Green Chemistry and Our Natural Cosmetic Formulating Philosophy
Understanding Natural, Naturally Derived, Semi-Synthetic and Synthetic Ingredients in Cosmetic Formulation
One of the questions we are asked most often is:
Are your formulations 100% natural?
The answer deserves more than a simple yes or no.
At The Formulators LAB® | Joan Morais Cosmetics School, plants are at the heart of how we formulate. We love plant oils, butters, herbs, botanical extracts, hydrosols, essential oils and other ingredients derived from renewable plant sources.
But professional cosmetic formulation, especially hair care formulation, is more complex than blending plant oils and botanical extracts together.
Creating a shampoo that cleans properly, a conditioner that detangles, an emulsion that remains stable, a styling product that provides hold or a water-based product that remains microbiologically safe requires functional cosmetic ingredients.
Some of these ingredients are natural.
Some begin with plants and are then chemically processed.
Some are considered naturally derived or semi-synthetic.
And occasionally, when an appropriate natural alternative does not yet exist, we may use a carefully selected synthetic ingredient.
What matters to us is understanding where an ingredient comes from, how it is made, why it is needed, how it performs, its safety and environmental profile, and whether a better alternative is available.
That philosophy is rooted in green chemistry.
What Is Green Chemistry?
Green chemistry, also known as sustainable chemistry, is the design of chemical products and processes with the goal of reducing or eliminating hazardous substances throughout their life cycle.
It looks beyond whether an ingredient simply sounds “natural.”
Green chemistry considers the larger picture:
- Where did the starting material come from?
- Is the feedstock renewable?
- How much waste is created during manufacturing?
- How much energy is required?
- Are hazardous solvents or processing aids necessary?
- Is the finished ingredient effective at a reasonable use level?
- What happens to the ingredient after the product is rinsed down the drain?
- Can the material biodegrade rather than persist in the environment?
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency describes green chemistry as designing chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate hazardous substances and applies the concept throughout a chemical product’s life cycle.
The 12 Principles of Green Chemistry
Our approach is influenced by the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry:
- Prevent waste.
- Maximize atom economy.
- Design less hazardous chemical syntheses.
- Design safer chemicals and products.
- Use safer solvents and processing conditions.
- Increase energy efficiency.
- Use renewable feedstocks whenever possible.
- Avoid unnecessary chemical derivatives.
- Use catalysts where possible.
- Design chemicals to degrade safely after use.
- Analyze processes in real time to prevent pollution.
- Minimize the potential for chemical accidents.
These principles remind us that natural versus synthetic is not the only question a responsible formulator should ask.
Natural Does Not Always Mean Unprocessed
There is an important distinction between a plant ingredient and a plant-derived cosmetic ingredient.
A plant oil may be obtained relatively simply by pressing seeds or fruits.
A functional cosmetic ingredient may begin with coconut oil, sugar, corn, rapeseed or another agricultural material and then undergo chemical processing to transform it into an ingredient with an entirely different function.
That processing does not automatically make the ingredient undesirable.
For example, cosmetic formulators need ingredients capable of:
- Cleansing hair
- Allowing oil and water to remain emulsified
- Conditioning and detangling
- Reducing static
- Thickening formulations
- Creating slip
- Solubilizing oils
- Preserving water-containing products
- Creating films or hold
- Maintaining product stability
Plants alone often cannot provide all of these functions in a stable, safe and elegant modern cosmetic product.
What Does “Naturally Derived” Mean?
A naturally derived ingredient usually begins with material from a natural source but undergoes processing before it becomes the cosmetic ingredient we purchase.
For example, a surfactant may be made using fatty materials originating from coconut or other plant oils combined with another naturally derived component.
The finished ingredient no longer looks or functions like coconut oil, but its feedstock can still be substantially plant derived.
COSMOS actually recognizes this distinction. Its ingredient system includes both Physically Processed Agro-Ingredients (PPAI) and Chemically Processed Agro-Ingredients (CPAI). This means chemical processing itself does not automatically prevent an ingredient from being used within the COSMOS natural cosmetic framework.
This is an important concept for modern green cosmetic formulators.
Plant derived does not necessarily mean chemically untouched.
Why Hair Care Is Especially Challenging
Hair care is one of the most challenging cosmetic categories to formulate if the goal is to use nothing except minimally processed plant ingredients.
