With all the organic products emerging, the real challenge here is what and where to start. The most obvious use of organic products lies in the food and health care sector—where organic skincare, cosmetics, laundry detergents are. But, in today’s outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus, where do organic products take place?
According to experts, the best way to prevent the disease is to maintain a proper hygiene routine—which includes washing your hands frequently in order to avoid the spread from contact with those who are infected.
Since people are advised to wash their hands frequently, the initial response of people would be to purchase the most anti-bacterial and chemical-based hand wash hoping that it would fight the coronavirus away. Yes, most likely it would. But relatively, using too much chemical-based products would eventually lead to problems like skin irritation and skin barrier damage, especially for those people with sensitive skin. The best alternative for this would be shifting from chemical-based hand wash to organic hand wash that are formulated with antibacterial properties.
Why use Organic Hand Wash?
Over the years, people are become more and more skeptical with the products that they use and what they put into their skin—which is a good thing! As a result of this trend, tons of companies are coming up with their own versions of products to address this rising demand of the consumers for an organic based product. But, the real question is what’s with organic products, and why is it more preferable to use?
The prevalent reason of this is because of the benefits it gives to its consumers. Organic products are proven to be healthier and safer because it uses fewer pesticides, and doesn’t use antibiotics or any growth hormones for their animals and/or animal byproducts. Studies have also proved that organic products reduces the risk to farm workers, their families and to consumers because it lowers their exposure to harmful chemicals and persistent toxics available in the conventional, non-organic products.
And in this case, the use of organic hand wash instead of the conventional chemical-based hand wash out there is that it will maintain the skin’s natural pH level without disrupting the moisture barrier of the skin.
Organic hand washes are formulated with various natural ingredients such as:
Basil – which is a medicinal herb that prevents worm infections, prevents skin from swelling and at the same time, helps keep the surroundings clean.Apple Cider Vinegar – which is formulated with natural antimicrobial properties due to its natural enzymes, good bacteria and citric acid. Lemon – which is known to contain a huge percentage of vitamin C that boosts our immune system and immunity against harmful diseases. Honey – which is used in the early years of civilisation that helps fight skin infections, while moisturising the skin at the same time. Oils – tea tree oils, thyme essential oils, coconut oils, etc. are all extracted from leaves which have a natural microbial property in it. They usually have a anti-fungal and soothing effect when applied to skin. Aloe vera – which is a natural soothing ingredient which contains polyphenol or compounds that prevent a bacteria from multiplying and growing. Ginger – which has an anti-inflammatory property and helps people to recover from any cold or flu through its natural antioxidant and anti-vital property. Azadirachta Leaves – before the invention of soaps and hand washes, this natural ingredient is used when people are taking a bath due to its purifying abilities. Cinnamon – due to its bioactive pytochemicals, cinnamon is considered as one of the primary alternative for synthetic ingredients as a treatment for anti-biotic resistant bacterial infections. Chamomile – which is a medicinal plant that aids to fight microbial infections with its antibacterial property. The constituents of chamomile has been proven to have anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties.
These are just a few of the most commonly used natural ingredients that has an anti-microbial property.
The rise of health-conscious consumers led the overall organic industry to grow. Today, beauty industry businesses are coming up with all natural skin-care products and make ups that are vegan friendly to cater the health-conscious sector of the market. But with all these emerging from left and right, how can one know which and where to start?
Understanding the differences among Organic Products vs. Natural Products vs. Synthetic-Free Products
Consumer buying habits today have shifted into a more informed, and educated with regards to the ingredients that they use, and put onto their bodies. People now want to know how the products are made, and what ingredients they have used in order to come up with such a product before they decide to purchase. But often, consumers are confused with the labels organic products, natural products, and synthetic-free products. What are really the difference between the three?
Organic Products – this constraints on this may vary among the government-approved body who checked the product. But commonly, this term is used when the ingredients used to make the product is organically farmed. There are a myriad of organic products, but organic products is more known for food products. As a matter of fact, there are 3 main types of organic products namely: organic food products, organic clothing products and organic personal care products. To be labeled as rganic’, the product would be required to comply with the guidelines regulated by the government-approved body.
Natural Products – unlike organic products, there is no certification for products that claims to be natural. But this doesn’t mean that all products that claim to be atural’ are not saying the truth. The quickest way to know is to check the list of the product’s ingredients to know whether they are really natural or not. It is also important to know that the ingredients are listed from highest percentage to the lowest percentage. So having a product that has its synthetic ingredients listed at the bottom of the ingredients is considered a good buy.
Synthetic-Free Products – or also known as “plant-based products” are labels used for products that used no man-made ingredients in its formulation. This indicates that all the ingredients in the product are plant and botanical ingredients. The primary reason why synthetics are used is because of its stretchable and waterproof properties. But these synthetic ingredients could be harmful for the environment, as it produces chemicals in its production process.
Knowing whether a product is organic
According to a study conducted by the Soil Association Certification, the organic beauty industry has grown in both sales and usage over the past years. People all over the world are now demanding for a organic alternative for almost everything—from food, to laundry products, to skincare products. But with all these in hand, how can one know distinguish an organic product with a non-organic product?
#1 Be cautious and look for a ertified organic’ label in the food or cosmetics before buying.
ertified organic’ label is a type of certification process for producers of organic products (may it be food, skincare, cosmetics, etc.) in order to ensure that the product has been properly checked and tested by a government-approved body. In buying genuine organic food, skincare, cosmetic, or any other products, it is essential to identify which organic labels are real, which are not because any manufacturer could just place the word rganic’ to the brand’s products and to the brand’s marketing schemes in order to make it look like the brand offers an organic product selection. In order to label a product as rganic’, the product must contain at least 95% organic ingredients. The remaining 5% must only consist of allowed ingredients.
#2 Some organic products doesn’t have certification
Due to some administrative cost constraints, some genuinely organic brands choose not to have their organic products certified. When in doubt, one can always check the product’s ingredients list, or even contact the brand itself since most products provide their contact details at the back portion of their products.
Product Testing
Human and animal experimentation plays a huge role in most medical trainings and biology lessons. Proponents claim that the use of human and animal testings are essential for the growth and development of man-kind. But consumers today are becoming ethically minded and prefers using products that are cruelty free. In addition, some countries have already banned the sale and distribution of products that use animal testing in their countries. But how do we know whether a product is cruel free or not?
A cruelty free product has a little bunny label called the Leaping Bunny. This label is a certification similar with the ertified organic’ labels that can be found in organic products.
In Summary
We are living in a fast-paced modern world today, where everyone is busy with their day-to-day lives. But despite all the hustle and bustles of life, it is important to make sure that one is taking good care of oneself. With the pandemic disease COVID-19 coronavirus taking place, people should not only consider a product’s antimicrobial properties, but also should keep in mind its long-term effect on the skin barrier.
