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Whether it's pale pink, muted mauve, or tanned terracotta, choose a natural blush that highlights your cheeks with a sun-kissed glow that not only looks healthy, but is healthy—for you and the planet. Opt for organic, natural, and cruelty-free blushes, which avoid ingredients that come from petroleum refining—such as coal tar colorants, mineral oil, and propylene glycol—and talc mining.

Find it! Natural blush

Before you buy

Which blush is right for you?

Blush may come in a cream, gel, powder, or stick. Creams are good for dry skin, gels for oily skin, and powder for moister skins. The ingredients in powder blushers are almost the same as those in pressed powder, with the addition of lake colors; while stick blushers contain ingredients much like those in lipstick.[1][2]

What's in a label?

Making sense of the terms on cosmetic labels can be maddening. Here's the lowdown on a few terms frequently used and what to look for:[3]

Organic

Products that contain 95 percent organic ingredients—plants grown without toxic pesticides, for example—can use the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Organic Seal. With 70 percent organic content, the label can say "made with organic ingredients" but can't have the seal; with less than 70 percent organic ingredients, "organic" can't be used on the packaging except in the ingredients list to call out specific organic ingredients.

Bottom line: If you want to be sure you're getting an organic product, choose one with the USDA Organic Seal.

Natural

"Natural" has no current legal definition, but on May 1, 2008, the Natural Products Association (NPA) announced a new certification program that defines "natural" and includes an easily-identified seal. Advisers to the association include Aubrey Organics, Burt’s Bees, Badger Balm, California Baby, Farmaesthetics, Trilogy Fragrances, and Weleda.[4][5]

Bottom line: Look for the National Products Association Certified Seal.

Cruelty-free

"Cruelty-free" is another term lacking legal definition, but you can be sure a product isn't tested on animals by looking for the Leaping Bunny Logo, created as part of the Humane Cosmetics Standard (HCS), the only international criteria for cosmetic or toiletry products that aren't tested on animals. To get the leaping bunny, manufacturers can't test their ingredients on animals or buy from suppliers that do. In the US, the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics (CCIC) is the granter of the leaping bunny logo, and it conducts routine checks to ensure that manufacturers toe the line.[6]

Bottom line: Look for the bunny, and make sure he's leaping. (See Controversies to find out why.) Or just look for the NPA seal (above), since NPA-certified products must be cruelty-free.

Other international certifications

Also look for seals that indicate certification by these organizations: Germany's BDIH, France's Ecocert, the UK's Soil Association, Italy's AIAB, and Australia's Biological Farmers of Australia (BFA). BDIH addresses "natural" products, while the rest offer organic certifications.[7]

Hypoallergenic or hype?

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states, "There are no Federal standards or definitions that govern the use of the term 'hypoallergenic.' The term means whatever a particular company wants it to mean." On the upside, products designated as hypoallergenic may have common irritants removed, and are often fragrance free.[8]

Choosing natural blush helps you go green because…

• It avoids the use of harmful petrochemicals, such as mineral oil, propylene glycol, and coal tar dyes, which pollute the air, water, and soil.
• It doesn't require the energy-intensive mining of talc, which contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.

It gives oily complexion a whole new meaning

In 2006, the US produced 5.1 million barrels—or 214 million gallons—of oil a day. Oil refining produces the petrochemical byproducts used in blush and other cosmetics. The production and use of petroleum products pollutes the air, water, and soil. Oil drilling and exploration (looking for oil) may disturb land and ocean habitats. Producing oil at refineries releases pollutants into the air, while faulty oil storage tanks leak oil into the soil. Oil spills—whether it's from an oil tanker accident or overfilling your lawn mower—pollute rivers and oceans and harm wildlife. Even washing petroleum-based makeup off your face sends petrochemicals down the drain and into drinking water and waterways, where they can harm humans, animals, and marine life. Choosing petro-free cosmetics may seem like a small action, but it can make a big difference.[9] [10][11] Here are some petrochemicals to avoid:

Coal tars (used as colorants) are a thick, liquid waste product that results from the processing of bituminous coal. The coal tar that you're coating your cheeks with is the same substance that's elsewhere classified as hazardous waste, and the subject of Superfund cleanups.[12][13][14]

Mineral oil is a mix of refined liquid hydrocarbons that are byproducts of refining crude oil to make gasoline. In semisolid form, mineral oil is called petrolatum or petroleum jelly, which is also found in cosmetics. Mineral oil is used in blush, foundation, mascara, lipstick, makeup remover, shaving cream, baby oil, hand creams, cleansing creams, hair conditioner, and suntan lotions. It functions as a lubricant and binder.[2]

