If it's Natural is it guaranteed to be better?

Natural, Test your knowledge

Answer the questions TRUE OR FALSE.

1. Is Natural always safer? 

2. Are all natural products always good for us?

3. Is natural the opposite of chemical?

4. Is natural the same as organic?

5. Is natural the opposite of synthetic?

Do you know your responses? Well the answers may surprise you.

Natural is used as a synonym for better, safer, with "real" ingredients so we would assume the natural response to the questions is true, when in fact ALL THE ANSWERS ARE FALSE!

1. Natural means from nature. But not everything from nature is safe for us: tigers, quicksand, poison ivy and arsenic are all natural and likely to make us very ill or dead. 

2. Even safer natural ingredients are not always good for us. Peppermint is great in small doses, but in large doses it is toxic. I compared it to ingredient Proplyene Glycol in a previous blog since both are safe in smaller, specific quantities.

Also it has become the rage to add Essentials Oils to your glass of drinking water. 

**DON'T!! THEY ARE NOT SAFE TO INGEST!

3. The Chemical Friend or Foe Series first pointed out that EVERYTHING is a chemical so even Natural items are chemicals. Water, Oxygen and humans are chemicals. Check out the blog to refresh your memory.

4. Natural is defined as existing in or caused by nature. While Organic refers to Organic Agriculture or is defined as containing a chemical molecule. Not the same. Silicone is Inorganic (not Organic) but it is natural. Man-made aka Synthetic diamonds are Organic but are not natural. 

Note: In EU there are definitions and criteria for organic or natural skincare but the guidelines vary from country to country or between organizations.

5. Synthetic can happen in nature so synthetics can be natural. Photosynthesis happens when green plants use carbon dioxide and water to create their food and this is a natural process.

So does a natural product guarantee its safety? Is it automatically better than its competitors? No, it is only guaranteed to be existing in or caused by nature, nothing more. 

Does this clarify or confuse the idea of Natural and Natural Products? Did any of the answers surprise you? Share the quiz with your friends, how many will they get right?

NATURAL SKINCARE  is a popular and successful marketing term. The challenge is deciding what we, as consumers, mean when we ask for natural skincare. The next blog in the Chemicals Friend or Foe Series will cover the various criteria that can be used to define Natural Skincare and we will attempt to create our own working definition.


Michelle G. Lathe, L.E.