In recent years, the claims "natural" and "clean" have surged in popularity within the beauty industry. Using "natural" products sounds appealing, but what does it really entail? In this blog, we'll gain a better understanding of what "natural" means in cosmetics and how synthetic ingredients compare.
Like most marketing buzzwords for beauty products in the US, there is no formal definition for the claim "natural."
Generally, brands mean that their natural ingredients are sourced from the environment and minimally processed from that original state. However, "natural" does not necessarily mean it is the most sustainable, effective, or healthy version of the material.
Here are a few standout examples:
1. Natural doesn't imply that the ingredient is vegan or cruelty-free. Some natural cosmetic ingredients include shark liver oil, snail slime, beetle shells, and beeswax!
2. Natural doesn't mean sustainable. For example, palm oil is a natural ingredient found in many cosmetic products—and its extraction causes deforestation and rainforest biodiversity loss across the globe.
3. Natural doesn't equate to healthy. Formaldehyde, mercury, and lead are examples of naturally-occurring ingredients that we definitely don't want to be on our ingredient labels.
So, what's the solution?
One main hero is biotechnology. Put simply, this is harnessing cellular and biomolecular processes to create new technologies that help improve our lives and the health of the planet. Our natural resources are finite, and this innovation of science and engineering empowers us to create effective ingredients with a significant reduction in environmental footprint.
In the beauty space, biotechnology provides us with synthetic ingredients that replicate or enhance the benefits of their natural counterparts while providing improvements in environmental sustainability and socially responsible sourcing.
For example, BiotechBeauty uses bioengineered Squalane oil developed from highly renewable, fermented sugarcane in lieu of its natural alternative—which was traditionally harvested from shark livers. The other naturally-occurring, vegan source of Squalane is olives, which consume an inefficient amount of natural resources to produce compared to bioengineered Squalane. Namely, the synthetic Squalane that we formulate with reduces land use exponentially, consumes less water, and contains significantly less impurities in the final product. Score 1 for science!
Lab-created technologies also help us in cases of ingredients that are traditionally plagued by exploitative sourcing practices or are fundamentally detrimental to extract from the environment. This is the case for Mica, the naturally occurring mineral used to add shimmer to cosmetic products. At BiotechBeauty, we use Synthetic Mica to ensure that it is ethically sourced and does not rely on mining, which causes a plethora of ecological problems for the biosphere.
Moreover, in the realm of beauty and skincare, biotech manufacturing solutions fill a vital gap by providing unparalleled supply chain transparency and ensuring consistent ingredient quality. The industry is saturated with products formulated with plant-based extracts and organic compounds, but the lack of robust traceability poses a challenge in confirming the accuracy of these claims and determining active content levels.
So, now we know that "synthetic," "lab-derived," and "bioengineered" products aren't as scary as they sound. These innovations are awe-inspiring, as they allow us to create effective beauty products that are conscious of our social and environmental impacts.
The question is: do you believe in science?
XO,
BiotechBeauty
