A few months ago, I was a bit obsessed with Lush Cosmetics. I bought moisturizers, makeup removers and face masks, but I was completely oblivious to dirty little secret Lush was hiding. You see, while Lush brands itself as an “all natural” company, it actually produces and sells products with harmful manmade and natural toxins.
Veshoevius of Taxonomy of My Wardrobe pointed this out to me and linked an article written by British makeup artist Sarah Fasca, who wrote about some of the harmful chemicals used by Lush. Sarah writes,
“Most of the public I spoke to while working for Lush simply assumed the products were all natural because of Lush’s very clever branding and the tactful placement of herby, muddy facemasks kept on ice . . . While working there, I began to understand that Lush is a whitewash brand that is incredibly skilled at putting on a natural ‘front’ and reaping the profits from this subtle deception.”
At first I brushed the evidence off, but once I did my own digging, I got mad. Not because Lush uses toxins like propylparaben and triethanolamine, but because they do it while claiming to be all natural and fresh. The former they never actually say, at least not on the front page of their website or on their product pages, but if you’ve ever stepped into a Lush store, you’ll know it screams natural–that is until you look at the packaging.
Dancing Around the Ugly Truth
Let’s talk about parabens. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics gives us this definition:
Parabens are used to prevent the growth of microbes in cosmetic products and can be absorbed through the skin, blood and digestive system. They have been found in biopsies from breast tumors at concentrations similar to those found in consumer products. Parabens are found in nearly all urine samples from U.S. adults of a variety of ethnic, socioeconomic and geographic backgrounds. . . Of greatest concern is that parabens are known to disrupt hormone function, an effect that is linked to increased risk of breast cancer and reproductive toxicity. Parabens mimic estrogen by binding to estrogen receptors on cells. They also increase the expression of genes usually regulated by estradiol (a form of estrogen); these genes cause human breast tumor cells to grow and multiply in cellular studies.
Sounds pretty harmful to me! Parabens are used in many personal care and cosmetics, including those produced by Lush. In the “LUSHopedia,” Lush’s own guide for ingredients, the page for propylparaben includes the following information:
- Parabens are some of the oldest cosmetic preservatives and have been used since the 1920s.
- They are used globally and are permitted by every world health authority
- We use less than half the maximum permitted level to ensure the product is as mild as possible.
- The parabens are still the safest and mildest we can find.
Excuse after excuse after excuse. Lush justifies the use of a chemical ingredient that is clearly harmful to your health by telling you that they find the “mild” toxins.” Last I checked, there was no form of mild breast cancer.
Also, just because an ingredient has been around almost 100 years doesn’t mean it’s good for your health. Perhaps the most offensive part is the outright omission of the risks associated with parabens. Though Lush has branded itself as a company that will educate its customers, they fall far short when it comes to providing information that’s pertinent to your health.
The Toxic Moisturizer
According to Lush, 73% of products are unpreserved, which implies that 73% are paraben-free. Though I didn’t go through every product, I did investigate Lush’s line of 9 moisturizers. My investigation shows that every Lush moisturizer has 3 to 5 ingredients which rank as a Moderate Health Hazard according to the Environmental Working Group. While Lush may claim 73% of products are unpreserved, 100% of their moisturizers are made with ingredients that are:
- Human skin toxicants (Triethanolamine)
- Toxic to wildlife and that environment (Limonene)
- Act as Interferences with gene expresion (Methylparaben)
- Show Evidence with developmental and reproductive toxicity in low doses (Propylparaben)
There’s no way that the mildest forms of these ingredients are good for humans, their bodies or our environment even if they are naturally occurring or have been around for a century.
A Natural Farse
My problem with Lush isn’t that they use these products–lots of companies do. The issue here is that Lush brands itself as all natural, fresh, handmade. But when you look at the labels closely, you’ll find that they may be handmade and possibly even fresh, but one thing that they are not is all natural.
And what bothers me even more is that Lush glosses over the harmful effects of the ingredients they use to their customers by claiming they find the “mild” or “safe” toxins to put in your fresh handmade cosmetics. It’s not only an insult to our intelligence, but also harmful to our health.
What You Can Do
Luckily, there’s a lot you can do as a consumer!
- Familiarize yourself with the Environmental Working Group. They have a huge database of ingredients and products you can look up. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is another great source of information for what brands are actually natural.
