 Ushuaia:
shower product “Douche Nourrissante”
A great deal of emphasis is placed on Shea butter on the front of this product but anyone who consults the Inci list for the list of ingredients can see that the product hardly contains any Shea butter at all.
A tenside which irritates the skin can hardly be Shea butter
Where is it? Where is the Shea butter which is emphasised in such large letters on the front of the product and which is also referred to on the back? In reality it is right at the bottom of the list of ingredients contained in the product.
- 6 of the 14 ingredients (excluding water, perfume and F.I.L. B31494/1) are adjuvants (2), components of fragrances (3) and preservatives (2).
- How much Shea butter does the product contain? Much less than 1%. The 1% or less than 1% ingredient range begins with decyl glucoside (in 5th position in the Inci list). Ingredients which are used in a quantity of less than 1% can be declared in a disordered sequence. If this declaration were disordered, the product could contain 0.95% of Shea butter for example. If it were ordered, the proportion could be much lower. The product is in the last position in the Inci list (before the secret ingredient F.I.L. B31494/1).
- The nature of the shower product is determined by completely different ingredients. The main ingredients are water, sugar and the tenside sodium lauryl sulfate. Tensides contain cleaning properties. Sodium lauryl sulfate is one of the tensides which can irritate the skin. Other manufacturers of natural and organic cosmetics do not use this tenside and only work with gentle tensides which are kind to the skin.
Secret ingredient: a more pleasant effect instead of the best natural products to protect and care for the skin?
- The coded ingredient (F.I.L. B31494/1) could play an important role. We know from standard cosmetics that coded (secret) ingredients are used. Coded ingredients have not been used hitherto in natural and organic cosmetics. This coded ingredient may play an important role in the product.
- If could, for example, be responsible or partly responsible for the smooth consistency of this product. Its natural and chemical contents are also kept secret.
Organic quality: water plus sugar = sugared water
The discrepancy between the size of the “Cosmétique Bio Charte Cosmebio” on the front of the product and its actual organic quality is particularly notable. The organic share declared by the manufacturer is 10.5% and thus stands at just 0.5% above the required minimum of 10%. This organic share (apart from the small quantity of Shea butter) is only accounted for by sugar (sucrose; in 2nd position in the Inci list). This should be considered in relation to the high proportion of water in the shower product.
Organic certification with water?
In cleaning products such as shower products and shampoos, the organic share accounted for by genuine plant products can only be minimal. Different certification approaches have been adopted because of this.
- In the case of a certification such as the one granted to this product (Cosmétique BIO Charte Cosmebio), the share of water has to be included in the organic calculation. Plant waters are generally used in shampoos and shower products as the main “organic element”. This means that an organic share of over 10% is possible.
- In the other certifications, such as the NaTrue certification for example, water must not be included in the organic calculation. NaTrue shampoos and shower products are therefore generally not certified as organic but “only” as natural. Even if they contain organic extracts.
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