Nowadays, it seems that almost every single hair and skin care product has buzz words like “organic” and “natural” in big, bold lettering across the front of their packaging. While the recent push among these companies to offer their customers organic and natural products may be well-intended, there can be quite a few problems stemming from the overuse and misuse of these words. At Original Sprout, we have opted to forgo using such saturated (and misleading) terms, focusing instead on one category which should be the bottom line for all hair and skin care products: SAFE.
Why not Natural?
At Original Sprout, we often get asked why we have chosen to re-brand ourselves as safe, rather than using the monikers of natural and organic. Well, the simple answer is that not only can using the word “natural'' get a company into hot water, but the term “natural” is also not always as cut and dry as many may think.
For whatever reason, the FDA has refused to define the word natural and how it is used in regards to cosmetics, with a perfect example being silicone. Some companies and “experts” will say silicone is a natural ingredient, derived from sand as the raw material, while others refute this claim by saying silicone is 100% a refined chemical and should never belong in a class of natural ingredients. What one person or business perceives as natural may be completely different from the other.
Additionally, have you ever purchased a 100% natural or organic product and been dissatisfied with the results? While many natural ingredients are safe to use, and some may even be more effective than their synthetic counterparts, 100% natural products are generally not that effective overall, and some natural ingredients can actually be quite harmful.
For example, lavender and tea-tree oil have both been linked to causing hormone disruption in young children. Additionally, using only natural ingredients can limit a product’s effectiveness and shelf-life through the separation of ingredients and bacterial growth. Don’t worry, there is a better way!
Why Safe?
With the above section in mind, the next most common question we get asked is why we chose safe as our mantra, rather than the many, slightly more subtle, substitutes for powerhouse terms like “natural” and “organic.” The answer to this question actually came out of a fairly simple line of thinking.
For example, when asked what they want in a personal care product, a majority of the time discerning customers will say “it has to be natural or organic.” If one were to continue with this line of questioning and ask why the product has to be natural, they might give a response along the lines of “natural is better for you.” A simple follow up asking why natural is better would likely elicit the response, “because it’s safer to use” and herein lies our end goal with Original Sprout products.
Many people, through no real fault of their own, attempt to regulate the products they use by reading the ingredients without the knowledge necessary to make an informed decision. Generally, these people see long, unrecognizable words that are difficult to pronounce and immediately assume it cannot be good for them when in reality the opposite may be true.
Take Cetrimonium Methosulfate for example. Despite sounding horrific and dangerous, this synthetic ingredient is incredibly safe and effective. Cetrimonium Methosulfate is an antimicrobial quaternary ammonium salt, used as an antistatic and emulsifying conditioning agent, and is the go-to ingredient when making products for babies due to it’s safe and gentle properties.
The Best of Both
Original Sprout products are composed of both natural and synthetic components, because the best products are made with the best and safest ingredients, which sometimes includes synthetic counterparts.
Our products have gone through testing process after testing process, and can with absolute confidence, and corroborative documentation to back it up, say that our products are 100% safe to use.
We now graciously step down off of our proverbial soapbox, and ask that you don’t just take our word for it. Do your own research, fact check us on the claims we have made here, and try our products. We assure you, you will be pleasantly surprised by how big the difference between “safe” and “natural” can really be.