- After you’ve gotten familiar with what ingredients to avoid, read your labels. I cannot stress this enough! It is the easiest way to avoid chemicals that can cause you harm
Aside from these basic steps, you can read up on cosmetic regulations worldwide. You can also let your Congress Member know how you feel about cosmetic and personal care product safety.
SEO Says it All
Since this post went up, many readers have told me multiple times that Lush does not claim to be natural, that they don’t use the word. It’s not on their front page of the website, it’s not in their slogan. Not mentioned at all. But SEO says it all: The word “natural” appears not once, not twice, but three times in one description tag.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with search engine optimization, a description tag is one of the ways to tell search engines what the post or website is about. Most people and companies deliberately set this tag to attract visitors. By Lush setting their description tag to say “natural” three times, they are essentially screaming to the search engine, “Looking for natural? That’s us!”
Thanks to Heather who pointed this out!
Contact Lush
You can find Lush on Twitter @lushcosmetics and at their customer line here: 1-888-733-5874
Lush says they have natural products – they don’t say ALL natural. It seems you’re spinning this branding into saying something it isn’t saying at all. I’ll say it is a more juicy (and outrageous) blog that way – but not really totally above-board.
I disagree with much of what you have said in this post. The studies linking parabens to cancers are deeply flawed. And having been to the factory, I can assure your commenter that the ballistics are moulded by hand, with little plastic hemispheres which are filled and then smooshed together. But both of those are minor issues compared to what’s emerging about how Lush the “ethical” company treats its staff. I would like to draw your attention to this blog http://mitheringsfrommorningside.wordpress.com/2013/04/11/the-smell-of-bullshit/ and subsequent posts, in particular the comments from Lush employees and ex-employees.
Hi Kirsten! Thanks for sharing that post, but as you can guess, I’m not all too excited to jump back into the Lush debate. I wish you the best of luck getting the word out there about Lush’s employment practices–sounds like an important issue.
Thank you for this information. I am a fan of Lush for many reasons but due to none being in my region never bought any. A store just opened today in my mall and I bought bathbombs from them. Thankfully I checked their ingredients and none have any parabens in them, but one does have limonene. I support Lush’s belief statement and that they do make their products “fresh, by hand” and that they do use organic ingredients. That doesn’t mean they are perfect, and thanks to you I will be keeping an eye on their product labels instead of feeling ‘safe’ there.
Thank you again
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i recently “made the switch” to Lush not only because i love the smell of the product but i thought it was a little better for my skin, i imediately noticed the chemicals in the ingredients, i also know some of the all natural ingredients are also toxic, no matter what you use on your skin natural or not there will be something toxic in it…i used it on my son who has a very rare allergic disease (most soaps make him extremely itchy) lush actually soothed the itch, so i let him use it….now im not promoting Lush or saying its ok to put toxins on or in your body, i am just saying it really is unavoidable unless you have extensive knowledge on what “natural or organic” plants are not toxic and know how to grow them, turn them into soap or cream or whatever without mixing man made chemicals in them…
It’s not unavaoidable if you do your research. If you’re looking for something quick and know it might work, then yeah, buy whatever you want, but there’s tons of organic companies making toxic-free products. Check out indielee.com.
In Lush’s defense, they claim that they don’t claim to be all natural, but consumers can be the judge of that.
It’s really easy to find stuff that is organic and natural as when you read the label you know what the label says. For example if it has a long list of chemical derived ingredients, most of which you don’t understand, mixed with some extracts (extracts are pointless and do little good) then you have found something that is probably not that ‘good’ for you. Whereas ingredient lists that you can understand because it says for example “Argania spinosa (Argan) oil, Argania spinosa (Argan) extract, Citrus aurantium dulcis, Eugenia caryophyllus (Clove) leaf oil, Pelargonium graveolens (Geranium) oil, Citrus limon peel oil, Pogostemon cablin (Patchouli) oil, Cinnamomum zeylanicum (Cinnamon) leaf oil, Aniba rosaeodora (Rosewood) oil, Mentha arvensis herb oil, Citrus nobilis (Mandarin) peel oil” (my conditioner) Then you can see that it is made from mainly natural ingrediants. Or you could just make your own moisturiser and use olive oil or Argan oil, one’s that are 100% the product with no additives. It’s easy really. Good luck.
