How to choose the best organic face cream

The best organic face cream is one you can verify: an independent certification behind the word organic, a stated share of organic and natural-origin ingredients, and an ingredient list you can read. After that it is a question of fit: your skin, and what you want from a cream.

What organic means on a face cream

In the EU there is no legal definition of organic or natural for cosmetics. A brand may use the words if the claim is truthful and can be backed up, so the word on the front of a jar tells you little by itself. What carries weight is a certification from an independent body against a private standard, such as COSMOS or NATRUE.

The standards differ in what they ask for. COSMOS Organic, for example, requires at least 20% of the finished product to be organic (10% for rinse-off products) and at least 95% of the processed plant ingredients to be organic. A figure on the label, such as a percentage of organic or natural-origin ingredients, says more than a broad claim like 100% natural. ISO 16128 is a voluntary method brands can use to calculate such figures.

Natural origin describes the formula. It does not tell you how your skin will react to it.

What should be inside, and how it is made

A face cream is a handful of jobs done by a handful of ingredient types. Most creams share the same skeleton:

• A water base. Aqua, or a plant water or juice. It keeps the cream light.
• Humectants. Glycerin, hyaluronic acid or Sodium PCA draw water into the upper layers of the skin.
• Oils and butters. Jojoba, shea and similar ingredients soften the skin and slow water loss.
• An emulsifier and a preservative system. A cream that contains water needs both. Look for them in the list rather than treating them as a flaw.
• Optional extras. Plant extracts, vitamins and similar add-ons. A long list of extras is not a sign of quality in itself.

How an ingredient is made is a separate question from where the plant grew. Organic describes the farming. Three processes cover most of what you will meet:

• Pressing and extraction. Oils and butters are pressed from seeds and nuts. Extracts come from steeping plants in water, oil or glycerin.
• Fermentation. Microorganisms fed on sugars make the ingredient. Hyaluronic acid for cosmetics is usually made this way.
• Enzymatic hydrolysis. Enzymes cut a large molecule from a plant or an alga into smaller, water-soluble pieces.

Fermentation and enzymatic hydrolysis are biotechnology. Biotech describes how an ingredient is made. What it does for skin is stated separately, and more cautiously.

How to read the label before you buy

• The order. Ingredients run from the most to the least concentrated, and below 1% they can appear in any order. The first five or so tell you what the cream mostly is.
• The base. Aqua first is normal. Check what follows it, and where the oils and humectants sit.
• Organic marks. An asterisk usually marks organic ingredients, with a footnote that gives the share. Look for a certification logo next to it.
• Scent. Parfum or named essential oils mean the cream is scented. Essential oils are natural, and many of the fragrance allergens that EU rules require brands to name are components of them. If your skin reacts to scent, check this first.
• Sun protection. A face cream without an SPF rating does not protect your skin from the sun. Use a separate sunscreen in the morning.

That gives you a shortlist. Which cream fits depends on your skin and on what you want to change first, and that is the next step.