According to Dr. Doris Day in the April 2008 issue of Health magazine:
- Natural refers to ingredients derived from plants, minerals, or algae.
- Organic describes substances grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, and processed without man-made chemicals.
- Made with Organic Ingredients means that 70% or greater of the ingredients are organic content.
- USDA Certified Organic is the highest standard. USDA Certified Organic means that 95-100% of ingredients must meet USDA organic standards for food. More information about USDA Certified Organic is available here.
According to Dr. Day, “The National Standards Foundation (NSF) is working with outside groups, including organic-cosmetics manufacturers (like Burt’s Bees) to create an organic standard specifically for personal-care products, which should take effect in the next year or two.” Until then, keep the above standards in mind if you are an organic skin care product fan. 🙂