Great advice! Brings up the tried and true point to read your labels and decide for yourself. Just because a company says they are natural (or doesn’t say, but heavily implies) doesn’t mean they are. It’s all about education and staying informed about what’s going on your skin and in your body.
I’ve tried olive oil as moisturizer and it broke my skin out pretty bad, so I don’t think I’ll be going that route, but I know it does work for many people!
Yeah i read lables, here is an unsettling fact some people can’t put natural ingredients on their skin or even in their bodies because they could have a reaction to them, my son for instance has a cronic allergic disease called eosiophilic gastroenteritis, basically his stomach is attacking itself because it thinks natural foods are the enemy, he vomits alot from only eating plain organic foods, example…oats plain old oats, no sugar no flavor nothing…causes him to vomit, and makes his tummy hurt so so bad….so next time you think…natural is always best, remember my son and how seemingly harmless natural things can cause so much harm…..natural or not its all the same to me
That sounds really difficult for your son! I can definitely see how a situation like that would make you hyper-aware of labels.
what really turned me off was the fact that they claim to be handmade, made in small batches, fair trade ingredients but then when they tried to sell me a tin for the dry shampoo the tin read: MADE IN CHINA! I also didn’t appreciate how pushy they were and that they would recommend a body bar for my toddler son, as my husband stated it was like using a cheese grater on your skin!
Yeah, they kind of undermine their ethical message when they hand you a tin made in China.
When I visited a store a few years ago I asked the shopkeeper what they meant by ‘handmade’, she immediately admitted that they simply mean that the products are not literally handmade, but that the machines are hand operated.
I was quite baffled by this: I have worked in a factory once too, and yes I operated the machines by hand. But in no way would I describe that as ‘handmade’.
So I find that a very misleading term.
I’m inclined to agree with you! I suppose in this technological age, anything can be handmade.
“While Lush brands itself as “all natural” … it produces & sells products w/ harmful manmade & natural toxins.” http://t.co/w0UV1esH6k
I was a long time lushie too! Until I bought a tub of my favorite lotion and it all the sudden had a few extra ingredients. As a business owner I understand the problems of scaling a company and having huge warehouses full of perishable products but there has to be another way! I recently started to develop my own line of products to get around this issue, hopefully I’ll have a few items ready to sell in a few months.
To their credit Limonene is a naturally occurring chemical in citrus essential oils that give citrus their yummy smell, so if you use orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit essential oil you have to now list Limonene in your ingredients. Not sure when that ruling came about but ive seen it labeled in many places now along with a few other terpenes.
Good luck on your venture! Feel free to keep me in the loop as I do like to feature small businesses. Here’s my email: courtney[@]thosegraces.com.
Will Do! I’m working on the website as we speak!
I dont think most of their products are hand made either! Really, they have employees stirring huge vats of dream cream? No! You can tell their bath bombs are machine molded, too. I’ve actually experienced the wrath of a lush devotee for daring to question their ethics and they are friggin’ rabid. It’s really weird. They need to get honest really.
Also you can tell that some comments below are straight from employee training. Your google analytics doesn’t lie
Considering the fact that several commenters said almost the same thing word for word, I wouldn’t doubt it.
Courtney recently talked about How Red Lipstick Taught Me to Be Brave
I don’t doubt that maybe when they first started that their products were “handmade,” but the term seems to be of a bygone era, at least for worldwide chain stores. A lot of people, I think, see Lush as an extension of themselves and their beliefs, which is why they get so offended. The best you can do is take it in stride and say your side.
Courtney recently talked about How Red Lipstick Taught Me to Be Brave
Just wanted to point out, as I’ve not seem it on the comments, that lush state on their bags (first line) ‘We believe… In making effective products from fresh organic* fruit and vegetables, the finest essential oils and safe synthetics.’
To avoid any query about the * by organic, this is to say they ‘believe words like ‘fresh’ and ‘organic’ have an honest meaning beyond marketing.’
They also say further down that the products are made ‘using little or no preservative’.
Whether the synthetics they include in products are safe or not is obviously up for debate but they are very clear that they use synthetics and preservatives. So it’s no dirty secret. They obviously think they are safe ad they label their products so we have a choice to use them or not.
