to the product.

Reassuring certificates and guaranteed quality

There are many advantages to organic cosmetics. But above all, a genuine organic cosmetic product is labeled, controlled, and must respect a charter. How to navigate this?

💡 Go HERE for an informed deciphering of labels and certifications to know

These labels allow, among other things, to prove the quality and traceability of the ingredients used in the formulation of products, as well as to ban harmful products for our skin.

The Cosmebio and Ecocert labels are very demanding and ensure the cleanest possible composition. By guaranteeing a minimum of 95% natural ingredients, by favoring local ingredients (as far as possible) from organic and sustainable agriculture, you are sure of the quality of the products you apply to your skin, eyes, and mouth, which are, let's not forget, very permeable and sensitive areas.

Why prioritize clean ingredients and components?

Conventional makeup tends to aggress the skin and suffocate the epidermis. The skin becomes irritated and dries out or produces more sebum in defense. Why? Because it is composed of endocrine disrupting silicones like cyclopentasiloxane, toxic, carcinogenic allergic preservatives like BHT, BHA, parabens, and the icing on the cake, pH correctors like triethanolamine which produces carcinogenic nitrosamines close to your mucous membranes. Not to mention the pigments, dyes, and mother-of-pearl that allow conventional makeup to last 36 hours or provide "unrivaled" pigmentation.

Of course, this whole list of petrochemical-derived ingredients smells of petroleum, so manufacturers tend to add carcinogenic synthetic fragrances. It is important to specify that, while these components are present in synthetic makeup, they remain regulated at thresholds deemed safe, according to current scientific knowledge, guaranteeing nothing in the long term.

So why subject your skin to this when you can apply makeup with mineral pigments (from precious or semi-precious stones like cinnabar or azurite), plant-based ingredients with antioxidant properties, without preservatives, and which smell good while keeping the promise of pigmentation and hold?

Our organic CC Cream, for example, is composed of 99% ingredients of natural origin, and 23.7% of its ingredients are organic. Given that a major part of the product is water, this means that almost all cultivable ingredients are from organic and sustainable farming. The little secret of its silky and pleasant texture? Shea butter, which deeply moisturizes the skin, and hyaluronic acid, which helps fight skin aging! What more could you ask for?

Organic vs. Non-Organic Match-Up Organic formula / Non-organic formula Aqueous phase: water, vegetable glycerin, floral waters (rose, cornflower...) / water, petrochemical-derived glycerin... Fat phase: fatty acids, vegetable oils (jojoba, argan...) / fatty acids, mineral oils, silicones, vegetable oils... Actives: natural origin (plant extracts, vitamins...) / petrochemical or natural origin Emulsifier: natural origin (oat, wheat extracts...) / petrochemical or natural origin Gelling agent: natural origin / petrochemical-derived polymers Preservatives: restrictive list of authorized ingredients / paraben, phenoxyethanol... Fragrances and colorants: natural origin / petrochemical origin ❌ All irritating and allergenic substances are banned from organic formulas.

Organic and natural makeup: what quality to expect?

After many years of research and development, only a few laboratories are now able to compete with conventional cosmetics by replacing petrochemicals with natural, healthy products that are at least as effective and pleasant to wear.
Moreover, the organic makeup offer has developed enormously, and in addition to offering healthy and sustainable products, vegetable butters and waxes provide products with melting textures, and extracts of Candelilla or Shea offer a delicate and natural scent. As an added bonus, many brands offer original and well-thought-out packaging, designed in an eco-responsible way. For example, all our makeup packaging is made of recyclable cardboard or glass. As for our Beauty range, the bottle and tubes are made of PE from sugarcane. Everything is designed, controlled, and measured to reduce the ecological footprint.

Some brands have also been able to expand their offer by providing complete ranges for all skin tones and offer as intense pigmentation and iridescent effect and a wide choice of colors as conventional makeup thanks to mineral pigments, ocher earths, and crushed stones.

Conclusion

By choosing organic, you opt for sustainable and responsible consumption. You support meaningful projects and (as far as possible) local ones. You reduce your environmental impact and reduce your waste.
Indeed, organic certifications are very strict in terms of quality charters and eco-responsibility; all superfluities are avoided. Every ingredient must be from nature and be biodegradable, produced with respect for the environment. Green chemistry allows us to respect the planet while benefiting from its best resources, thanks to gentle processes.
Ultimately, you spare people, animals, and the environment from the harmful effects of toxic chemicals.