The ‘Natural’ Beauty Market

August 30, 2016

Everyone exudes their own natural beauty (it’s something we’re all born with!). The idea of a good Ottawa hair salon is to take the natural beauty which the client already has and enhance it through a new style or colour technique. The idea of a ‘natural beauty’ movement (by either only using natural and organic beauty products or abstaining from them completely) seems to be very popular as of late.

It’s important to be aware of the products that you’re using for your hair and body, but sometimes something that says ‘natural’ may not be as natural as you believe it to be. “The global organic personal-care market was worth over $8 billion in 2013, according to market research firm Grand View Research. North America generated 35% of the revenue share that year, analysts found. They estimate that the sector will reach $20 billion by 2020. Natural hair dyes are now being marketed in major organic retailers like Whole Foods, which sells Naturtint and Herbatint. Even CVS and Walgreens have slightly more “green” options by household names like Clairol Natural Instincts and Shea Moisture. While these products promote ingredients like coconut oil, olive oil or shea butter, the extent to which they are natural is debatable and loosely regulated. Actual chemists agreed to comb through a list of 25 ingredients that were commonly present in the aforementioned brands to determine whether or not the ingredients in these hair dyes were as natural as the packaging indicated. What they found was that most of the ingredients listed in the dyes may be based on naturally occurring compounds but most were synthesized or heavily processed from their original form. Michelle Francl, a chemist at Byrn Mawr College, said it would be hard to call the ingredients “natural.” “Most of this stuff is produced in a plant,” she said. Acrylates copolymer, which is synthetic, can be used as a binder in skin and hair products or as an emulsion stabilizer.”

It’s great to want to take a more healthy and natural approach to how you manage your hair and be conscious of the environment at the same time, but it’s important to know exactly what products your using and just how truly natural they are. In order to best understand the products that are being used to make your hair look its best make sure to consult with your Ottawa hair stylist upon your next visit.