I’ve not checked to see if the same statements are on the website or in stores and if they are not then yes, I think they should be.
Apologies if I’ve missed previous posts and this post has already been made.
Thanks
Hi Jamie-Lee,
I appreciate you stopping by to comment on this post. Since I wrote it half a year ago, I have made the decision not to debate on the topic, but I do appreciate hearing your side. If you want to know how I feel, you can read some of the past comments I’ve made at length to other responders below your comment.
–Courtney
Unfortunately in order to thrive as a business and get as big as they are now Lush has to make products that appeal to the masses- some people aren’t open to the idea of using solid shampoos etc. since they are so used to using liquids. I do think that it is up to the consumer to do their research, even more than just checking out LUSHopedia. At least they have a resource like that where consumers can start their research.
I’m really thankful that Lush is around, even though they haven’t stopped using preservatives, they are setting standards for other, smaller companies that can make products that only last a few weeks or month without preservatives. It really is just about getting the products to the masses.
I have heard that Lush uses parabens and sulphates taken from fruit (like limonene, which is a biproduct of essential oils being mixed together), I’m doing research on this now and if you are interested I can send you any information I find!
While Lush uses as many fresh, natural ingredients as they can, they are not all-natural, and they do their best to be as transparent about this as possible. They list the full ingredients of products in the shops, on the website, in the catalog, and on the products themselves (when they have packaging). The synthetic ingredients that they use have long histories of safe use, and they use them in the smallest quantities they can. They have also created products that require no preservatives whatsoever, from solid bubble baths to solid shampoos.
I appreciate your comment on this post! I wrote it several months back and do not feel compelled to say any more than I already have on the topic. I do appreciate your input, though! Thanks for stopping by.
Good blog. What I find most annoying about parabens is that if the amount used is small enough, then in some countries (like the USA) it is not required to put that on the label. I went into a lotion and cosmetic shop recently – not Lush – and the poor sales girl kept telling me how everything was paraben free. I asked her how long it would last and she told me 2 years. Obviously if a non-solid lotion is completely paraben free, it’s not going to hold up for 2 years. I guess I will just say that in Lush’s defense, at least the list it on the label & don’t hide it.
I just want to add something here because I think k it’s important. Interesting that some folks are vilifying you for bringing to light what apparently is a topic of importance, I began questioning the idea put forth by Lush’s advertising and image. There are many links to the search for the truth about LUSH so it’s not like you’re on a campaign to smear.
I wonder actually if the people who vehemently posted are employees or spies for LUSH!! Seriously after reading about how they are with their employees I wouldn’t put it past them. Good work and again thanks for posting about this obvious controversial subject.Peace, Robin
Robin, you hit the nail on the head there. Most of the people who wrote lengthy comments here actually originally saw the link on a Facebook page for Lush employees (I was able to trace it via my Google Analytics).
I don’t doubt that many people who work for Lush are totally greenwashed by the company. I’m sure they can do the speeches they’ve given here in their sleep.
Hi Courtney what a great job on being a helpful source for this topic. I recently began questioning the ingredients in LUSH products. I lived in the bay area of California most of my life and still call it home. It is a hotbed of choices and good information with anything natural and organic. What I was uncomfortable with was the excuse LUSH gives for continued use of parabens and other know toxins in many of their products. So many good small companies are making excellent products without the use of these. And they are as ethical if not more than LUSH. Barbara was wrong in stating that no one is as good as LUSH. It seems to me that they are whitewashing their image and reading Sara’s article about being an employee was also a bit disturbing. One can see when you shop at nay LUSH store that it;s a high sell atmosphere. Some really good companies like John Masters and Better Botanical are very clean and not tested on animals as well they have ethical business practices. There are tons is beautiful clean products out there. An very nice affordable alternative is Yes t0 carrots, the blueberry line is very nice and certified all natural. Sadly Burt’s bees was bought years ago and while natural they are owned by a big company and the ingredients are very low end. Research stick with small companies that use high quality ingredients. Rocky mountain soap company was bought and is very clean now and makes lovely products. There are some LUSH products that are nice but reading their business ethics, and the fact that they are unwilling to formulate products with no prabens, while other companies are doing so and making beautiful effective products,leads me to move away from my love affair with them. Thank you Courtney for your thoughtful and informative article on this subject.
