Camellia Pure Beauty- Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

What is "natural"?
What is "organic"?
Who/What is [a] Camellia (Pure Beauty)?
What are your shipping rates?
What is your online return policy?
How Secure is Camellia Pure Beauty?
How can I tell what my skin type is?
What color makeup is right for me?
How did you get into this business?
Why doesn't my review show up?
Should titanium dioxide be avoided?
Why doesn't Camellia allow certain ingredients?

If your question isn't answered here, please write us using the contact form under "contact" in the top menu and we will get back to you ASAP.

What is "natural" ? This term is utterly meaningless in the legal sense. Anyone can slap "natural" on a product even if it is far from it. Some of the best known "natural" brands are not very. At Camellia, when we say a product is natural, we mean it is primarily plant and mineral based with a minimum of chemical preservatives and is free from phthalates, parabens, petroleum products, artificial fragrance and sodium lauryl sulfates. We find our own definitions of what isn't in our products to be more helpful than a name on a label, and sometimes even better than a certification that may allow 5% of "unnatural" ingredients in "organic" products.

What is "organic"? In the United States, the USDA regulates different terms defining "organic" using standards developed for food, which are not readily extended to personal products. For example, minerals used in natural cosmetics are not agricultural products and cannot be "organic" under USDA rules. Despite this, in 2005, the USDA began to allow personal products to use the following terms despite the fact there is a lot of gray area.

Products labeled "100 percent organic"

Products labeled as "100 percent organic" must contain (excluding water and salt) only organically produced ingredients. This limits ingredients to agricultural products that can be certified.

Products labeled "organic" must consist of at least 95 percent organically produced ingredients (excluding water and salt). Any remaining product ingredients must consist of nonagricultural substances approved on the National List or non-organically produced agricultural products that are not commercially available in organic form.

Processed products labeled "made with organic ingredients"

Processed products that contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients can use the phrase "made with organic ingredients" and list up to three of the organic ingredients or food groups on the principal display panel. (Just watch out for what the other 30% of ingredients are).

Read more about the standards at: www.usda.gov

What about other countries and organic certification? Other countries have cosmetic label certifications with stricter standards designed more specifically for personal care products. While the European Union has banned many substances from cosmetics that are still allowed in the U.S., they do not have any specific definition for "natural" or a standard for "organic"

In Germany, where there is a long-standing tradition of truly natural personal products, BDIH certified products must meet strong standards for ingredients and packaging. (Logona and Sante products sold by Camellia are BDIH certified.) More on information on German BDIH certification.

In May 2002, the UK Soil Association, which certifies organic food in Europe, launched its own voluntary cosmetic standards to meet the demand from companies manufacturing organic beauty products.

The Soil Association’s standards guarantee the following:

Certified organic ingredients are used.
No genetically modified (GMO) ingredients.
Product labeling is clear and honest.
Ingredients must be environmentally friendly (biodegradable).
Minimal processing.

Read more about this at: www.soilassociation.org/certification

Australian Government Certified Organic (also known as Organic Food Chain)
certifies cosmetics in addition to agriculture. Nvey Cosmetics, carried by Camellia, has received the Organic Food Chain certification.

For more information visit: http://www.organicfoodchain.com.au/

Who/ What is Camellia? Camellias are one of the first shrubs to flower every spring in Portland and represent fresh, pure beauty. The evergreen shrubs have dark green waxy leaves and beautiful, rose-like blooms ranging from white to hot pink. There are more than 100 species. Camellia Sinensis, one variety, is of major commercial importance because tea is made from its leaves. Tea tree oil, or camellia oil, which is pressed from its seeds, is often used in personal care products.

What are your shipping rates? Please visit "shipping and returns" for full information, but you will be happy to know that standard shipping is free on purchases over $75. Usually the US Postal Service will offer the lowest rates, so be sure to look at all USPS options.

What is your return policy? Please visit "shipping and returns" for full information, but most items are returnable within 21 days of purchase. Products where testers, trials or color samples are available are NOT returnable, nor are the testers, trial sizes, or color samples themselves.

