So where does the Bisphenol A tree grow? Watered your phthalate plant recently? We’ve been scratching our heads too. Too many supposedly ‘all natural’ or ‘organic’ skin care products are filled with multi-syllabic preservatives, emulsifiers, thickeners…etc. that sound suspiciously unnatural to us. Unfortunately, slippery sloganeering is so widespread these days, no one bats an eye. The Government has usually left it to companies to police themselves – or more accurately, each other. Problem is, larger competing companies – with a few exceptions – apparently figure it’s better to live and let live, allowing each other to carry out mutual deceit.

It’s not just the ingredients that are being mislabeled. In fact, the Environmental Working Group recently concluded that over half of the sunscreen products on the market make claims about effectiveness that are unacceptable or misleading under the FDA’s draft sunscreen safety standards. Think back to the “all-day protection” that couldn’t last until lunch, or the “water-proof” sunscreen that washed off with your first dip, or the “mild as water” lotion that warned you to avoid contact with your eyes.

Plans to tighten up labeling standards are in the works, but we think companies have a responsibility to be honest. It’s one of the reasons Sana was born. We’ll do our part to push the envelope and to pull back the curtain. And we can all do what we can to demand clear honest labels. Is that too much to ask?

And hey, if there’s a Bisphenol A tree growing out there somewhere, we’ll eat our words!

Sana products are for everyone who needs to soften, moisturize and protect their skin…and needs to do it gently, safely and naturally. Isn’t that everyone? Not quite. Sana is specially made for people who have dry skin, a thin barrier, or who are suddenly dealing with particularly dry air. Also active, outdoorsy people who don’t let the elements slow them down. And athletes who don’t have time to reapply. Don’t forget those mothers dealing with hormonal changes, stretching, and the occasional baby nip. And kids, who’d rather run free naturally.

That still sounds like everyone. Not quite. If you have naturally oily skin or are in extremely humid conditions, barrier support might not be your top concern. And if you don’t like the products, or have an allergy to any of the ingredients (please, please look to check), you should stay away…we won’t be offended.

It started well. Dinner in a wonderful neighborhood restaurant in San Francisco with friends, family and some new significant others. It turned ugly faster than you can say Big Agro Business.

“Oh, you’ve got organic and all-natural products. Really, be honest with me, it’s just marketing and branding, right?”

Turns out the guy across from me was a fan of rhetorical questions – before I uttered a responsive syllable, my new friend continued, “I mean please, the whole fad makes me sick. These people don’t know what they’re talking about. These studies are garbage. Do you have any idea how much of those industrial chemicals you’d have to get in your body it’d have the effect those studies describe? Stop kidding yourself. Any real scientist will tell you it’s all crap. Nothing has changed.”

I could feel nervous fidgeting around table. I took a deep breath and started by agreeing with him. Some of the science out there is shoddy, and not every negative health trend is the result of contaminants in our food, our water, our air and, yes, our skin care.

But… a wide range of health problems are on the rise, from premature births and underweight babies, to lowered sperm counts and early menstruation, to allergies, to reproductive organ damage. Hundreds of industrial chemicals, many of which are in the family of endocrine disruptors, are being found in newborns and in cord blood. There are scores of studies linking common synthetics found in plastics and skin care products to a range of health problems…which have led nations around the world to ban many of those substances.

And you want to talk dosages? Well, one tiny dosage in one exposure may not cause cancer, just like one puff of a Marlboro won’t kill you. But what about the thousands of synthetics we and our children are bombarded with day after day? And what of the fact that many of the synthetics have bio-cumulative effect, sticking in the body and growing day by day? Still believe tiny individual exposures can’t possibly have an effect?

“Harrumph.” From across the table. “I’d like to see conclusive proof…”

“Well, there’s plenty of proof. But the larger point is this: sometimes conclusive causal proof is elusive (in part because there are so many different chemicals hitting us at once, that it’s difficult to isolate just one). Doesn’t it still make sense to avoid as many potentially dangerous synthetics as possible? Especially when skin care synthetics are often simply cheap derivations of natural ingredients?”

“…and don’t let me get started about the environmental reasons to prefer smaller, organic farms over Big Agro. Ok, enough, let’s eat. Lemme guess, the fois gras is yours…”