Organic and natural cosmetics in Japan


Since a couple of years ago, people started focusing on ingredients of cosmetics. I don't know what and when the beginning of the craze was, but organic and natural cosmetics are huge in Japan now. There is a shop called "Cosme Kitchen" which has got more than 10 branches, they only sell organic and natural cosmetics. They suggest a eco-friendly, organic lifestyle to Japanese young girls.

Japanese people are very serous about cosmetics, once the craze began to take off they became obsessed with contents in cosmetics. They check everything written on the back of the bottles, they stop buying particular cosmetics just because they contain paraben or petroleum-derived oils for example. The reason why they started being crazy about organic and natural cosmetics was not because they feel good on their skins, it was because they were told that "some ingredients are bad for your skin to absorb and could be a cause of some serious diseases like cancers".

I was kind of one of them at the beginning. I gained knowledge about ingredients and judged which one to use. But now, I stopped being so strict about cosmetics. You are supposed to have fun to pick cosmetics. You are supposed to enjoy the process of choosing which cosmetics you want / get to using them. Being paranoid about some ingredients which are contained only a little bit in a shampoo bottle seems ridiculous.

Now, I am still in love with organic and natural cosmetics as I love the concept, and the scents most of the time. I love essential oils and cannot stand the smell of artificial flavors. Also I don't like the texture of silicone and polymer so I choose cosmetics which don't contain them. I sometimes use cosmetics that Japanese people call "Chemical Cosmetics" which contain many unliked ingredients but sometimes they work better than organic cosmetics. Sometimes extracts of natural ingredients are too strong for my skin.  

When I write cosmetics which are not completely organic, some people leave comments saying "These are not organic" but in my opinion it's important to hear your heart to choose cosmetics, not your brain.  As cosmetics are luxuries for women.