Hi Robin! sorry it took me some time to reply to your comment.
I really appreciate your comment on this issue! It’s such a tricky issue for consumers. I think Lush is one of those brands that has managed to turn their products into a lifestyle and I think people who are of the Lush lifestyle get very, well, pissed when you question the company. I wasn’t expecting this much backlash, to be entirely honest.
I think you’re totally right–companies CAN and DO make products that are natural and don’t use parabens. Lush using the excuse of, “It’s too hard,” Or “We use only the best parabens,” is absolute bullshit. If they really cared about creating the best all natural product, they wouldn’t use parabens. That’s just it.
You bring up a very good point that consumers need to do their research and perhaps consider small companies that aren’t as large as, say, Lush.
Great points!
wow! go courtney! i give you a lot of props for re-reviewing these products, i know you totally loved them so taking a critical eye to what the company is standing for whether right or wrong is pretty awesome of you. thanks so much for sharing!
Thanks Jamillah! It’s true–I did really love a lot of Lush products. So much so that I talked about them for weeks. That being said, even consumer should take a long hard look at any brand they relate to and ask themselves if they identify with that company’s values. For as good as Lush is, they also gloss over some of the facts about their products.
Courtney recently talked about Teaching My Dress to Dance
I use to work for Aveda and I came across this same greenwashing/false advertising problem. We would have meetings about products and we would go over all the natural “main” ingredients, but those other ingredients listed at the bottom or if they didn’t come from a plant were completely ignored. I didn’t even realize how duped I was until I quit and starting researching, shopping and buying from other places.
I can see why a lot of companies try to do this–focus on the good ingredients–the natural ones, and completely ignore the potentially toxic ones. I know it’s a marketing scheme and I’m not surprised they train employees to push the good ingredients in the products and not the bad. It’s total green washing.
I don’t think this green washing is a reason NOT to buy the products. My hope is that people read the labels and see what the truth is. Then decide.
Marketing goes beyond words used. Lush’s whole image is that of fresh, handmade, green, sustainable, and natural. Even a quick google search shows that the first line of description for Lush’s webpage does in fact, use the word natural.
I think this post took a common perception that Lush has and focused on the “natural” aspect, and how that wasn’t entirely true. As a company, Lush does do a lot of good things in regards to animal testing and charities, and uses fresh ingredients in their products as much as they can. If you know from reading past posts, this blog is very concerned with toxins, parabens, health, and what we can all do as consumers to better educate ourselves on what we put in and on our bodies. This is just a passionate account of how one blogger realized that the culture and branding perpetuated by Lush wasn’t entirely accurate, on a topic she is very concerned about.
The point behind this post is not to start a flame war with Lush, but yet another reminder about how we all need to be persistent, read labels, and try our best to not get sucked in via advertising, marketing, and company cultures. We all need to remember to step back, take a breath, and do our own research on the products we use.
After this post, hopefully anyone that fell into lust with Lush has a better understanding of the things they should look for in ingredients lists, and can decide if they are okay with the preservatives, unnatural ingredients or parabens, OR if they would rather avoid those moisturizers that have them, and stick to Lush’s line, or other brands, that is all natural or use products with a lower toxicity rating. And there are also links to learn more about the campaign for safe cosmetics, and about cosmetics regulations.
I don’t think this post was ever meant to be an attack on a company, and I think there are plently of good ideas and thoughts to take away and think about – even if you disagree with them. Not everything natural is good. Not everything synthetic is bad.
>>Marketing goes beyond words used. Lush’s whole image is that of fresh, handmade, green, sustainable, and natural. Even a quick google search shows that the first line of description for Lush’s webpage does in fact, use the word natural.< <
That's absolutely astounding especially since so many people here and on Tumblr commented that Lush NEVER calls itself "natural." Well let's just look at the search results:
Absolutely amazing that so many people are so blinded by this company that they are willing to play semantics when Lush itself is outright calling itself “natural” in the world’s largest search engine. If that doesn’t sum it up, I don’t know what will.
I think you’re entirely right–my hope in writing this post was to make people more aware that just because a product or a company is marketed a certain way, doesn’t mean perception is necessarily a reality.
I think you summed this up perfect: Not everything natural is good. Not everything synthetic is bad.
