Going Green in Personal Care Products

Organic vs. Natural - What's the difference?
In the general sense, having "natural" on the label does not necessarily mean the product is always good for your skin - it depends on what other additives are used. Remember, arsenic is natural! In addition, some people may be sensitive to nut butters/oils, such as shea and almond oil. However, a body or skin care product created from natural ingredients is may be better for your skin and well being than a product with an ingredient list full of unpronounceable words that is longer than your arm. Preservatives, colorants, fragrance overload and the like may trigger reactions in certain people.

A natural skin/body care product is one that uses little to no artificial ingredients. For example, a 100% natural skin care product may be comprised of shea butter and wheat germ oil with essential oils for fragrance. Essential oils are oils that are extracted from the flowers and leaves of plants - unlike chemical fragrances which are manufactured in a lab somewhere (but still smell good!!) Think of natural as an avocado and honey facial mask - that's 100% natural. However as soon as you add a preservative, so you can keep it on your bathroom shelf instead of in the refrigerator, then it is no longer 100% natural. Same thing goes if you add a chemical fragrance to the mixture.

As for organic skin care products, there is no governmental certification process for a skin care product to be labeled 'organic'. That is to say that the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) has a process in place to label food products organic - this is what skin care product manufacturers are working with to label their skin care products organic. For example, a banana can be label organic if it is raised with no chemical pesticides and no chemical fertilizers. Following this, shea butter can be seen (not certified, because it is in a skin care application, not food) as organic because the Karite tree (from where the shea nuts for the shea butter comes) was not treated with any chemicals. So, as you see, when skin care ingredients are claimed "organic" there is no real certification process through the USDA for cosmetics.

Natural Products = Natural Solutions for Skin Care Problems?
I initially created a product for use by my daughter who suffers from eczema. I took great care to use natural ingredients that were basically safe enough to ingest (excluding of course the fragrance). Shea butter, cocoa butter, soybean oil and other oils were my ingredients of choice. I chose these particular oils because of their skin healing and emollient properties. Most oils help the skin, but there are certain oils and butters which may accelerate healing or give the skin a certain fatty acid that may be lacking.

These oils that I use are all natural, but because some of these oils and butters are used in cooking, many of them are certified organic by the USDA.

My Products
Neosoul.essentials' products are 95%-100 % percent natural and do not contain parabens or any other preservatives. Our un-fragranced products and those fragranced with essential oils are 100% natural. Please understand also that each order is handmade for you when you order. None of my items are stock items. Each is personalized for the customer!

My purpose for creating neosoul.essentials was to provide those who want to 'go green' in bath and body care a healthful and budget conscious alternative to the high priced "natural" products (which may or may not be all natural - remember, read the label!). Everyone deserves to have an alternative to chemical-laden body care products. I use shea butter, cocoa butter, avocado oil, coconut oil, canola oil and virgin coconut oil in my products. As I stated before, our un-fragranced products may not taste good, but are safe to ingest!

Check out my products at
sheaproducts.info.

If you have any questions on our products or our ingredients, please feel free to email me at Christine(at)neosoulessentials.com.