Earth Science Skin Care – All Natural After All!!
I have some skin care products from Earth Science Skin Care company that I really like. Their Earth Science Clarifying Face Washand their Earth Science Almond-Aloe Moist UnscentedFacial Moisturizer.
I had switched from Cetaphil facial wash after learning what horrible ingredients are in it. I was disapointed when my friend gave me a link to the Cosmetic Database where you can look up cosmetic products and find out how harmful they are. When my favorite Earth Science products showed up as being not so natural after all I was so upset. I decided to e-mail them and ask them if they had any intentions of changing their ingredients since they were clearly not as safe as I had thought. They wrote me back within 24 hours and gave me a very thorough response that I have copied in below. You can also visit their website for other commonly asked questions. ——————————————————————————– From: Kate **** Sent: Monday, May 11, 2009 10:33 PM To: info@earthessentials.com Subject: Any plans to change some ingredients?
I love your products and because I find them at places like Alameda Natural Grocery, Lazy Acres in Santa Barbara and I think even Whole Foods I assumed they must be all natural and a healthier alternative to things like Cetaphil and other mainstream cleansers filled with toxins. I was disappointed when my friend sent me a link to www.cosmeticdatabase.com and I discovered that the Clarifying Facial Wash scored a 5 on a 1-10 scale of safe – dangerous and the Almond-Aloe Mositurizer that I use scored a 7!! I now plan to throw them away and tell my other friends who I have recommended these products to, to do the same. However I do like your products and wanted to know if you have any plans to provide safer/more natural ingredients in your line of products in the future.
Thanks.
Kate ——————————————————————————– From: “Kim ***” Date: Tue, 12 May 2009 08:26:31 -0700 To: ‘Kate **** Subject: RE: Any plans to change some ingredients?
Hello Kate,
Thank you for your email. Unfortunately, some of the information on that online database is incorrect and incomplete. They have never contacted the manufacturer to find out information from us direct on where we source our ingredients from (plant, mineral or synthetic) and they also do not have our correct ingredient list. They seem to have ingredient lists from years ago. That being said, please feel free to call us with any questions you may have about a product. We are actually in the process of evaluating all products for safety based on new research and findings in our field.
On the Skin Deep Website, we will also score high on toxicity on many of our products because of the word “Fragrance”. We actually use proprietary blends of plant-based fragrances in all of our products. We do not use petro-chemical derived fragrances and our fragrances do not contain phthalates. We have actually just changed our complete line over to a very strict labeling standard called INCI. This labeling standard is designed especially for people with chemical sensitivities and allergies. It is required by law in Canada and Europe, but not in the US at this time. It requires a Cosmetic Manufacturer to have ‘full disclosure’ of ingredients, including fillers, binders, emulsifiers and preservatives for raw ingredients. It also requires all ingredients to be listed under their proper name and in a Universal language. For this reason, on all of our products ‘Fragrance will be listed simply as Fragrance (Parfum)…Parfum is the Latin word for fragrance and does not mean we are using a synthetic ‘perfume’.
After changing over to INCI labeling, we feel we are having integrity with our ingredient lists and it also allows us to see where we may want (or need) to make changes in order to make a product even better. Most of our formulas are over 28 years old and have never been changed (because they are so popular and people have been using them for years). For that reason, we want to make sure that any alternative ingredient we end up using will also be just as effective. When you change even just one ingredient, it can greatly affect the product [and people’s reaction] to the change. So, we are really doing our homework right now to make the best products possible. We are a small, family owned company, so things can take a little longer than they would for a larger, corporate-owned company.
On the Skin Deep Website you will also notice that they label many ingredients in a negative manner such as Lactic Acid and Glycolic Acid, etc. I am an Esthetician and I believe strongly in these ingredients in the right concentration levels for skin care. Higher concentration levels would require a licensed professional to apply the product. We source our Lactic acid from molasses and it is used in the same manner as when Cleopatra took baths in sour milk to soften and rejuvenate her skin. In higher concentrations, any AHA can be irritating which is why they rate these ingredients as negative on that website I guess. Glycolic Acid is one of the best ingredients to help fight acne and is specifically used in products designed to help with this condition.
Please feel free to give us a call at any time to discuss ingredients and where they are sourced from. I completely understand if you are not comfortable using a product. That is why we changed over to INCI labeling. We want our customers to feel secure in knowing that every ingredient is listed and they can make the decision as to whether they want to use a product or not based on this information. We are also in the midst of testing new, alternative ingredients for many of the ingredients that are now being used in our products.
Some examples of things we are working on now:
A completely pure, premium Anti-Aging line including: an eye crème, serum, night crème and 100% mineral sunblock. We are in the testing stages right now to see how effective these formulas are.
Have a wonderful day,
Kim