There are no regulations regarding the use of the word “natural” for any product, but the ingredient list will tell you the product’s story.  Some ingredients don’t appear to be natural by their name, and sometimes even when you look them up, it can be confusing as to how natural they are. There are different levels of natural, depending on the function of the ingredient in the final product.

Let’s walk through the ingredient list of the Bel Essence night cream to illustrate: 

distilled water, cacay oil, castor oil, argan oil, avocado oil, hemp butter, black currant oil, glycerin, emusifying wax*, stearic acid*, turmeric extract, moringa extract, pomegranate enzyme, burdock root, lavender oil, chamomile oil, vitamin E, aloe, Geogard (ECO-CERT)**, Vegecide**  *plant derived **natural preservative

• The first level of natural ingredients is pure natural. These ingredients are obtained from natural sources and maintain their natural chemistry and structure:  the oils, butters, root powder, aloe and extracts are pure natural ingredients.
  
  
• The second level of natural ingredients is naturally derived – these are natural ingredients that undergo processes like fermentation or chemical reactions to make a functional ingredient. Plants are processed to pull out compounds (ex. fatty acids) to create the ingredients such as emusifying wax, glycerin, stearic acid, pomegranate enzyme and vitamin E.  These ingredients retain their natural source benefits, even if they are included for a different function.  
  
  
• The third level is synthetic molecules. These are molecules obtained from plant material to create an ingredient.  This would be the preservatives.  You need specific molecules to keep a product from degrading, and these components, rather than completely synthesized in a lab, are obtained from natural sources.  Both Geogard (certified eco) and Vegicide are built from naturally derived molecules.
  
  
• The last level is nature identical, a controversial type of “natural.” These ingredients are not derived from nature, they are synthesized, but are identical to the natural ingredient.  Bel Essence does not use these type of ingredients.

There are ingredients that can be naturally derived, or can be obtained from other sources.  Vitamin E is an example, it can be derived from plant oils, or mineral oil.  To verify if all the ingredients come from a natural source, ask the manufacturer!   They should be willing to give you the origin of all their ingredients.  All ingredients we use are natural source, and we indicate “plant-derived” on the label for those that are not pure natural, and identify our preservatives as natural.  We only work with suppliers who guarantee ingredients are natural, organic, certified eco and/or organic and responsibly sourced.