How secure is Camellia Pure Beauty? Camellia Pure Beauty's shopping site is hosted by 3dcart, among the most secure shopping cart services available. Camellia's site is PCI compliant, meaning it meets the highest security standards in the industry for protecting your personal and credit card information. All transmitted information is SSL encrypted and servers are hacker safe.

How can I tell what my skin type is? check out all the info under "what's my skin type."

What color makeup is right for me? visit "choose the right makeup" for color tips, and be sure to try color samples when they are available.

How did you (Emily) get into this business? It is a long and convoluted story. In the mid-late 1990s I worked for the Environmental Working Group in Washington, D.C. as a research analyst. Some of you may recognize EWG as the creator of the Skin Deep database, which is dedicated to educating consumers about the toxins in their personal products. EWG started the Skin Deep project right after I moved back to Portland in 2000. Ironically, I never worked on the project. (I worked primarily on corporate corruption issues, which has given me great respect for companies that strive to make business more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Go ahead and search "Emily Headen" on Amazon.com. Hey, I'm a published writer!). In 2001 I went back to school and finished my B.F.A. in painting in 2005. Having made myself completely unemployable, I concluded that the best path was to make my own "day job." One day the idea of opening an all natural beauty boutique hit me like a bolt of lightening. Six months later the Portland shop was up and running and I haven't looked back.

I did learn a lot about toxics issues during my tenure at EWG which led directly to an interest in natural beauty products. I also have sensitive skin and fragrance allergies. I was frustrated with the quality and ingredients of many of the so-called natural products at the grocery store. I put my research skills to work to find better natural products for myself. To my inner cosmetic junkie's delight, I quickly realized there are many fine brands that are not easy to find, and usually aren't available in one place. Then I got the hare-brained idea to open a shop... So far it's working out pretty well, thanks to people like yourself.

Why doesn't my review show up? All reviews must be approved before they appear online, so there will be a time lag. All respectful, constructive reviews will be approved whether positive or negative. Uninformative reviews that say things like, "This product sucks!" without explaining why it didn't work for you will NOT be posted. The point of the reviews is to help others decide if a product is a good fit. A styling aid that makes your hair lank and lifeless might be just the ticket for somebody with a completely different hair type. Also, reviews with html links to other sites will not be approved and it should go without saying that profanity, abusive language and spam is not acceptable. This is a civilized discourse, people, meant to aid and inform us all.

Should titanium dioxide be avoided? The rumor that titanium dioxide is "bad" got started a few years ago when some scientists wondered if there is a theoretical skin cancer risk from micronized titanium dioxide being absorbed by the skin and magnifying the effects of sun exposure. They theorized that if the tiny particles were absorbed by the skin, and then if they were exposed to sunlight in the cells, that photo damage could occur that could lead to increased skin cancer. Repeated testing has shown that micronized titanium dioxide is not absorbed by healthy skin and there is no danger of increased skin cancer. Titanium and Zinc Oxide sun screens are still your best bet to avoid sun damage and skin cancer while avoiding chemical sunscreens that we know are harmful. For more information, see: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/special/sunscreens/nanotech.php

There is virtually no controversy over "regular" sized Titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. They are listed as a safe pigments with no known adverse effects. The flap has been about "nano" or micronized particles. There is, however, an occupational hazard to the lungs for people who work with the mineral powder extensively without protective masks, but this would be true of virtually any particulate (small and dusty) matter. This is what gives otherwise very pure mineral makeups a higher toxicity rating in EWG's Skin Deep database.

Why doesn't Camellia allow certain ingredients?
First, a caveat: it is nearly impossible to find completely "pure" personal products, in large part due to the fact that many of them would have a shelf life of about a week and wouldn't do any of the things you have come to expect your products to do. Camellia has weeded out some of the worst and most widely problematic ingredients and stocked brands that are dedicated to using plant based ingredients (admittedly sometimes highly altered), but if there are other things you wish to avoid, all of the ingredients are listed on the same page as the products. Use your own judgment.

