About Face

We rub it, scrub it, caress it, and curse it when blemishes, dryness, or fine lines appear. But when the mirror betrays us and our skin doesn’t magically improve, we can look to organic skin care products. Gentle on skin and on the planet, they’re the key to beautiful skin.

Organic products are formulated with natural ingredients that are good enough to eat. But even though a product may be labelled organic, it’s still wise to read the ingredient list.

Skin deep

To learn more about beauty products, visit the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety database at cosmeticdatabase.com. Searches can be conducted by product, ingredient, or company. Products are given an overall rating with 0 being the safest score up to a dangerous high of 10.

Your natural health retailer can introduce you to the growing selection of affordable, gentle organic skin care products. Here’s just a smattering of what’s readily available.

Best face forward

Cleanse: A delectable organic option is Alba Botanica Pineapple Enzyme Facial Cleanser. Formulated for normal to oily skin, it’s made from aloe and a tropical blend of papaya, awapuhi (a derivative of Hawaiian wild ginger), and pineapple.

Exfoliate: Burt’s Bees Peach & Willowbark Deep Pore Scrub combines finely ground peach stone and willowbark extract, which contains beta hydroxy acids that act as a natural exfoliant. It’s a gentle way to remove excess oil, dirt, and dead skin cells, leaving your skin soft and smooth.

Peel: To rejuvenate your skin, try Juice Organics’ Apple Exfoliating Peel. Juice Organics’ 100 percent certified organic juice base is loaded with antioxidants, vitamins, and fruit hydroxy acids to brighten and revitalize your skin.

Moisturize: Scented with sweet orange essential oil and fortified with vitamin C, Avalon Organics Vitamin C Renewal Facial Cream can be used day or night by those with normal to dry skin. Formulated with borage, flax, and sweet almond oils, this creme will improve the texture and tone of your skin.

At face value
Organic skin care products are not regulated by Health Canada. However, for a product to be declared organic, it must meet an existing organic standard.

Ingredients must be grown without the use of:

• Chemical fertilizers
• Herbicides
• Pesticides
• Fumigants
• Toxins
• Artificial colours
• Artificial fragrances

Other requirements include:

• Packaging must be recyclable
• Testing must not be conducted on animals