The skin is our body’s largest organ and protects us from the environment. While it is not true that everything we put on our skin enters into it, many things do.  Here are some reasons why we should we choose organic plant-based products for our skin:

• there is evidence that a number of synthetic ingredients may be contaminated with carcinogens;
• plant extracts obtained from plants not grown organically may be contaminated with pesticides;
• many synthetics, especially various substances used for fragrance and preservatives can be irritating and allergenic;
• many products are preserved with parabens – there is quite a bit of evidence indicating that parabens are absorbed through the skin and they were found to accumulate in breast cancer tumours
• if not preserved with parabens, the next greatest preservative agents used are formaldehyde releasers such as DMDM hydantoin, imidazolidinyl urea, diozolidinyl urea, quaternium-15, 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol, tris (hydroxymethyl) nitromethane, and hydroxymethyl glycinate (personally, I hardly agree with preserving our bodies AFTER they are dead, so I am in no hurry to get a head start!);
• organic cultivation protects not only the people using the product and the environment at the point of end use, but also protects the environment where the ingredients are grown and the people growing, harvesting, and processing those ingredients;
• in many respects, using all natural ingredients also helps to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels – many synthetics are based on components derived from petroleum; and many are simply of the opinion that nature does it best!

Source: December 2008 – Tech Talk by Candi Bezte  Norwex, Science & Technical Advisor