Not All “Natural” Beauty Products Are Created Equal

It’s that time of year again. You sit down to brainstorm New Year’s Resolutions, promising first to buy more organic food. On the same line of thinking, you add a further resolution. This time, to invest purely in Australian-made natural skincare products. 

It sounds like a step in the right direction. The best solution for preserving both your skin and the planet. You wouldn’t be wrong. However, you could easily be blind-sided… which is exactly why we’re here!

The truth is, there exists a wide spectrum of brands under the “natural beauty” category, here in Australia. You might be surprised to learn that while we share the same label, not all of us share the same product standards. 

The pressure to go “natural” within any industry, beauty included, often has multi-pronged effects. For some companies, it encourages rethinking their entire methodology, mission statement and ingredients list. For others, it involves doing the bare minimum in order to tap into the conscious consumer market. 

Before you embark on a skincare haul in time for 2022, we wanted to take a seat alongside you. To address the reality about the “natural” qualifier, and most importantly, what you need to know to build a routine of authentically natural, Australian-made products. 

First thing’s first. What does “natural” actually mean, according to industry standards?

The reality is, there are very few regulations or guidelines that pertain to the term “natural.” 

What’s more, the one stipulation that is unanimous across natural products in Australia… is incredibly ambiguous. It leaves ample space for loopholes, if you ask the team at Dindi. 

For companies to utilise the term “natural”, a mere 1% of their product ought to be derived from a plant, animal or mineral. You can see already why natural products in Australia seem to be popping up left right and centre! It’s not nearly difficult enough to meet this qualifier, meaning that countless companies could claim the title (and do) without a great degree of meaningful practice. 

Dr. Ebru Karpuzoglu, MSc., PhD offers up some valuable advice for culling out some not-so-natural options: “If you see the natural ingredients only at the end of the product's ingredient list, that means it's hardly natural." 

It’s true! Ingredients are placed in order with the most prominent element to come first. If a product refers to snowflower on the front of the bottle, this should be reflected within the first 1-2 lines of the ingredient list (much the way of our very own nourish face moisturiser!). 

If ever you're unsure of an ingredient, trust your intuition and do some research before placing your purchase. Most of us have a firm understanding of ingredients that are derived from the earth, by virtue of the fact we live here! If something appears unfamiliar, you’re probably on the right track to question it.

Don’t stop at the ingredients list either. Look a little deeper… 

“Natural” isn’t the only qualifier that matters. 

We know by now that “natural” doesn’t speak much to how a product was made, nor to the use of high-quality ingredients. That’s not to say that the term is completely redundant. It’s simply to affirm that we need more information. Ideally, we need around 4-5 neighbouring qualifiers to be sure we’re selecting the best natural products in Australia. 

Look for labels like vegan-friendly, cruelty-free, palm-oil free and non-toxic. These help us to identify products that are plant-based; free of pathogens and synthetic chemicals that may pose harm to individual health and/or to the planet we live on. 

You’ll be glad to know that our range at Dindi Naturals qualifies for each of these labels, plus a couple more that we deem equally important. Where possible, our natural products are sourced in Australia, with our full range always produced in our solar-powered factory in Victoria, Australia. We believe everything we need exists in our own backyard: essential, healing ingredients as well as incredible people to assist with production and distribution. 

We make our products in small batches, allowing for even greater attention to detail and the ability to standardise product quality. At Dindi Naturals, we swear by high-quality bio-active ingredients. That’s the kind that has a profound biological impact on the organism. Our anti-aging eye serum doesn’t simply claim to target ageing effects. Selected vitamins are inherently linked to cell regeneration and collagen production. You can trust that our products and associated benefits are based on more than just wishful thinking!

Now you know what other key qualifiers to look for, you might be thinking: 

Why does Dindi still use the label “natural?” 

The term “natural” still has its place. It’s in our name, after all. We’re proud as punch to wear it… but mostly because we’ve coined our own definition! 

At Dindi, we don’t muck around when it comes to letting Mother Nature do her thing. That’s why our natural beauty products include the entire plant profile, the same way it’s found in nature. We have no interest in meddling with its healing properties, hence we maintain seriously high standards for the way we extract our ingredients. We leave the plants’ bio-matrix completely in-tact, ensuring that plant compounds are fresh and clean; active, bioavailable and nutritionally dense. Just the way Mother Nature intended!

It feels only right to continue her tradition, by wrapping our natural goodies in completely recyclable packaging. We’re proud to take zero shortcuts, when it comes to producing all-natural beauty products, here in Australia. Even if the term is somewhat undefined across the industry, we know in our heart of hearts that we’re doing our own definition justice. That’s enough to make it meaningful at Dindi Naturals!