• Question: Do you think that the ingredients in makeup is more natural than before?

    Asked by anon-199627 to Sylvia, Sumit, Martin, Kate, Bryony, Aryanne on 4 Mar 2019.
    • Photo: Martin McCoustra

      Martin McCoustra answered on 4 Mar 2019:

      There is no difference at all between chemicals derived from natural sources and the same chemical produced in a chemical laboratory. So it depends if the makeup formulation is using naturally sourced versions of the synthetic chemicals they used to use.

    • Photo: Aryanne Finnie

      Aryanne Finnie answered on 4 Mar 2019:

      I would say that alot of make up companies are making more of a conscious effort to be cruelty free, hence the more “natural” ingredients they use, which is basically a way of saying the oils etc are derived from natural sources and not made in a lab. I’d also say when cruelty free/ vegan make up is made its usually made with much nicer, safer “chemicals” and ingredients hence the need not to test on animals!

    • Photo: Kate McGonagle

      Kate McGonagle answered on 4 Mar 2019:

      Absolutely, I think alot of brands are more aware of using natural ingredients and also being cruelty free. I think generally make-up available now is alot more gentle on your skin because of them steering away from using any harsh chemicals. I’ve got really sensitive skin and I used to have to be so careful with what I used, now I rarely have any issues.

    • Photo: Sylvia Soldatou

      Sylvia Soldatou answered on 4 Mar 2019:

      A natural product is a molecule that has been isolated form natural sources. As it not sustainabke to kill thousands of trees (for example) to obtain the molecule of interest, synthetic chemist make this molecule in the lab. Basically the natural product and the synthetic molecule are the same thing. So when it comes to molecules there is no difference.
      However, makeup companies lately are trying to add extracts from natural sources, or essential oils. I think that there has been a turn towards natural products/sources as additives in formulations as they require less pretreatment and less toxic material.
      For example, if a company wants to use seaweed extract for a face cream that extract has to be produces in specific non toxic solvents and in following strict procedures so that the final product can be used safely.

    • Photo: Bryony Hockin

      Bryony Hockin answered on 5 Mar 2019:

      I think as time as gone by, makeup companies have realised that using harsh chemicals can be dangerous and damage people’s skin. For example in the 1600s people used white lead as makeup, and we now know that lead is really poisonous and toxic! Now companies are being encouraged to test makeup to make sure it’s safer and gentler. “Natural” is a difficult word to explain about makeup because it’s a word that companies like to use to sell their makeup but it might not be 100% true. For example, lots of chemicals in makeup that people might worry are dangerous because they sound complicated actually come from plants.

    • Photo: Sumit Konar

      Sumit Konar answered on 9 Mar 2019:

      I don’t think so, even though few brands are trying to include more natural ingredients. But one interesting fact is that toxicity testing on animals has been banned for cosmetics in EU in 2013.
      In most cases, paraben free makeup products are considered as natural.
      but you should keep an eye for the other toxic products and also the price..Natural makeup products are ~5 times more expensive than conventional one.

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