Beware of products that indicate they are natural!

Cyprus International University (CIU) Faculty of Pharmacy Dean Prof. Dr. Yasemin Yazan, stating that many cosmetic products indicating they are “natural” actually contain substances that can possibly cause irritation to the skin, drew attention to the fact that the content within substances that are defined as "extract" upon the label of the products, are not fully known and are not standardized.

Adding that due to the general demand of consumers for naturalness, as a result, natural cosmetics have been emerging since the 1970s, Yazan advised that the word “natural” is a very dangerous one and that there is no internationally accepted definition for it.

Noting that the word natural is perceived by cosmetic scientists as products that are free of synthetic substances and any petroleum-derived substances, and that has not been chemically treated, Yazan went on to say, “According to this definition, in an environment where it is even debated as to whether water is natural or not, what is natural and what isn’t is met with suspicion”.

Pointing out that when it comes to drug use, ranking first in scientific expectations is "effectiveness", Yazan stated that when it comes to cosmetic products, "safety" is the first and that many of the so-called natural products may actually contain substances that are possibly harmful to the skin.

Prof. Dr. Yazan explained that the international trend is to certify all-natural raw materials and went on to inform, “Therefore, the products having one of the internationally accepted labels is important”.

Explaining that of the 2000 “Cosmebio” (a certificate that the product is natural and organic) certified products within France constitute only ¼ of the total natural products, Yazan added that while the remaining ¾ bear the label of being natural, they are not considered as being ethical and safe.

Informing that of all the vocational trainings, cosmetics science is only included within the pharmacy education program, Dean Yazan concluded, “Therefore, due to pharmacists knowing cosmetic product content well, like all cosmetic products, it is beneficial to buy cosmetic products containing natural substances from pharmacies. It should be known that all good and well-known domestic and foreign company cosmetic products are sold in pharmacies”.