Can i claim it to be 100% natural?

Nouf

Hello,
i am new here so big hello to everyone  
i am starting my own business using natural ingredients. I am not a chemist.
I am sure most of them are natural, but i am using a preservative that has Benzyl Alcohol (78-84%)  , Benzoic Acid (11-13%) , Dehydroacetic Acid (6,5-7,5%) ,Tocopherol.
From what i read online, All of them are from natural origin except Dehydroacetic Acid which i read that its “synthetic” but okay to use in natural cosmetics.
my question is, can i claim the 100% natural slogan ? I want to keep my concept that way but my formula recipe has this preservative.


thank you all

Microformulation

No, Honestly I would never make this claim ever. You are not 100% Natural arguably. The Federal Trade Commission (not the FDA) will hammer you for this if they have to weigh-in. There have been several issues in the past 3 years for this claim, which is one dimensional and of lesser value than a coherent material standard. Keep the preservative. Never compromise safety for a "buzzword." Never.

Nouf

Microformulation said:

No, Honestly I would never make this claim ever. You are not 100% Natural arguably. The Federal Trade Commission (not the FDA) will hammer you for this if they have to weigh-in. There have been several issues in the past 3 years for this claim, which is one dimensional and of lesser value than a coherent material standard. Keep the preservative. Never compromise safety for a "buzzword." Never.

Hi dear,
thank you for this reply, i agree, i care to be honest and sincere with my customers.
can i at least claim “natural” (not 100% natural)? Or shall i not use the word natural at all? It at least 99% is , even My logo has the word “nature” in it
But i havent started selling yet. 
The Dehyroacetic acid is causing alot of inconvinience ?

MarkBroussard

Why don't you just switch to a natural preservative ... there are a variety of options, but not knowing if your product is a cream, lotion, etc. is not possible to offer you any specific options.

Nouf

MarkBroussard said:

Why don't you just switch to a natural preservative ... there are a variety of options, but not knowing if your product is a cream, lotion, etc. is not possible to offer you any specific options.

Hello dear, its a body lotion, using a cold emulsifier , glycerin extracts, essential oils, sweet almond oil , rose water, xanthan gum and lactic acid.
i learnt this recipe while in italy. Expiry within 2 months, ph 6.5-7

Gunther

Nouf said:

MarkBroussard said:

Why don't you just switch to a natural preservative ... there are a variety of options, but not knowing if your product is a cream, lotion, etc. is not possible to offer you any specific options.

Hello dear, its a body lotion, using a cold emulsifier , glycerin extracts, essential oils, sweet almond oil , rose water, xanthan gum and lactic acid.
i learnt this recipe while in italy. Expiry within 2 months, ph 6.5-7

Likely, the cold emulsifier ain't 100% natural either
so that may get you in trouble, as @Microformulation stated.

ngarayeva001

It’s all about wording. Say it’s made ‘with’ natural ingredients. Water is at the end of the day a ‘natural’ ingredient and you definitely use water, so it’s made ‘with’. I saw a bunch of ‘natural’ cosmetics that use phenoxyethanol. Another example, we all know that famous British brand that doesn’t test on animals. They ask you to sigh a petition and have a cute bunny picture in every store. Is their claim true? Yes. They do not test on animals. Reason? Ingredients that they use (butylene glycol) have already been tested long time ago. They don’t need to apply their generic lotions on rabbits. Use the same logic.

MarkBroussard

@Nouf:

Just make sure that all of your ingredients appear as Illustrative Acceptable Ingredients on Natural Products Association, ECOCert, NSF Ansi305. 

What specific emulsifier are you using? 

If you are confident, and it should not take too much research to confirm that all of your ingredients are Natural as defined by one of these standards, or just use common sense, then use Natural as opposed to 100% Natural in your marketing/labeling language.

This is not really as confusing as some here would make it out to be.

Nouf

ngarayeva001 said:

It’s all about wording. Say it’s made ‘with’ natural ingredients. Water is at the end of the day a ‘natural’ ingredient and you definitely use water, so it’s made ‘with’. I saw a bunch of ‘natural’ cosmetics that use phenoxyethanol. Another example, we all know that famous British brand that doesn’t test on animals. They ask you to sigh a petition and have a cute bunny picture in every store. Is their claim true? Yes. They do not test on animals. Reason? Ingredients that they use (butylene glycol) have already been tested long time ago. They don’t need to apply their generic lotions on rabbits. Use the same logic.

Hi dear, 
you are right, made “with” would also be reasonable. Since most of the ingredients are very natural and pure.
thank you

Nouf

Hello dear,

yes i think using the “natural”  “or with natural” would be better used in this case than 100%. so i will keep the word natural. And i will list full ingredients and explainations.

the cold emulsifier i’m using consists of:
 
-Polyglyceryl-2 Dipolyhydroxystearat

-lauryl glucoside

-glecyrin aqua   

Have a wonderful day

  MarkBroussard said:

@Nouf:

Just make sure that all of your ingredients appear as Illustrative Acceptable Ingredients on Natural Products Association, ECOCert, NSF Ansi305. 

What specific emulsifier are you using? 

If you are confident, and it should not take too much research to confirm that all of your ingredients are Natural as defined by one of these standards, or just use common sense, then use Natural as opposed to 100% Natural in your marketing/labeling language.

This is not really as confusing as some here would make it out to be.

