When shopping for the best beauty products, is natural a shoo-in? The answer might surprise you.
In the beauty world, a handful of buzzwords reign supreme. “Clean,” “green,” and “natural” are just a few of the terms that skincare, makeup, and fragrance brands regularly use to capture the attention of the conscious consumer. (An audience that is growing by the day — one poll found that nearly 60 percent of Americans would label themselves as such.)
But what about “natural” in the beauty space?
When the phrase “natural ingredients” is used by a beauty brand, it’s easy to assume that this is an inherently good thing. The word “natural,” makes you think of the earth, water, trees, and flowers. It brings up an idyllic image. But the truth is “natural” typically just means “not synthetic.” It can be anything. And anything isn’t without its consequences.
For example, aloe vera is natural. The plant is often added to skin care products, hailed for its soothing, moisturizing properties. Collagen is also natural. But unlike the aloe plant, this ingredient — which comes from the connective tissue of animals — brings up an image that is a little less picturesque, and a little more problematic. Not only do animals have to die to produce it, but it’s also a byproduct of the heavily resource-intensive and environmentally pollutive factory farming industry.
The line between “good” natural and potentially “bad” natural isn’t always clear cut. It doesn’t simply run between the plant world and the animal kingdom. Coconut oil, for example, is plant-based. It’s one of the most popular natural ingredients in the beauty world, and you can find it in moisturizers, lip balms, hair conditioners, and cosmetics. The industry as a whole is valued at more than $5.3 billion.
But research from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature suggested that its production, centered on biodiversity-rich, tropical islands, threatens more than 20.2 species per million metric tons. In comparison, the same amount of palm oil — another natural ingredient used in beauty, which has been rightly vilified for its environmental impact — threatens nearly 4 species.
There’s also cocoa butter, which is revered for its moisturizing, nourishing effect on the skin. But the cocoa industry has been linked with ongoing human rights abuses and deforestation for decades. According to the National Wildlife Federation, around a third of forest loss can be attributed to cocoa production in Ivory Coast and Ghana.
‘Synthetic’ is not the enemy
Taking all of the above into consideration, it’s easy to assume that we all need to start boycotting “natural” skincare and beauty. But again, it’s important to remember that the boundaries in this sector are blurry. And, when respected, nature can sustainably produce nourishing ingredients.
Take Brad Pitt’s skincare line Beau Domaine, for example, which sources much of its key ingredient, grape-based antioxidants, from the actor’s certified organic vineyard in southern France. It’s not too far from rose gardens owned by Lancôme, which is committed to growing and sourcing many of its raw materials. To cultivate its signature rose scent, for example, it recently acquired Le Domaine la Rose, an estate in Grasse on the French Riviera, where it employs regenerative agricultural practices.
But luxury, French-grown ingredients aren’t the only way to ensure sustainable beauty. Many cosmetic scientists believe that the laboratory can, and should, play a role in the future of the market. After all, we already make several synthetic alternatives to traditionally natural ingredients.
Musk, for example, used to be painfully and brutally obtained from animals. “Wild cats can be kept in cages, typically in horrible conditions, and whipped around the genitals so the glands produce the scent. They’re not killed, but they’re tortured for their entire lives,” Camille Labchuk of Animal Justice said in a statement.
But now synthetic musk is widely used across beauty. (While some versions have been criticized for their potentially toxic impact on the environment and health, macrocyclic lactone varieties are widely considered safe.) And it isn’t alone. Amyris, a biotechnology firm, makes high-quality, synthetic versions of squalene, a lipid that used to be commonly sourced from shark livers.
So synthetic ingredients could, in part, be the key to sustainable beauty’s future. In the U.S., for example, startup California Cultured is developing lab-grown cocoa with cocoa cells. Its primary focus right now is chocolate, but who knows? One day, it could be expanded across all industries that use cocoa beans in their products.
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