Many consumers believe that the best organic and natural skin care products are being manufactured today, replacing the cheap chemical-laden traditional products that have popularized big retail stores over the last decade. The reason for this is a concern that these chemicals may be causing skin or even other types of cancers.
Sad to say, there are still many people who live in a bubble and do not realize that the majority of everyday products that we use and are exposed to may contain chemicals that cause cancer. Throughout our lives, we are exposed to a wide variety of chemicals such as medications, cleaning products, or pesticides. Today, however, people are even concerned about the ingredients that make up little things such as candles.
The change we still need
The shift to organic and natural skin care products shows consumers seeking products that are paraben-free and formulated from organic ingredients to detox the body, moisturize, and fight aging. Plus, people want to make sure that skin care companies are not performing animal testing and that the packaging for products is safe.
Regulations as to what constitutes organic and natural skin care products of today are sketchy at best, due to lack of proper oversight. The Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) initially established uniform national standards for the production and handling of foods labeled as “organic.” However, there are no FDA regulations for cosmetics under the authority of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act).
Sadly, cosmetics and personal care products are among the least regulated products and the United States federal laws enable the $50 billion cosmetics industry to put unlimited amounts of chemicals into these products. There are no requirements for testing, no monitoring of health effects and woefully inadequate requirements for labeling. In this absence of federal oversight, there are some states that have taken steps to ensure that their resident consumers have access to safer personal care and cosmetic products, including requirements for more information about the products that they buy. Remarkably, there are many other countries, thanks to the European Union, that have been leading the way by implementing smarter laws to protect their citizens.
The future is bright for natural skin care
Aside from the bizarre skin care trends such as a “Nightingale Poo” treatment which uses valuable enzymes in bird feces to exfoliate and help brighten and rejuvenate the skin, present natural skin care trends also include advances in non-surgical methods and technologies. The good news is that the growth in the natural and organic skincare and cosmetic industry as a whole is on the rise.
Today, the spurt in smartphone and mobile technologies will impact the cosmetic retailing segment. Plus, projection motion sensor technology is on the rise. This is a new method that began in Japan and Asia Pacific where space is limited. It targets consumers to bring them into the buying experience by tracking if you are a woman or a man and then flashing up corresponding ads. Also, if a consumer is standing in a store isle in front of moisturizers, they will hear and see water. When they walk away, the water turns into a trickle. Tests prove the impact on consumers is huge.
In Brazil, new technology, in conjunction with Microsoft’s Connect, is based on the first generation of virtual mirror technology. New technology projects the images of real-life people in digital form. The latest rendition is a screen with the products along the side. A customer simply points at a product and uses their finger to apply it (lipstick, for example), and it magically appears on your image in the mirror.
Indeed, when it comes to natural skin care products, the trends can only continue for pure organic skin creams and serums that support skin cell regeneration. Detoxification creams will become more and more popular—even those that help target belly fat for weight loss.
