It seems every beauty manufacturer is slapping an "all-natural" tag on their labels or in many cases, showing a dewy meadow at sunrise or a tree or a leaf with droplets of water on it or - well you get the idea - some sort of serene scene. Then they attach a name like "Pure Essentials" to it and send it to store shelves, where it is destined to suck in consumers who have good green - though often misguided - intentions. Unfortunately, as is the case with food labels that contain the words "natural flavors," the word "natural" on beauty product labels is not indicative of what is actually inside that prettily-wrapped package. The word "natural" is actually unregulated and leaves the definition at the sole discretion of the company making the product. These products often still contain toxic chemicals. Instead check the label for some of these clues that will help you determine how natural a product actually is.

- Products that are labeled certified organic contain ingredients such as vegetable and herbal extracts that were produced without the use of pesticides.

- A natural ingredient like oil or wax could still be harmful depending on if its extraction method used chemicals or extreme heat, which can destroy any beneficial characteristics in that ingredient. Keep your eyes out for the words cold-pressed.

- Essential oils are your friend, as they serve as a natural (read: non-chemical) preservative. They may have an expiry date much sooner than other products, but that just serves as an indicator that the preservatives are likely not synthetic and carcinogenic.

- Our skin absorbs about 50 per cent of the lotions, oils and various other products we put on it. A good rule of thumb to follow is that if you couldn't eat it , should you really slather it on your skin?

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