Is your product worth its price tag? Real Beauty in this world costs little. Love, a smile, a hug a complement, your time – They cost nothing, yet their value is priceless. But what of the beauty you pay for? Is the price justifiable and just what are you buying?
28
October, 2017
I’d like to reveal some industry secrets … so you can understand what’s in your product and whether it’s worth the price you pay!
To comply with cosmetic standards, ingredients must be listed in descending order, starting with the largest percentage down to the smallest, in a universal language known as INCI (international nomenclature of cosmetic ingredients). Any ingredient below 1% can be listed in any order. Active ingredients are usually at the end of the list, as smaller percentages are needed, followed by essential oils and their allergens. Watch out as some preservatives can actually be listed simply as ‘perfume’ or ‘fragrance’- hiding a multitude of chemicals!
The majority of your product will be the first half of the ingredients, with the bulk being the first 3 (depending on how long that list is!) and often only the first one, with others appearing purely for a label claim.
Although beautiful, some oils are more abundant than others and therefore cheaper (think safflower, sunflower, grapeseed, orange, lemon), whilst other ingredients are less abundant and more costly to produce (think rosehip, argan, prickly pear, jojoba, rose, frankincense, neroli, jasmine).
If your ingredients start with the more expensive botanicals and end with some of the more expensive essential oils, listing also some extracts, antioxidants or vitamins, then it’s worth paying a premium, however if your ingredients are mostly the more abundant botanicals and cheaper essential oils, then the price should also reflect this.