Acrylates are a form of acrylics, which are clear, man-made, petroleum-based plastics—think Plexiglas and airplane windows. Acrylate compounds are used as film-forming agents in cosmetics: when applied they leave a pliable, continuous covering over skin or hair. Acrylates are commonly used in blush, mascara, eye shadow, hairspray, and nail polish. Acrylates are strong irritants and can cause allergic reactions. Acrylic acid can be absorbed by the skin if applied topically, or by the lungs, if inhaled. It can cause nasal lesions if inhaled or dermal irritation if applied to the skin.[2][15][2][16]

Propylene glycol (PG) is a clear, colorless liquid made from natural gas. It's used in foundation, blush, moisturizers, aftershaves, baby lotions, cold creams, deodorants, antiperspirants, lipstick, mouthwash, and suntan lotion. In many cosmetics—such as blush—it's used as a humectant to keep the product from drying out. PG is also found in such diverse products as antifreeze, baby wipes, fat-free ice cream and sour cream, and dog kibble (to keep it chewy). While it's used in many "natural" products, propylene glycol has been the source of much debate.[2]

The truth about talc

Talc is a naturally occurring mined mineral (magnesium silicate) that's usually the main ingredient in blush and provides the powdery base. It also usually contains small amounts of boric acid, zinc oxide, or other powders as a coloring agent. All types of mining are harmful to the environment, and talc mining and processing (crushing and grinding), as well as storing, bagging, and shipping, generates talc dust and noise pollution. Talc mining is an energy-intensive process that burns a lot petroleum, releasing greenhouse gases that cause global warming.[17]

Talc is a lung irritant with a chemical composition much like asbestos, a known carcinogen. Prolonged inhalation can be damaging to the lungs. A 2002 study of workers at a talc mining and milling facility also found that workers had higher than expected death rates due primarily to lung cancer and non-malignant respiratory disease (NMRD). They concluded that while exposure to talc dust may not have been responsible for lung cancer, it probably contributed to an elevated rate of NMRD, especially pulmonary fibrosis, in the workers.[2][18]

Controversies

Rosy cheeked or red-faced?

Although propylene glycol is recommended as a pet-friendly alternative to toxic ethylene glycol in antifreeze, it gets highly mixed reviews when used in foods, drugs, cosmetics, and personal care products. Eco-friendly Tom's of Maine removed propylene glycol from its deodorants and replaced it with a vegetable glycerin in 1993, in an effort to replace petrochemicals. After customer complaints that the deodorant stick was “soft and mushy” and feedback that the vegetable glycerin seemed to actually increase the growth of odor-causing bacteria, Tom's recalled the glycerin-based deodorant and went back to using propylene glycol in its formula. The Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for propylene glycol states that in concentrated form it can cause temporary reddening, stinging, or swelling of the eyes or skin, but Tom's points out that MSDS sheets apply to material storage and handling of large amounts of the ingredient in its pure form; this doesn't mean that a product containing the ingredient will have these irritating properties.[19]

Not all bunnies are created equal

In addition to the Leaping Bunny logo, there are similar emblems featuring big-eared and red-stamped bunnies offered by animal-rights organizations for manufacturers to put on their products to symbolize that they're cruelty-free. With these emblems, compliance is on the honor system. Also, products that just claim to be cruelty-free can still contain ingredients from suppliers who test on animals. Nevertheless, a product recommended by these animal rights groups, or that claims to be cruelty-free is certainly more likely to be so than one that doesn't.[3]

Glossary

• lake colors: Organic pigments made by precipatating (separating a solid from a liquid) a soluble color with a form of aluminum, calcium, barium potassium, strontium, or zirconium, which makes the colors insoluble (they won't dissolve in water).[2]
• nanoparticles: Tiny, microscopic subatomic particles, present in mineralized cosmetics and other products, that are the subject of big debate. These tiny particles can easily penetrate the skin—especially in cosmetics, which contain ingredients that speed up the absorption of these nanoparticles into the blood stream—where they can then end up in the brain, heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and other organs. The effects of nanoparticles on human organs has yet to be determined.[20]
• titanium dioxide: A white pigment used in eye makeup, foundation, face powders, and lipsticks that shouldn't be inhaled, and can cause lung damage in high concentrations.[21][2] Titanium is extracted from open mines and processed using chlorine, which releases large amounts of carcinogenic dioxin into the atmosphere and persists in the environment.[22][23] Dioxins can accumulate in animals and people and have been found in shellfish in St. Louis Bay, Mississippi, close to a titanium dioxide refinery.[24]

External links

• Environmental Working Group - Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Database Find out what's in your blush, or find a safer one.
• Natural Products Association - Take Action Download an "Action Pack" with a guide to effective grassroots action and materials to better educate your legislators about the natural products industry. Find out about key bills and votes in the legislature and current federal regulations that pertain to natural products.