Natural skincare products 'are not always better'

Cosmetics are big business – over five billion units of these products are sold in Europe each year and the factory output of the industry is valued at €35 billion (£4 billion).

Furthermore, 23 per cent of cosmetics sold are skin care products such as creams, emulsions, lotions, gels and oils for skin.

Therefore, with so many people snapping up anti-aging creams, make-up and moisturising lotions it is not surprising that the market has diversified to cater for all tastes, including organic products which claim to be a healthier option.

However, one expert has stated that natural skincare products are not always better than those which do not claim to be made without artificial ingredients.

According to the Cosmetic Toiletry and Perfume Association (CTPA), most customers have wised up to this and buy products based on their past experience of how effective they were rather than on claims made on the bottle.

Dr Chris Flower, director-general of the CTPA, said: "Each product should stand and fall on its on own merits but there are products there for people interested in all sectors of the market, so there are people who look for particular products that are meant to be natural or organic."

He added that other people will be persuaded to buy cosmetics for other reasons, such as packaging or marketing that is aimed at them.

"There's nothing inherently better about natural products nor is there anything inherently worse about it," Dr Flowers added.

The Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on cosmetics, produced by the European Cosmetics Directive, has recently tightened up the rules on how manufacturers market their products.

It said that when labelling and advertising cosmetic products, texts, names, trade marks, pictures and figurative or other signs should not be used to imply that these products have characteristics which they do not.

Dr Flowers explained: "The Cosmetic Directive regulates cosmetic products and requires that any claims for the products must be substantiated.

"In the UK, we have both the Advertising Standards Authority and Clearcast who are the watchdogs of advertising claims."

He concluded that clearer broadcasting rules should also be implemented to prevent misleading claims being made on TV so that people can buy cosmetics with the right facts in mind before they hand over their hard earned cash.