The word “organic” in recent years become synonymous with the notion of health. But, although the basic idea is simple (getting produced in a natural way), what are the substances that are most definitely not organic in any way?

Generally speaking, the term organic stands for farming products that were produced in a old fashioned way, without the use of chemical or other enhancements. This means that organic food farmers don’t employ pesticides, herbicides or any other industrial product which can somehow remain on the commodity and enter human use or consumption.

When it comes to skin care products, the basic notion of organic ingredients is still viable. Thanks to its properties, skin can absorb almost anything that comes into contact with it, only if it is small enough to get through the pores on it. Because of this, many people tend to go for organic products which should be free of toxins and other potentially hazardous materials.

But, when it comes to labeling of the same products, many consumers are not certain what are they looking for. While many products (almost all of them in some categories) carry the label “natural”, there is much more to organic than just a single word printed on a package. Here is a list of the most important ingredients you should look out for, because every one of these is certainly not organic.

Parabeas

This term represents a preservative substance of a synthetic origin. Most regular and conventional cosmetic products include it, but there are studies which point to a potential link of Parabeas and hormone regulation issues. Others even point to a link to cancerous growth, but this is a much heavier allegation that must be proven. But in any case, there isn’t anything to lose by steering clear of Parabeas in a skin care product.

PEG

PEG stands for Polyethylene Glycol, a substance that reduces natural moisture production, meaning sweating. Although many hate to see the sweat stains on their clothes, PEG will in the best case scenario adds to skin aging, while it also opens the way for bacterial infection. Some studies point that PEG hampers the natural process of skin hydration, which is on its own reason enough to don’t use product that contain it.

Titanium dioxide

This substance is a part of the nanotechnology, a cutting edge field of science which will one day produce amazing results. But, although nanotechnology is something we should all look forward to, the presence of Titanium dioxide in many sunscreen type produces was cause for alarm in the scientific circles. Because of its nanoscale (extremely small size), some fear that it could penetrate the skin barriers and end up in the bloodstream. Even Cancer.org states that test on this issue produced “mixed results”, which should be reason enough to use sunscreens that don’t include it, just unit it is proven to be safe/unsafe.

With this information, you should be more ready to check the labels of skin care product and decide for yourself which ones are not worth the risk.