Definition of Natural in Cosmetics

What Does “Natural” Mean?

There is no single universal legal definition of “natural” for cosmetic ingredients. This has led to different interpretations and approaches within the cosmetics industry.

A natural material can be defined as a material that is harvested, mined or collected and may subsequently undergo processes such as washing, decolorisation, distillation, fractionation, grinding, milling, separation or concentration, provided that the resulting chemical or chemicals are available and detectable in the original source material.

Natural materials may also be modified through the action of microorganisms, enzymes or yeasts to modify or increase the yield of naturally occurring materials.

Natural-Origin Materials

Naturally derived materials are produced using a natural raw material as the starting point of a chemical process. The resulting chemical may not itself occur naturally or may not be present in the original starting material.

This distinction is important when evaluating cosmetic ingredients marketed as natural or naturally derived.

Nature-Identical Materials

A nature-identical material is produced synthetically rather than necessarily from a natural starting material, but is chemically identical to a substance that occurs naturally.

Therefore, a nature-identical ingredient can have the same chemical structure as a naturally occurring substance without being obtained directly from a natural source.

ISO 16128 and Natural Cosmetics

Although the concept of “natural” is complex, the cosmetics industry has an international framework through ISO 16128.

ISO 16128-2:2017 provides approaches for calculating natural, natural-origin, organic and organic-origin indexes for ingredient categories defined in ISO 16128-1. It also provides a framework for determining the natural and organic content of cosmetic products based on their ingredients.

ISO 16128 is specifically designed for the cosmetics sector and provides definitions and criteria intended to support a more consistent approach to natural and organic cosmetic ingredients and products.

Natural Claims in Cosmetic Products

When developing or marketing a cosmetic product as natural, it is important to distinguish between natural, naturally derived, organic and nature-identical ingredients. The origin and processing of each ingredient should be considered when determining how a product can appropriately be described.

References

The internal and external use of medicinal plants – Anthony C. Dweck, FLS, FRSC, FRSH.
ISO 16128-2:2017 – Guidelines on technical definitions and criteria for natural and organic cosmetic ingredients.