Natural skincare, reviewed in plain words

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What Natural Really Means on a Box

Short version: whatever the marketing team wants it to mean. Long version below, with the rules that actually exist.

The verdict

"Natural" is a mood, not a standard

2.0

There is no legal definition of "natural" for cosmetics in the EU, the UK or the US. In the EU, Commission Regulation (EU) No 655/2013 sets six common criteria every cosmetic claim must meet: legal compliance, truthfulness, evidential support, honesty, fairness and informed decision-making. So a claim must not mislead. But no rule says how much of a formula has to come from plants before the word is allowed.

ISO 16128 gives brands a method to calculate a "natural origin index". It is useful. It is also not a certification and sets no pass mark, so "95% natural origin" is a calculation the brand did on itself. Water usually counts as natural, which flatters watery lotions.

Our rule is simple: trust standards that publish their criteria and audit against them. Trust adjectives about as far as you can throw the jar.

Badge: our trust score for the word itself, not for any product.

Three unlabelled cosmetic jars with green leaves on a dark table lit by a single harsh lamp

Logos that mean something

  • COSMOS Organic / Natural: launched in 2017 by BDIH, Cosmebio, Ecocert, ICEA and the Soil Association, with published rules and audits.
  • NATRUE: a European natural and organic standard with ingredient criteria.
  • USDA Organic: the US National Organic Program, built for agricultural ingredients.
  • Leaping Bunny: Cruelty Free International's cruelty-free scheme, with supplier monitoring.

Myth and fact, side by side

Myth on the boxFact on the bench
"Natural means gentle."Plant extracts and essential oils are among the most common causes of cosmetic contact allergy.
"Chemical-free."Everything is chemicals, including water and shea butter. The phrase is meaningless.
"Clean beauty."No regulator defines it. Each retailer writes its own banned list, and the lists disagree.
"Non-toxic."Toxicity is about dose. Cosmetics sold legally already must be safe under normal use.
"Hypoallergenic."No agreed test or threshold. It does not mean nobody reacts.
"Dermatologist tested."A dermatologist looked at some results. How many people, and what happened, is often not stated.
"Preservative-free."Water-based products need protection from microbes. Without preservatives, look for airless packs and short shelf lives.
"Cruelty-free" (with no logo).The EU banned animal testing for cosmetics, with a full marketing ban in 2013. Elsewhere, a certified logo is the safer bet.

Reading past the front of the pack

Read the INCI, not the front

Ingredients are listed in descending order of concentration down to 1%. Below 1%, they can appear in any order. Water (Aqua) first is normal. The useful trick: find the preservative, such as phenoxyethanol, which is usually used at 1% or less. Any "hero" botanical listed after it is present in tiny amounts. That is how a "vitamin C serum" ends up with more orange scent than vitamin C.

Free-from, decoded

A 2017 EU technical document on cosmetic claims says "free from" claims should not imply that legally permitted ingredients are harmful. Swaps do not always end well. When parabens fell out of fashion, some brands leaned on methylisothiazolinone, which drove a wave of contact allergy in Europe in the 2010s. The EU then banned it in leave-on products under Regulation (EU) 2016/1198.

Green claims and the law

The UK Competition and Markets Authority published its Green Claims Code in 2021. In the US, the FTC Green Guides cover environmental claims, and the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 added facility registration and adverse event reporting, but no definition of natural. In the EU, Directive (EU) 2024/825 bans generic environmental claims like "eco-friendly" without proof, applying from September 2026.

How claims affect our scores

Claim honesty is 20% of every score. We list every claim on the pack and check it against the INCI and our wear test. Vague wellness words cost a little. Claims the formula plainly cannot support cost a lot. A product can work well and still lose points for pretending to be something it is not.

See the full method