FAQ General

The skin is composed of multiple, lipid containing layers. As with all lipid-containing membranes, the skin can be easily penetrated by lipid-soluble materials. Once a chemical gains access to the dermis, rapid and complete absorption into the bloodstream is usually assured.

Around 75,000 chemicals might come in contact with your skin and you absorb up to 60% of any substance applied. Differences in skin structure and condition affect the degree to which chemicals can penetrate the skin. When the skin is damaged by abrasion or chemical irritation, penetration of chemicals further increases.

Using chemical based skin care products adds to the toxic burden that we have to deal with. By using organic skin care products you can help to decrease the toxic load on your body and on the environment.

The most aggressive ingredients in shampoos are the detergents or surfactants used to make them foam and cleanse. Of these, the most commonly used are Sodium Lauryl Sulphate and Sodium Laureth Sulphate.

Both of these are known to cause skin irritation - indeed, the first one is used as a standard skin irritant against which other ingredients are assessed. Avoiding products containing these ingredients will often help. As far as Organic Babies products are concerned, all of our natural shampoos for children and babies are extremely gentle and free from SLS.

The second thing to realise is that residues of any shampoo left on the scalp, no matter how mild, will irritate and aggravate dryness and itching. It is essential to rinse the hair and scalp very thoroughly after washing to remove all traces of shampoo before you apply a conditioner.

We do not have any immediate plans to offer large sizes at the moment. There are compelling reasons to do so, but there are also difficulties which we are currently unable to overcome:

   1. We are a small company and containers have to be purchased in tens of thousands, we do not   have sufficient demand to justify such a purchase. (Not to mention the packaging design etc.).

   2. Our products are made from natural ingredients and therefore have natural preservative systems.

These preservatives are not strong enough to work in bulk quantities. So the larger the size, the stronger the preservatives have to be and we do not wish to compromise our products. (We certainly would not manufacture two formulations of the same product depending on the package size).

So you see, we know there is a demand for large sizes and there would be ecological benefits, and we therefore do have vague long-term plans to provide them, but it is not possible at the moment, or for the foreseeable future.

Green People products are based on pure, natural, certified organic ingredients. All our formulations are extremely gentle. They're easily absorbed into skin and do not block the pores.

Our products are free from sodium lauryl/laureth sulphate, chemical irritants, artificial fragrances, synthetic colourants and alcohol (ethanol).

If you do have very sensitive skin it is a good idea to use our Organic Base 'no-scent' formulations. As a common sense precaution, we recommend a patch test is carried out prior to first application.