Very important post of your about beauty tips. I think your post is very important to women. I am a man. So, I have no more idea about this, Thanks for your useful article.
Glad you liked the post!
This is yet another beauty blog spreading the same misinformation about parabens. All scientific studies into the presence of parabens in tumours have been discredited by the world health organisation because they haven’t compared cancerous tissue sample to non-cancerous, and the papers are generally flawed.
Lush have NEVER called themselves all-natural, and the facemasks on ice actually are completey natural and preservative free. They try to offer a non-preserved alternative in each product range too.
Most companies claiming to be natural often use things like grapefruit seed oil/extract to preserve their products however this is just a naturally occuring source of methylparaben. Companies do not even have to declare paraben amounts that are under 1% total of the product, so they (and Lush if they wanted too) could market themselves as paraben-free. I agree with reading labels however it’s much more complex, you seem to be saying that a company that is declaring what it is using and why is the bad guy.
There isn’t a company that is as ethical as Lush because it supports so many charities/anti-animal testing/human rights/sources ingredients ethically/recycling and uses recycled packaging/constantly improving it’s manufacturing processes to be more environmentally friendly (I could go on). It’s wrong to dismiss them because they are using ingredients that haven’t been reliably and definitely proven to be harmful.
Hey Rosie. Thanks for your comment.
>>This is yet another beauty blog spreading the same misinformation about parabens. All scientific studies into the presence of parabens in tumours have been discredited by the world health organisation because they haven’t compared cancerous tissue sample to non-cancerous, and the papers are generally flawed.< <
I think it's important for everyone to read multiple sources on the ingredients in question. Parabens are just one of a few I mentioned here. There's a lot of research on both sides of the aisle and the best we can do is be informed and decide for yourself. If you read one study that says the said ingredient is fine and believe it, then that is your choice. Same with the opposite. We have that power as consumers.
>>Lush have NEVER called themselves all-natural, and the facemasks on ice actually are completey natural and preservative free. They try to offer a non-preserved alternative in each product range too.< <
You're right, and as I mentioned in this post, I clearly said they never say all natural. The thing is there: Everything about Lush all but screams "NATURAL" from their website to their store setup to the fact that they keep their products on ice. What I'm trying to say here is that the consumer is often lead to believe that Lush is all natural, whether Lush says it or not. How do I know that? Because that's what I used to think and that's what people I know who shop at Lush think. It's about the perception of the brand.
>>Most companies claiming to be natural often use things like grapefruit seed oil/extract to preserve their products however this is just a naturally occuring source of methylparaben. Companies do not even have to declare paraben amounts that are under 1% total of the product, so they (and Lush if they wanted too) could market themselves as paraben-free. I agree with reading labels however it’s much more complex, you seem to be saying that a company that is declaring what it is using and why is the bad guy.< <
That's not what I'm trying to say at all. What I am trying to say is that Lush puts a lot of effort into marketing itself as a fresh/handmade/we're not saying it, but natural company yet uses these harmful ingredients. You're right in what you said about ingredients--consumers have to be more aware that these things might be in their products even if they're not listed.
>>There isn’t a company that is as ethical as Lush because it supports so many charities/anti-animal testing/human rights/sources ingredients ethically/recycling and uses recycled packaging/constantly improving it’s manufacturing processes to be more environmentally friendly (I could go on). It’s wrong to dismiss them because they are using ingredients that haven’t been reliably and definitely proven to be harmful.<<
I’m a former Lush customer and this post is my opinion based on research I agree with. I don’t think anyone should take this post as me saying don’t shop at Lush. What I am saying is, don’t be fooled by Lush. Read the labels at Lush. Do your research on chemicals in the products at Lush. Then, for yourself, decide whether or not to give your hard earned money to Lush.
Lush has a preservative-free facial moisturizer. Check out their Full of Grace facial serum which essentially is a massage bar for your face.
Full of Grace is for the most part, preservative free. It does contain Limonene, which is rated as a 6 (Moderate Risk) on the EWG’s scale. You can read more about it here: http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/702113/LIMONENE/
However, it doesn’t contain parabens, if those are your main concern.
Limonene in Full of grace comes from Tagete oil. It’s a part of this oil, not a product added. Limonene can also be found in citrus oils and many other oils that are safe to use in cosmetics, or in fruits and plants that we eat.
