For this reason, natural cosmetics are worse than their reputation

Without additives, of natural origin, vegan and organic - typical attributes of natural cosmetics. Sounds great. In fact, certified natural cosmetic products are on the upswing: In Germany alone, sales have roughly doubled in the past ten years. In 2021 it was around 1.48 billion euros for the manufacturers.

Consumers are therefore consuming their cosmetics more and more consciously. But are the creams, serums and make-up items of natural origin really flawless? Not at all - at least in the United States of America, as researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine determined in an evaluation of 1,651 skin care products. They published their results in the journal "JAMA Dermatology".

One group of substances in particular was a thorn in the side of the doctors. But before we tell you which one it is, we have one more question for you:

This is the conclusion reached by the Stanford University research team. Allergens are substances that can potentially trigger a hypersensitivity reaction of the immune system.

In the case of cosmetic products that are applied to the skin, contact with allergens often causes itching, redness, swelling or flaking. A collective term for all of these allergic skin reactions is dermatitis. In their study, the dermatologists determined that around 90 percent of the natural cosmetics tested contain at least one of the 100 most common allergy triggers for dermatitis.

On average, a skin care or cosmetic product contains between 15 and 50 ingredients. So depending on how many different products you use throughout the day, you could be putting a ton of chemicals on your skin—and with that, a ton of potential allergens.

Most of the allergens identified in the study were fragrances, such as lavender oil and other botanical extracts. On average, the skin care products contained between four and five known allergens.

The fact is: Since 1996, cases of classic contact dermatitis have almost tripled in the USA alone, as researchers were able to prove in a 2020 study. Part of the reason for this is that the fast-growing, multi-billion dollar skincare and beauty industry has little regulation on how to market it.

Similar to Germany, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not set any specific requirements for the term natural cosmetics. Manufacturers are free to advertise with terms that would imply safety and health benefits, the research team led by dermatologist Peter Young writes in the study. This can give consumers a false sense of security.

This extreme example shows how important the right care is with regard to skin aging: