Organic Antibacterial Skin Care Products
Read Label Carefully On Organic Antibacterial Skin Care Products
While the label organic on many products may mean different things to different companies, the concept of using organic antibacterial skin care products is appealing to many consumers. However, many manufacturers choose profit over risk elimination in the billion-dollar skin care industry. Information and choices are available to help consumers find the organic antibacterial skin care products they are looking for, but approved labeling by the Food and Drug Administration makes it confusing.
When a label states it is made from 100 percent organic ingredients, everything in the product has to have been produced without chemicals of any kind in the fertilizer, pesticides or from any hormone-based ingredients. The products are allowed to carry the label proclaiming it is 100 percent organic. However, many organic antibacterial skin care products are labeled as organic or made from organic materials and this is where confusion comes in.
To be certified as organic, a product must contain at least 95 percent organic ingredients. There are no rules governing the remaining five percent. Organic antibacterial skin care products labeled as being made with organic ingredients only have to contain 70 percent organic products, leaving 30 percent of the ingredients with questionable origins.
Antibacterials Difficult To Determine
For products to be labeled as organic antibacterial skin care products, they must also have the ingredients to provide bacterial protection. There are five main ingredients that work well as an antibacterial ingredient that were not conceived in a laboratory. Essential oils of lavender, tea tree, eucalyptus and grapefruit, along with manuka oil are all effective antibacterials and when grown in a 100 percent organic environment can join the list of organic antibacterial skin care products.
There is also some concerns about how non-organic products are used, such as triclosan, a compound used in many products such as hand sanitizers, which are typically massaged into the hands to prevent the spread of bacteria. When it is included in organic antibacterial skin care products, the problem develops as the FDA has determined that triclosan needs to be rinsed from the hands after use. This would defeat the purpose of the hand sanitizer concept.
While there may be no sure way to determine if organic antibacterial skin care products carry any harmful chemicals, those listed as 100 percent organic will not is order to achieve the appropriate label from the FDA. However, careful reading of labels on all organic antibacterial skin care products can offer some clue as to its ingredients and then checking the origins of any unknown ingredients can offer a better opinion.
| Author Info Box Caroline Bourke is a full time beauty therapist in Florida. Check out these great Organic Antibacterial Skin Care Products resources and articles or the more general Skin Care advice. This article may only be reproduced if the author info is kept intact including the links. |