Thanks for the information.
Jeez… I’m really surprised by the malicious comments you got on this post! Whether people like Lush or hate it, there’s nothing wrong with delving into a topic you feel strongly about. This is YOUR blog after all. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!
Marissa recently talked about All Tied Up by McCann Erickson
I think some comments like Barbra’s are completely warranted and I appreciate them. The others well . . . everyone’s entitled to their opinion! I’ve only deleted one derogatory comment on my blog (it was toward Audrey Hepburn, not me) and I don’t believe in deleting comments unless they’re threatening to someone’s personal safety.
I think the issue that a lot of people see many brands, including Lush, as an extension of their identity and how they see life. Lush is a brand that has a super strong brand that a lot of people see as a lifestyle. I think why many people did not agree with this post was because they felt that I was attacking the brand AND them. I agree with people here and on tumblr that I could’ve researched it better, and perhaps they’re right about that. I’d definitely consider looking at the brand as a whole in the future. However, that being said, going through every product takes time.
This is much longer than I intended! LOL
I agree 100%. Barbara’s comment was a great counter argument. The other two… not so much. But as you say, everyone’s entitled to their opinions.
Marissa recently talked about All Tied Up by McCann Erickson
Yes which brings both well thought out arguments and name calling! What can you do?
Yawn.
I think it’s important to note that nowhere has Lush ever marketed themselves as “all natural”, something you mention in your post so you know it too. Your perception is very different from what they claim, you cannot blame them for your perception. They are “fresh” and “hand made” (both true, they are hand made and freshly made, with manufacture & use by dates) but nowhere will you see natural.
Onto the parabens question. Water is harmful, Carbon Dioxide is harmful. Many things are harmful in certain quantities. Eucalyptus oil can be harmful and lavender can do some pretty funky things too. No doubt water has been found present in tumours, no doubt fat has and no doubt trace nutrients from food. Anything our bodies come into contact with may end up absorbing it. It may surprise you to know that Lush’s use of parabens and other preservatives are so low that technically they don’t even have to state they’re on there. But they do, so you have a choice. This means technically there could be many cosmetics out there which do have parabens in but you would never know. Do you look carefully at your food sources too? Anything from animals will have trace sources of all sorts of hormones in, veges too. Very little is untouched.
Thirdly, it’s always important to look at the source of the research and think about who wrote it and who commissioned it. I don’t blindly believe one person or company over another; I look at the material they present to me and I make an informed choice. Which is what you have done with your refusal to use Lush cosmetics, but your post here teeters on the libellous. Fine, you don’t like the company, you don’t use them, but what you are doing here is tantamount to a smear campaign. Seriously, take a walk in the (not so fresh!) air and re-evaluate what is important.
Regarding 73% of their products being preservative free – your method of looking merely at moisturisers to ascertain the truthfulness of this statement is, quite simply, crackers. To work out how they come to that figure, all you need to do is look on the website at how many products are SOLID. Yes, solid. Only liquid products (with water present) need to have preservative (and it must be noted they have a couple of liquid products that need no preservative to to salt, sugar, honey or egg content). Take a look at all of those massage bars (solid), soap (solid), solid shampoo, solid conditioner, solid hand cream, solid body shimmer/tints, solid hair dye, solid bubble bath… shall I go on? Yep, there are quite a few of those and they are all preservative free.
Lush are not trying to hoodwink you or anyone else. They put the information out there for you to make a choice. Your essay here is poorly sourced, slightly libellous and mostly it is speculative. What I would love to see is an unbiased, sensible argument, with sources provided from peer-reviewed unbiased (i.e. not funded by other cosmetic companies) papers, which are able to prove what you say. I would then like to see the concentrations of these ingredients which back your argument that they are “toxic” (which is an outrageous claim), again with proof and without recourse to emotive language. Then I will take what you say seriously, perhaps!
Hi Barbra–first off, I want you to know I appreciate your comment and am definitely open to hearing new opinions on this topic.
>>Your perception is very different from what they claim, you cannot blame them for your perception. They are “fresh” and “hand made” (both true, they are hand made and freshly made, with manufacture & use by dates) but nowhere will you see natural.< <
It's true, this post is based on my perceptions and those of every friend of mine who shops at Lush. It's also the perception of many of their consumers that though they do not say they are all natural, many things about their marketing makes you believe they are even though they use chemicals that can potentially have toxic effects on humans, the environment and animals.
