The term “natural” is thrown around a lot in the beauty industry these days, but what – if anything – does that really mean?

It turns out, not much. In fact, there are absolutely no regulations on how the term is used on beauty products. As a result, more and more companies are slapping “natural” labels on their products as a marketing gimmick – even those that have synthetic and petroleum-based ingredients.

What’s a consumer to do? Fortunately, truly natural products do exist. Brushing up on your label lingo can help you choose the best products and ensure that you’re only using those that are truly healthy and pure.

• Check the ingredients. Ideally, you’ll recognize everything on the list as something botanical or mineral based – if not, dig up some research on any ingredients in question.

• Look up products and ingredients using the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Database. This resource is incredibly comprehensive and will help you learn more about the safety of specific products and ingredients.

In a perfect world, labels would be straightforward at all times and there would be no need to second guess the way some companies present their products. Until then, rest assured that you can enjoy pure, natural, and healthy products after looking a bit more closely at what’s in the bottle.

What’s lurking in your personal care products? Find out which toxins to avoid with our free downloadable chart.

skin solution® sources natural and organic botanicals from around the world that provide support for your skin’s most healthy youthful appearance.