After hearing so many objections regarding the effectiveness of organic cosmetics, Cosmébio, the trade association representing over 730 organically-certified brands, decided to scientifically prove the effectiveness of organic cosmetics. In partnership with an independent research company, an in-depth study was conducted to debunk this popular misconception.

This approach follows an initial study conducted in 2018, which covered the issue of hydration and concluded that organic products are more effective than their conventional counterparts. Six years later, it’s now time to reinforce these conclusions by exploring another crucial aspect sought by consumers: anti-ageing action.

Instrumental tests and use tests

The purpose of this study was to compare two leading “anti-ageing skincare” products, one organic and the other conventional, available in pharmacies. The comparison looked at their effectiveness in terms of skin hydration, their anti-wrinkle effects and overall satisfaction during use. For a quantitative assessment, instrumental tests and use tests were conducted.

Corneometry was used to measure skin hydration on 11 volunteer women eight hours after application. An analysis of the reduction in the length and depth of wrinkles, changes in the number of wrinkles and the volume and area of crow’s feet wrinkles was carried out on 21 women after 56 days of use to measure anti-wrinkle effectiveness.

Results

For hydration, both products were effective, with a hydrating effect that lasted for at least eight hours (13% for the organic product and 13.5% for the conventional product) compared with T0. Both products also demonstrated significant effectiveness in terms of wrinkle reduction: significant effectiveness for three of the five criteria assessed for the organic product, and four out of five for the conventional product.

In terms of use, users were most convinced by the organic product.

• 1% of volunteers were satisfied with the perceived effectiveness of the organic product compared with 87.2% for the conventional one.
• 4% of volunteers were satisfied with the perception of sensory properties compared with 98.9% for the conventional one.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates that organic cosmetics are effective and that an organic cosmetic product can be just as effective as a conventional product, while being formulated with a more limited range of ingredients.

With organic cosmetics now well in line with the standards of conventional products in terms of effectiveness, the issues of composition, traceability, commitments and transparency are all the more relevant. On these criteria, organic cosmetics have led the way since the beginning!

About Cosmébio

Chaired by Damien Sineau, Cosmébio is the French association for organic cosmetics. It was set up in 2002 and currently has 530 company members. They have all signed up to the principles of the Cosmébio Manifesto. The guarantees of the Cosmébio label concern every step in the life cycle of a cosmetics product: the origin of the raw materials; gentle, non-polluting transformation process; manufacture of the finished product (clean composition, packaging, storage); transparent labelling and responsible communication. A yearly inspection by an independent certifying body is mandatory to verify that the products meet all of the label’s criteria. This label currently covers 16,000 products and 750 brands.

Find out more at: https://www.cosmebio.org/fr/