MarkBroussard

Your emulsifier would be considered "Naturally Derived", but not "Natural" 

Nouf

MarkBroussard said:

Your emulsifier would be considered "Naturally Derived", but not "Natural" 

Hello mark:
Can we call these “naturally derived” as well? 
Benzyl Alcohol  , Benzoic Acid , Dehydroacetic Acid (6,5-7,5%) ,Tocopherol. 

MarkBroussard

I think you are treading on deceptive grounds ... your emulsifier components are derived from natural sources, but the individual component ingredients are in fact synthetic.  No, unless your Benzyl Alcohol is specifically natural source BA, which is highly doubtful, it is synthetic as is the DHA.  So, you really cannot say that your product is Natural.

Microformulation

I agree with @MarkBroussard in every aspect. This is a project that can not ethically be called "natural" but perhaps "nature identical."

My question (and I already know the answer), is it absolutely critical that you call this "natural?" With every line claiming "natural" (no legal definition, don't be naive of that fact), would such a claim set you apart from the market? Or will you need a better marketing story?

An effective product balances price (in line with the market), performance and the "sustainability/natural" aspects as well. Like a three-legged stool, you need to balance these three aspects. To simply bang away on "natural" creates a poorly selling one-legged stool. 

Nouf

MarkBroussard said:

I think you are treading on deceptive grounds ... your emulsifier components are derived from natural sources, but the individual component ingredients are in fact synthetic.  No, unless your Benzyl Alcohol is specifically natural source BA, which is highly doubtful, it is synthetic as is the DHA.  So, you really cannot say that your product is Natural.

Hello dear,
i am asking so to increase my knowledge , not to be deceptive at all. I am actually doing the exact opposite i want to know more about my ingredients so i can be honest when promoting.  
?
thank you all for your wonderful support and answers

Nouf

Microformulation said:

I agree with @MarkBroussard in every aspect. This is a project that can not ethically be called "natural" but perhaps "nature identical."

My question (and I already know the answer), is it absolutely critical that you call this "natural?" With every line claiming "natural" (no legal definition, don't be naive of that fact), would such a claim set you apart from the market? Or will you need a better marketing story?

An effective product balances price (in line with the market), performance and the "sustainability/natural" aspects as well. Like a three-legged stool, you need to balance these three aspects. To simply bang away on "natural" creates a poorly selling one-legged stool. 

Hi dear,

i have read online the ingredients of many cosmetics companies who claim to be (natural and/or naturally derived)
one of them stated
 “According to Ecocert regulations when it comes to ingredients, a product has to contain at least 95% of natural ingredients to be certified”

and those companies use benzyl alcohol and
Dehydroacetic acid, european brands.

I think if a company is using that much of natural ingredients it has the right of stating the word “natural” but not “100%” , it can say 95% or 99% , depending on each product.

MarkBroussard

@Nouf:

Don't confuse being ECOCert-compliant with being Natural.  ECOCert does allow some synthetics.  Benzyl Alcohol & DHA is an ECOCert-complaint Preservative, but that does not mean that it is natural.

If you want to claim 95% Natural, that is fine, but you should be precise in your definition.

If you want your product to be 100% Natural and claim Natural, then there are options regarding your emulsifier and preservative that will allow for that.  

Nouf

MarkBroussard said:

@Nouf:

Don't confuse being ECOCert-compliant with being Natural.  ECOCert does allow some synthetics.  Benzyl Alcohol & DHA is an ECOCert-complaint Preservative, but that does not mean that it is natural.

If you want to claim 95% Natural, that is fine, but you should be precise in your definition.

If you want your product to be 100% Natural and claim Natural, then there are options regarding your emulsifier and preservative that will allow for that.  

I agree with you..
and thats what i will be doing.
i just read a product of bodyshop, they use the word “nature-powered”. 
May i ask what natural preservatives and emulsifiers that are as effecient as the ones i mentioned please.?

MarkBroussard

You are now asking questions beyond the scope of free advice.

Nouf

MarkBroussard said:

You are now asking questions beyond the scope of free advice.

Hi mark ?
i understand,
i just saw your website and your services ?? Great idea.

thank you all  ?

Dtdang

You can claim “natural “, but do not claim 100% natural 
that I learn is from Perry web talk 

ozgirl

You will get a much better shelf life if you decrease the pH of your product to <6.  2 months shelf life is not going to be readily accepted by customers.

Belassi

the cold emulsifier i’m using consists of:
 
-Polyglyceryl-2 Dipolyhydroxystearat
-lauryl glucoside
-glecyrin aqua 

- Be careful to do patch tests. I tried a cold emulsifier (Emulgin VL75) which is 
I think what you have here (the INCI is identical). Sure, it emulsifies really well. But I, and one of my testers, came out in a bountiful crop of pimples (applied to the back of the hand). I am 100% certain it was the emulsifier and I strongly suspect it was the glucoside.

Dtdang

@ozgirl ;
can it be increased the shelf life by increasing the thickness? 

ozgirl

@Dtdang Shelf life generally has nothing to do with thickness.

My comments were related to the use of the preservatives mentioned in the original post. This combination of preservatives are only effective if the pH<6. Ineffective preservatives will mean the product has a short shelf life.

There are many other factors that can also effect shelf life and this is the reason we do product stability trials.

Microformulation

Keep in mind that "natural" is not the silver bullet of safety or marketing, especially as you move into larger "natural" markets or retailers. Remember that everyone, for the most part, is touting "natural" as well. Some communicate it better in their marketing, but in the end, you need to have a more universal marketing story that goes beyond a one-dimensional "natural" or "100% natural" claim.