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Organic makeup gets a closer look

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Organic makeup gets a closer look
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Animal byproducts weren't something Holly Tashian wanted to smear on her face. But it was hard to get away from lanolin, a fatty substance secreted by sheep, which was in many of the cosmetics in her makeup bag.

"I began to realize what I was putting on my face, and it's pretty bad stuff," says Tashian, a Nashville musician and a feng shui consultant. "I've just gotten turned off about what is going on in the cosmetics industry."

In order to be certain of the products she was using, Tashian switched to organic makeup, swapping out her lipstick, mascara and eyeliner for those made by the Dr. Hauschka Skin Care brand. She's still using an old compact of blush powder just because she hates to waste anything but plans to go all-organic once that runs out.

"I want to look better, and, at this age, you see skin go through dramatic changes," says Tashian, 61. At the same time, she'd rather use products to improve her complexion.

Tashian is part of a growing trend of women who are ditching compacts overloaded with chemicals and preservatives for those with natural and organic ingredients. Makers of natural cosmetics say their products contain plant, animal or mineral ingredients, not synthetics; organic makers say their ingredients are pesticide free.

These niche cosmetics are becoming increasingly popular as consumers look for products that are better for their skin and nicer to the planet.

Recently, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics announced that it had found potentially dangerous levels of lead in lipsticks, saying one-third of the 33 red lipsticks it examined contained an amount that exceeds the FDA's limit for lead in candy. The FDA, however, does not set a limit for lead in lipstick.

But what, exactly, are "organic" cosmetics?

Flexible term

Americans spent some $155 million on the top three mass-market natural personal care brands - Burt's Bees, Jason Natural Cosmetics and Tom's of Maine - during the 12 months through October, according to Information Resources Inc.

Sales of organic personal care items reached $350 million last year, an increase of $68 million over 2005, according to the Organic Trade Association in Greenfield, Mass. That's an increase of 24 percent, says Holly Givens, a spokeswoman for the industry group.

But just because cosmetics companies label a tube of lipstick as natural or organic does not mean it makes for a better pucker or is kinder to the planet.

"Organic means nothing on a label. The word natural means nothing. You can't trust anything on a label, and companies will lie," says Ginger Garrett, an Atlanta author who researched scores of articles on the science of makeup in writing a book on the cosmetics used by ancient women.

Cosmetics and their ingredients are not required to undergo government approval before hitting the store shelves, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. There are no standards as to what natural or organic means.

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