As the beauty industry becomes inundated with organic and all natural products, what is the best way to financially navigate through all of the choices presented?  How do you know what the best value is out there?  There are $8 bottles and $28 bottles of shampoo on the proverbial shelf, what’s the difference?

Much of the price differential is Products Marketing 101: are the products recognizable because of an extensive and expensive marketing campaign?  Often, organic beauty product lines that grace the opening, full-page spots in Organic Spa magazine are probably the priciest.  I mean, what does your gut tell you about Origins’ Dr. Weil organic product line?  Origin stores are firmly planted on the priciest retail real estate available…could that influence the price of their products?

That’s not to say that smaller, less known brands, are necessarily less expensive. Confusing!

In other words, “who knows?!”  I know.  And here’s how you can know too.  Read the label.  It’s that easy.  If a company selling organic beauty products fails to list ALL of the ingredients on its label, don’t even consider buying it.  Here’s some tips for understanding the ingredients and consequently, what the true value of the product may be.

What’s the ordering of the ingredients?  Having “water” as the first ingredient listed may explain why it’s price tag isn’t too high. And if it is high, ask yourself why.  How much of the total product is derived from organically, bio-dynamically and/or wild harvested plants and herbs? If there’s a long list of “chemically” sounding ingredients following “water” and preceding rose hips, don’t bother tossing it in your shopping cart.  It needs to be clearly indicated that the plant/herbal ingredient is organic, bio-dynamically grown and/or wild harvested plants.

USDA Certified Organic, Oregon Tilth – Certified Organic, Campaign for Safe Cosmetics are all important monikers for your product to wear. But know that getting a product “Certified Organic” is an expensive and lengthy process.  Some smaller companies haven’t secured the seal and can’t place it on their labels, even though the ingredients are as organically white as the driven snow.  Again, look to the label and make your decision from there.

Making a change in your beauty regime is as important to making a change from synthetic to organic beauty products.  Read labels, use less, use wisely and if on a budget, buy only what you truly need to use on a daily basis.