August 19, 2026 at 12:05 PM
"Natural" and "clean" are marketing terms, not regulated claims — there is no legal standard that defines what qualifies, which is why two products can both wear the label and have almost nothing in common on the ingredient list.
Naturally derived does not automatically mean gentler, either. Several plant extracts and essential oils are more likely to cause irritation or sensitization than their lab-formulated counterparts, which are often designed specifically to be stable and low-irritant.
The label worth trusting is the ingredient list itself, read in order of concentration, not the word printed across the front of the bottle.