Have you ever wondered?

What these words mean on your beauty product...

HYPOALLERGENIC

This is a broad term that means a product is less likely to cause an allergic reaction, but it’s in no way a guarantee. There’s also no industry or legal standard governing the use of the term, so if you see a product labelled this way, take it as a guide, not a guarantee.

NATURAL

A product is considered ‘natural’ when it contains ingredients that are sourced from nature, rather than created in a lab. However, it’s a grey area as there’s no hard or agreed-upon definition or single governing body.

This category of skin care is poorly monitored and even products which are labelled as such often only contain a small percentage of natural ingredients.

ACTIVE INGREDIENT

Something biologically active is able to biologically affect the skin. Usually, these are at the top of the ingredients list and will often have a percentage listed on the packaging. AHAS, PHAS, retinol and vitamin C are all active ingredients.

Here’s a tip – be sure not to mistake a high percentage of active ingredients for a sign of increased effectiveness.

ESSENTIAL OILS

These are simply distilled oils derived from a plant. They’re common ingredients in natural skin-care brands – frequently used examples include lavender oil, ylang-ylang and rosehip oil. But just because they’re derived from a plant doesn’t mean they’re harmless. They can cause you irritation, so it’s important to spot test them first.