One Consumer on Herbal Cosmetics

From the point of view of a consumer on herbal cosmetics, there are two ends of the herbal cosmetic spectrum.

The lower end, is, whilst undeniably all natural, rather garish and a little scary. Unless of course you prefer a punk or gothic look. In which case, the leaf, or perhaps more accurately, the bright lime colored lip 'dye' will be an unusual but perfect treat.

Within this range of mustard yellow and dark purple, there are pinks and something that looks like it is trying to be coral (but a little orange for that). But even these more commonly chosen lip shades are very stark in an unflattering way.

The subtlety and richness of nature is not reflected in the natural ingredients chosen. It all ends up looking a little odd.

Fortunately for the consumer on herbal cosmetics, and probably thanks to very sophisticated processing techniques, we have companies like Aveda which have succeeded in combining natural tints with modern palettes.

How much they still chemically resemble their natural origins is anyone's guess, but they do look great These lip colors that I looked at use oils like jojoba, olive and sunflower as a base, and mix in extracts like beetroots and blueberry to provide the color.

Aveda and companies like them are not cheap, but then neither are chanel or lancome. So ultimately it comes down to both a budget and lifestyle choice. But it is possible to find herbal cosmetics that are sophisticated and subtle in the looks they can create.

As to the question of whether herbal cosmetics make a difference to your skin, I am not sure. At the end of the day, natural does not necessarily mean harmless. And given that even natural products undergo a manufacturing process that may chemically change them significantly from their original structure, that is not a question easily answered.

Having said that, the processing may not have a negative effect at all. The best judge is you - does your skin feel better using natural products? If you have sensitive skin, it may be a significant change. And psychologically and perhaps physically, given that we end up ingesting a lot of our lipstick, it may be preferable to choose a product that at least resembles initially things that our body is okay with eating.

This consumer on herbal cosmetics at least is willing to give that idea more than a passing thought. But I do wonder if the vegetable oils used in these products are subject to very high temperatures and therefore hydrogenated. Hydrogenated fats are not particularly healthy.

Unfortunately, given that the term 'natural' is such a good marketing term these days, its hard to get to the truth of a product sometimes. Many products have some natural ingredients but are not wholly natural. Or a lot of natural shampoos are using sodium laureth sulfate, which is not a very healthy substance, although it is natural.