I am Marion O'Leary, founder of Mokosh. For most of us, trying to understand the ingredients in our skin care is one of those impenetrable and, let’s face it, uninteresting subjects we tend to put in the ‘too hard’ basket.
Our attempts to make sense of a difficult-to-read ingredient list can leave us shrugging our shoulders and moving onto what we can understand. We look at price, packaging aesthetics and other marketing signals to decide whether a particular product is right for us.
Often, the inclusion of the word ‘organic’ or ‘natural’ is enough to convince us that a product is good for our skin and probably good for the environment too.
The sad truth is that most mainstream cleansers and moisturisers are made with a petroleum base, industrially-produced synthetic ingredients like dimethicones, preservatives like parabens that many scientists consider unsafe, and synthetic fragrances that give us a false sense of well being.
Their low price often correlates with their predominantly synthetic origins, poor environmental standards and suspect benefits to the skin.
To make things more confusing, many products that are supposedly ‘eco friendly’ contain ingredients derived from palm oil.
Although palm oil is not in itself harmful, its cultivation is an environmental disaster fuelled by the demand for this cheap oil. It is used extensively in packaged foods, and to manufacture ingredients used in virtually all shampoos, conditioners and skin care products.
So, what to do?
A good start is to buy certified organic. Products made to the Australian National Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Produce are not permitted to contain petroleum-derived ingredients, dimethicones, or synthetic fragrances, and only certain types of synthetic additives and preservatives are allowed. However, organic certification does not ban the inclusion of palm oil and its derivatives.
AT MOKOSH, ORGANIC CERTIFICATION IS JUST A PART OF OUR COMMITMENT TO THE HEALTH OF OUR CUSTOMERS AND THE ENVIRONMENT. OUR SKIN CARE PRODUCTS ARE MADE WITHOUT PRESERVATIVES, PALM OIL-DERIVED EMULSIFIERS AND OTHER SYNTHETIC INGREDIENTS. INSTEAD WE USE 100% PURE BOTANICALS.
We believe that choosing skin care that is good for our skin and good for the environment should be made simple. It can be.