Here are the "biggies" we avoid at Camellia and the reasons why:

Phthalates, which are known reproductive toxins (aka, endocrine disruptors), are used as solvents, plasticizers, and fixatives in hairspray, perfume, lotion, sunscreen, nail polish and other products. Many phthalates are listed on labels as DBP, DEP, DMP and DEHP. However, a loophole exists. Fragrance ingredients, which are commonly made using phthalates, are not required to be listed. The Food and Drug Administration is officially "unlcear" on the effects and "continues to monitor" the health impacts of phthalates, but do you want to be a lab rat?

Look out for:

DBP (di-butyl phthalate) is known to cause testicular atrophy in test rodents and is banned in the European Union.
DEP (di-ethyl phthalate) produces central nervous disruption when absorbed through skin.
DMP (di-methyl phthalate) is an irritant to eyes and mucus membranes.
DEHP (Di(2-ehtylhexyl)phthalate) is also banned in the EU, os on California's list of potential cancer-causing agents, and is known by the FDA to cause defects in the male reproductive system.

Petrochemicals include petroleum jelly, pore-clogging mineral oil, paraffin, some glycerins, petroleum distillates, and other solvents derived from petroleum. Solvents includes toluene- known to cause liver damage and is a skin and respiratory irritant and makes up up to 50% of nail polish- and others are used in fragrance making.

Some petroleum-derived ingredients to watch out for include aerosol propellants, BHA/BHT, EDTA, ethanol, fluoride, formaldehyde, "fragrance," glycerol, glyceryl, hexachlorophene, isopropyl alcohol, methyl ethyl ketone, mineral oil, paraffin, phenol, and anything that begins with PEG- or PPG-, PVP, quaternium 15,

Some petrochemical derived substances are also available from plant sources and carry the same name on labels. Usually the manufacturer will add (from plant source) after the chemical name.

According to The Ecology Center, "Approximately 95% of the ingredients in perfumes are derived from petrochemicals. Little scientific study has been done on the health effects of scented products, but generally they are recognized as highly allergenic and are notorious for causing skin irritation, headaches, and nausea. Try natural, essential oils instead."

Aside from any health impacts, petrochemicals and their byproducts come from the the fossil fuel industry, one of the least sustainable and most polluting industries in the world.

Parabens include methyl-, propyl-, and parahydroxybenzoate. They are the most commonly used preservatives for personal products in the U.S. They are found in many products on the shelves of natural food stores.

A 2004 British study published in the Journal of Applied Toxicology found paraben traces in 18 of 20 breast tumors tested. While the scientific consensus won't be reached for many years, some scientists believe parabens may act as estrogen in the body, increasing risk of breast cancer. Check out an article from the Organic Consumers Association for more information.

Many choose to apply the "precautionary principle" on the subject of paraben exposure: why take unnecessary risks when alternatives are available?

Fragrance. Some of the potential problems with "fragrance" are addressed above. Many fragrances are entirely synthetic, with more chemical ingredients than could be listed on a shampoo bottle. Many are made with nasty solvents, and as a consumer you have no idea what they are, because the FDA does not require labeling of fragrance ingredients.

Many people complain of fragrance allergies, ranging from the mild sneezing to severe allergic reaction. There are so many compounds in each fragrance and there is no labeling required, you will never know which "fragrance" or what element in them causes the allergy.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfates (SLS) are sudsing agents, most often found in shampoo, toothpaste, bubble bath and body washes. They are irritating to the skin and eyes and have been associated with eczema. In toothpaste, they may cause canker sores in sensitive individuals. If you have sensitive or dry skin, consider eliminating products that contain SLS. In amounts of 2% to 5% it can cause irritating or sensitizing reactions in lots of people. There are a number of different spellings/formulations for what is essentially SLS, so watch for variations, the most common being Sodium Laureth Sulfate. If you have any kind of skin problems, particularly eczema, or experience irritation, they should be avoided.

More Resources and Information:

Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Database

Campaign for Safe Cosmetics

Not Too Pretty.org

Chemical Body Burdern.org

A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients by Ruth Winter, MS. Three Rivers Press, 2005 (links to Powells.com, and independent bookstore in Portland, OR)

Organic Bodycare Campaign from Organic Consumers Association