What does 'natural' and 'organic' mean on a cosmetic label?
Nowhere do the terms "natural" or "organic" take a more gratuitous bruising than the cosmetics industry! Here we hope to clarify some basic differences between Miessence and others....

Miessence definition of natural:
"Existing in, or formed by nature; not artificial."
Commercial definition of natural: "Any ingredient "derived from" a natural substance."

Explanation: We often see long chemical names followed by the phrase "derived from coconut oil". For example, to create cocamide DEA from coconut oil requires the use of a carcinogenic synthetic chemical (diethanolamine - DEA). It is therefore no longer natural (or safe). To insinuate that it is a natural substance by adding the phrase "derived from coconut oil" is deceitful. Just because vodka can be made from potatoes, doesn't mean it's good for you!

Miessence definition of organic:
"Grown, cultivated and stored without the use of chemicals, herbicides, pesticides, fumigants and other toxins."
Commercial definition of organic: "Any compound containing carbon."

Explanation: The organic chemistry definition of organic, is any compound containing carbon. Carbon is found in anything that has ever lived. So, by using this definition of organic we could say that the toxic petrochemical preservative, methyl paraben is "organic" because it was formed by leaves that rotted over thousands of years to become the crude oil used to make this toxic preservative.