Imagine trying to make an entire professional hair care line using only:
- Plant oils
- Butters
- Plant waxes
- Herbs
- Plant powders
- Hydrosols
- Essential oils
Those are wonderful ingredients, but they cannot provide every function required in modern hair care.
Shampoo Requires Surfactants
Oil does not cleanse hair in the same way a shampoo does.
A shampoo requires surfactants capable of surrounding oils, dirt and product residue so they can be dispersed into water and rinsed away.
Many surfactants used in natural formulation are made partly or predominantly from plant-derived feedstocks, but they require chemical processing.
COSMOS currently lists approved raw materials containing surfactants such as decyl glucoside, coco-glucoside, lauryl glucoside and caprylyl/capryl glucoside.
So an ingredient can be chemically processed and still fit within a recognized natural cosmetic standard.
Conditioners Require Specialized Ingredients
Conditioning hair presents another challenge.
An oil can lubricate hair, but a professional conditioner usually needs ingredients capable of depositing onto the hair, reducing static, improving wet combing, detangling and helping smooth the hair surface.
These functions often require specially manufactured conditioning ingredients.
Some begin with plant-derived fatty materials but are chemically transformed into ingredients that perform very differently from the original plant oil.
This is why looking only at whether an ingredient was “made in a factory” tells us very little about whether it belongs in a thoughtful green formulation.
Water-Based Products Need Preservation
A shampoo, conditioner, cream, gel or spray containing water can support microorganisms if it is not properly preserved.
Preservation is not optional simply because a product is natural.
A safe cosmetic needs an effective preservation strategy.
COSMOS permits specific preservatives within its natural and organic cosmetic standard, including certain forms of benzoic acid and its salts, benzyl alcohol, dehydroacetic acid and its salts, salicylic acid and its salts, and sorbic acid and its salts. Some of these are classified by COSMOS itself as non-natural ingredients that are permitted within defined conditions.
This is an excellent example of why “contains absolutely nothing synthetic” is not always the most useful measure of a well-formulated cosmetic.
Safety, efficacy and responsible ingredient selection matter.
What Does COSMOS Mean?
COSMOS is an international standard for natural and organic cosmetics.
It evaluates much more than whether the name of an ingredient sounds natural. Its requirements address areas including:
- Ingredient origin
- Permitted physical processing
- Permitted chemical processing
- Organic content
- Environmental considerations
- Manufacturing
- Packaging
- Labelling
- Certification
The current COSMOS Standard is Version 4.2, applicable from September 1, 2025.
COSMOS also maintains databases of raw materials that have been assessed for use in COSMOS formulations. Its approved-raw-material database specifically describes those materials as ingredients that may be used in products certified to the COSMOS Standard.
COSMOS APPROVED Does Not Mean a Finished Product Is COSMOS Certified
This distinction is important.
A raw material can be COSMOS APPROVED, but that does not automatically make a formulation or finished product COSMOS certified.
The entire finished formulation and its production must meet the requirements of the standard and go through the appropriate certification process before the finished cosmetic can carry COSMOS certification.
What About COSMOS and Cosmetics in the UK?
COSMOS is well established within the UK natural and organic beauty industry. For example, Soil Association Certification certifies qualifying cosmetic products to the COSMOS Standard.
However, COSMOS certification and UK cosmetic law are two different things.
COSMOS is a voluntary natural and organic certification standard.
A cosmetic sold in Great Britain must separately comply with applicable UK cosmetic regulations. Among other requirements, the product must be safe, undergo an appropriate safety assessment, have a Responsible Person, maintain a Product Information File and be notified before being made available to consumers.
We therefore prefer language such as:
“accepted or approved for use under the COSMOS natural cosmetic standard”
rather than:
“approved by the UK because it is COSMOS approved.”
They are not the same type of approval.
What About PEG Ingredients?
PEG stands for polyethylene glycol, and PEG-derived ingredients are used throughout conventional cosmetics for many different functions.
Depending on the particular ingredient, PEG materials may function as:
- Film formers
- Solubilizers
- Emulsifiers
- Surfactants
- Thickeners
- Humectants
- Texture modifiers
PEGs are generally associated with ethoxylation, a chemical process involving ethylene oxide.
This is important for formulators following COSMOS because the current COSMOS Standard lists the use of ethylene oxide and other alkylene oxides, including their use in ethoxylation and propoxylation, among processes that are not allowed.
