Natural or organic skin care is not new, in fact it has been around for ages, dating back to ancient times and it stands to reason that using medicinal herbs for skin health was most likely the only way to take care of skin and maintain beauty at that time.
However, with the onset of the 20th century skin care transformed in a big way due to the advancement of media and particularly with the introduction of color film. As time progressed the organic/herbal remedies were slowly replaced with mass-produced chemical based products which built the cosmetic industry to be where it is today, an over 50 billion dollar a year industry.
But the tide may be turning with new research that sheds light into the chemicals that are used in our beauty and personal care products. It is estimated that the cosmetic industry uses about 12,500 unique chemicals in their various products, most of which are not regulated by the food and drug administration for safety, and scientific research is increasingly linking these chemicals to certain types of cancers and other widespread health problems in our society.
So it’s quite understandable why natural skin care is becoming more and more popular. And of course not to miss a chance to capitalize on this trend, the cosmetic industry has started producing and promoting natural skin products, but unfortunately these types of store-bought lotions and creams currently still have to be mixed with chemical preservatives in order to maximize their shelf-life, thus making them far from natural or organic.