Information on natural organic skin care is very confusing to say the least. While we all know that we should avoid synthetic or artificial ingredients in our food and drinks, we are less well informed on the ingredients in our beauty and personal care products.

Frequently we hear that yet another ingredient found in skin care or personal care products is potentially dangerous to our health, but unless you're well versed in chemistry, generally we have no idea on what to look for.

The key is to look at the ingredients in the products you are considering. Identify the herbs and essential oils that are listed, if any. These should be easy to recognise because they do not tend to be chemical names like: Formaldehyde, Sodium laurel sulphate, etc.

They are names we easily recognize as plants, such as Lavender, Rose, Tea Tree, Chamomile, and so on. If the listed ingredients are difficult to read, chances are that they're either isolated chemicals, possibly from a natural source, or more likely, they are synthetic/man-made chemicals that may potentially be harmful.

Herbs and essential oils are natural, usually safe ingredients and they may even be certified organic. In any case, at least you know that these are plant oils or herbal extracts obtained from plants, rather than isolated synthetically produced ingredients.

Another trick is to find out who makes the products. If it is a large company that mass produces products, there is a strong possibility that cosmetic chemists are at work, and that would suggest that not all the ingredients used in the products are going to be natural - especially not the emulsifiers, preservatives and fragrances.

Instead, look for small companies that are owned and run by medical herbalists, medical Aromatherapists or people with qualifications in Alternative medicine, because their philosophy is to produce safe, natural and effective products that do not harm your health.

The final thing you can do to establish the degree to which the products you are interested in are natural or not, is to ring the company and flat out ask. Are all your ingredients 100% natural? If they hum and ha...well, need I say more?

If you take time to look around you will find quality information on natural organic skin care that is well worth reading and remembering, but nothing gives you greater confidence then doing your own research and asking some direct questions.

Danny Siegenthaler is a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine and together with his wife Susan, a medical herbalist and Aromatherapist, they have created Natural Skin Care Products by Wildcrafted Herbal Products to share their 40 years of combined expertise with you.

© Wildcrafted Herbal Products 2008