Therefore, a conventional PEG ingredient should not be described as COSMOS compliant unless there is very specific documentation establishing otherwise.
Why We Use a PEG Ingredient in Our Traditional Edge Control
This is one of the places where our formulation philosophy becomes practical rather than theoretical.
Our students repeatedly asked us to teach a traditional Edge Control, not simply an oil balm or soft styling butter, but a product with the hold, control, application and performance consumers expect from traditional edge-control products.
We listened.
During development, we explored the natural ingredient options available to small-scale formulators.
At this time, we have not found a natural or COSMOS-compliant ingredient, available to our students in practical small quantities, that produces the same traditional edge-control performance we require from this particular formulation.
For that reason, our Traditional Edge Control formulation contains a PEG-based ingredient.
We consider it an exception to our usual natural ingredient preference.
We use it because it performs a specific function for which we have not yet found an equivalent natural alternative accessible to our students.
And we teach our students exactly why it is there.
If a suitable plant-derived alternative becomes available that provides comparable performance, stability and accessibility, we will always be interested in evaluating it.
That is part of green formulation too:
continually looking for a better solution.
Natural Formulating Is Not About Ingredient Fear
We do not believe good formulation education comes from teaching students to fear chemical names.
Everything around us is chemistry, including water, plant oils, herbs and the human body.
We don’t formulate by pronunciation. We formulate by knowledge. The popular phrase “If you can’t pronounce it, don’t put it on your skin” can be misleading. Butyrospermum Parkii Butter may sound like a complicated chemical, but it is simply the INCI name for shea butter. As cosmetic formulators, we evaluate ingredients based on their origin, processing, safety, function, sustainability, and performance, not how easy their names are to pronounce.
Instead, we teach formulators to ask better questions:
Where does this ingredient originate?
How is it processed?
Why is it in the formula?
Is it safe at the intended use level?
Is it effective?
Is there a renewable or biodegradable option?
Is there a more responsible alternative?
Can our students realistically source it?
That knowledge gives a formulator far more power than simply dividing ingredients into “natural = good” and “synthetic = bad.”
Our Formulating Philosophy: “Be the Change”
Our philosophy has always been:
Be the Change
We formulate primarily with natural, plant-based and naturally derived ingredients while being guided by the principles of green chemistry.
We strive to choose ingredients and processes that consider the journey of a cosmetic ingredient, from its original feedstock and manufacture through the life of the finished cosmetic and, where relevant, its eventual wash-off into our waterways.
Whenever possible, we prioritize:
- Plant-derived and renewable feedstocks
- Responsible sourcing
- Biodegradable materials
- Efficient ingredient use
- Ingredients accepted by recognized natural cosmetic standards such as COSMOS
- Effective preservation
- Vegan ingredients
- Cruelty-free formulation
- Reduced environmental impact
- Minimal unnecessary ingredients
But we also recognize the realities of professional cosmetic formulation.
When an appropriate natural ingredient does not yet exist, does not provide sufficient performance, or cannot reasonably be purchased in the small quantities required by an independent formulator, we may choose a carefully considered alternative.
When we do, we use it intentionally, not automatically.
Formulating for Our Students
There is another consideration that is extremely important to us.
A formulation developed for a large manufacturer is very different from one developed for an independent cosmetic formulator.
A multinational manufacturer may be able to purchase an ingredient by the drum, pallet or metric ton.
Our students often cannot.
For an ingredient to be practical in one of our course formulations, we consider whether our students can realistically obtain it in smaller quantities.
We also aim for formulations that:
- Use a purposeful number of ingredients
- Are teachable and reproducible
- Are stable
- Perform beautifully
- Can be customized
- Use ingredients our students can realistically source
- Reflect professional formulation principles
This balance between nature, science, performance and accessibility is central to how we teach.
Plant Powered. Science Guided.
Our love of plants remains deeply rooted in everything we formulate.
But modern green cosmetic formulation is not simply about putting plants into a jar.
It is about combining botanical knowledge with cosmetic science.
It means understanding raw materials.
It means understanding chemistry.
It means understanding safety and preservation.
It means questioning how ingredients are sourced and manufactured.
And it means knowing when a chemically processed plant-derived ingredient may actually be the most responsible and effective choice for a formulation.
Our goal is not simply to formulate products that sound natural.
Our goal is to formulate products thoughtfully.
Plant powered. Science guided. Green chemistry inspired.
The Formulators LAB® | Joan Morais
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