Natural, organic, vegan – what’s the difference between them?

When you read the labels of a beauty product, your head may start to spin around. It may be a vegan mascara, an organic face cream or a natural shampoo. It seems that the same term has been used in many different ways, but in reality they are very different. To make it easier to choose skin care products, we will explain what the terms natural, organic and vegan mean.

What does natural mean?

An equal sign could be drawn between Nurme and natural cosmetics. By this is meant skin-friendly products made entirely or largely of vegetable raw materials, thus being more easily acceptable to humans, without causing addiction or allergic reactions.

It is very important to know that natural compounds are used as preservatives instead of chemical substances, which are also used in the food industry. Natural cosmetics have a principle: what you dare to apply on your body, you must also dare to eat. In this way, no chemical substances are stored in the body, because 60 percent of the beauty and hygiene products applied to the body are absorbed through our skin. In this way, a large number of harmful ingredients can be absorbed into the body from various creams and skincare products throughout the lifetime.

The list of ingredients in natural products definitely does not include synthetic substances such as parabens, mineral and silicone oils, nor fragrances, dyes, or preservatives. Only natural essential oils have been used to achieve the scent of natural products, just as Nurme does. The most secure way to find out how natural a product is is to check the ingredients list. The list of ingredients is based on the principle that at the beginning of the list is the ingredient that is most present in the product and last is the ingredient that is least present in the product.

But did you know that a product can be called natural even if there are actually only 1% natural ingredients ?! This 1% is probably not what you expect when buying natural cosmetics, because the other 99% in this product is chemical or synthetic. The word “natural” is often used to mislead the consumer, in other words, they greenwash the product.

What does greenwashing mean?

Greenwashing is a marketing technique in which environmentally friendly activities are presented to the public in a positive way, hiding the real characteristics of the product or service. In the case of greenwashing, for example, the use of a leaf-shaped symbol or packaging that refers to a natural composition is common. For example, the use of a beige wrapper or natural tones does not necessarily mean natural cosmetics. Therefore, for unknown brands, it is always wise to check the list of ingredients. Always look for a “100% natural” sign on the products, as this will ensure that it is not just greenwashing and that the brand is trustworthy. That is why you can see and hear Nurme constantly emphasizing that our products are 100% natural!

What is ECOCERT?

 You can also see Nurme talking about the ECOCERT label when choosing raw materials. ECOCERT is a symbol that guarantees that it is a naturally pure natural cosmetic and a raw material. ECOCERT is the world’s largest organization that gives out natural product certifications. The ECOCERT certificate, which guarantees purity and quality, is the strictest and most reputable standard among natural cosmetic manufacturers. It determines the requirements for products containing natural ingredients and the quality of plant raw materials. Although the Ecocert label is not yet available on Nurme’s packaging, we still ensure that our products use Ecocert-approved raw materials that are safe not only for humans but also for the environment.

What does organic natural cosmetics mean?

Organic matter means matter that comes from wildlife and contains organic compounds. What are these organic compounds anyway? Generally, only decomposing organic compounds are considered to be organic.

An organic cosmetic product contains a maximum of – 95 percent – natural ingredients. The remaining 5 percent are also strictly controlled and must not be synthetic. Most of the ingredients come from fruits and vegetables and plant-based raw materials, a small percentage of which are minerals. While natural products may be in contact with chemicals, organic products are excluded. The raw materials are grown without toxins and fertilizers and come only from controlled organic farms and growing areas or from certified harvesting areas.

 Organic products are, for example, Nurme’s gentle baby series, hand soaps, and also the luxurious lemongrass body milk.

What does vegan mean?

Vegan beauty and skincare products are very easy to recognize – they must not be made with any animal ingredients. While it may be mistaken to think that natural or organic automatically means vegan, this is certainly not the case.

90% of Nurme’s products are suitable for vegans. However, some products also contain animal ingredients – for example, Nurme deodorants and lip balms contain a small amount of beeswax and there is a small amount of goat’s milk powder in our face soap.

Examples of common ingredients of animal origin are:

• Beeswax (cera alba), honey (mel), propolis (bee glue), Royal Jelly – obtained from bees
• Lanolin (lanolin, wool wax), C10-30 Cholesterol/Lanosterol Esters – obtained from sheep sebaceous glands.
• Carmine (carmine, CI 75470), shellac (shellac, E 904, Gum Lac) – obtained from insects.
• Kerantin (keratin), hydrolyzed keratin, collagen, elastin, biotin – mostly proteins and vitamins of animal origin.
• Silk amino acids, sericin (silk glue), hydrolyzed silk protein, silk powder (Serica powder) – obtained from silkworms.
• Pearl, hydrolyzed pearl, pearl powder, hydrolyzed conchiolin protein – obtained from oysters.
• Snail mucin – obtained from snails.
• Lactoferrin, lactose, hydrolyzed milk protein – milk products.
• Squalene, guanine (CI 75170), glucosamine, chondroitin – obtained from fish and other marine animals.

With Nurme, you can be sure that all products are 100% natural, good for you and natural. Read more about Nurme and our values HERE.