>>Onto the parabens question. Water is harmful, Carbon Dioxide is harmful. Many things are harmful in certain quantities. Eucalyptus oil can be harmful and lavender can do some pretty funky things too. No doubt water has been found present in tumours, no doubt fat has and no doubt trace nutrients from food. Anything our bodies come into contact with may end up absorbing it.< <
Time and time again when I discuss the issue of chemicals with friends and family, I hear opinions similar to yours--that everything causes cancer. However, this is not a good enough excuse not to care. With labeling today, there's no reason why we shouldn't investigate what is in our cosmetics and personal care products and then proceed from there as an informed consumer.
>>Ot may surprise you to know that Lush’s use of parabens and other preservatives are so low that technically they don’t even have to state they’re on there. But they do, so you have a choice. This means technically there could be many cosmetics out there which do have parabens in but you would never know. Do you look carefully at your food sources too? Anything from animals will have trace sources of all sorts of hormones in, veges too. Very little is untouched.< <
I do know Lush does attempt to go above and beyond what other companies do, but yet they do include these toxic ingredients in the products. Many companies are now moving away from this especially in the EU (see more here http://safecosmetics.org/article.php?id=70).
Since you asked me a personal question--I get my produce from a local farm and try to buy organic as much as possible. I do not eat meat or dairy.
>>Regarding 73% of their products being preservative free – your method of looking merely at moisturisers to ascertain the truthfulness of this statement is, quite simply, crackers. To work out how they come to that figure, all you need to do is look on the website at how many products are SOLID. Yes, solid. Only liquid products (with water present) need to have preservative (and it must be noted they have a couple of liquid products that need no preservative to to salt, sugar, honey or egg content). Take a look at all of those massage bars (solid), soap (solid), solid shampoo, solid conditioner, solid hand cream, solid body shimmer/tints, solid hair dye, solid bubble bath… shall I go on? Yep, there are quite a few of those and they are all preservative free.< <
Another person on Tumblr also pointed this out, and I think it is a fair point, to be honest. In the future, I'll definitely look at more products in a line. I chose moisturizers because I was familiar with them and they were an easy test case. I also had the experience as a Lush customer, walking into the store and not being able to find a single moisturizer without parabens. Yes, it is only one product line in their store.
>>Lush are not trying to hoodwink you or anyone else. They put the information out there for you to make a choice. Your essay here is poorly sourced, slightly libellous and mostly it is speculative. What I would love to see is an unbiased, sensible argument, with sources provided from peer-reviewed unbiased (i.e. not funded by other cosmetic companies) papers, which are able to prove what you say. I would then like to see the concentrations of these ingredients which back your argument that they are “toxic” (which is an outrageous claim), again with proof and without recourse to emotive language. Then I will take what you say seriously, perhaps!<<
I don’t see how it’s libelous to take 9 products from a line, look at each one of their ingredients in detail, and then point out that not only are those ingredients not natural, but they’re also considered toxic by some researchers. I definitely think I may do a follow up post in the future and I think your criticism is fair and I’ll definitely take it into consideration.
Your actually a plebeian. do YOUR research before u post such uneducated articles, all u want to do is seem more important then u are. congrats, you’ve found an outlet, they don’t use enough of any ingredient for it to be harmful and if they weren’t used the product wouldn’t last a week. By then you’d probably talk more bull so its a lose/lose really. such shame u people exist.
Hey Hilda. I think everyone should do their own research and come to their own conclusions. This is my conclusion, but I think everyone is entitled to do their own research and purchase the products they want to buy. If you like Lush, buy it. If you don’t, don’t. There’s companies out there that don’t use parabens or other potentially toxic ingredients. I’m not sure what I’ll do moving forward, but digging into the ingredients list at Lush did warrant posting this. In addition, this is a topic that has been brought up by my readers several times, which is why I was interested in writing this post.
I really need to do a better job of reading labels. I’m pretty careful about what I put into my body (most of the time) so I should probably care more about what I put on it! I haven’t fallen under Lush’s spell yet, but now I’m kind of glad I didn’t.
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You and me both! I can definitely get better at reading labels. I try to eat healthy, but I too need to be better at reading labels!