Grrrrrr-eenwashing: Arbonne Exposed
When I tell people about my business, they often ask if I worry about competing with big all-natural beauty brands like Arbonne. They wonder how my natural products compare to the ones offered by this in-home party darling. I, of course, have had no idea how to answer their questions because I couldn’t find Arbonne’s ingredient lists for any of their products.
This past weekend I co-hosted a booth at the local Mind Body Life Expo, a big homeopathic love fest of salt rocks, acupuncturists, healing stones, beauty products, and even motivational speakers. In between the guy who was reading auras to diagnose allergies and the latest and greatest in anti-aging smoothies was the Arbonne booth. I took advantage of this rare opportunity to ask an Arbonne rep about the contents of their “pure and safe” skin care. She replied that they did not have the information about their natural products, but I was more than welcome to find complete ingredient information on the Arbonne website.
Rather than rant about the minutes of my life I wasted trying to find even one list of ingredients anywhere on the website, I will simply tell you that they do not exist. I knew I could not be the only one determined to know what was in the stuff, so I did a little web-sleuthing. Thanks to brave blogger Winking Brunette, I can now provide you with the dirty little secrets that apparently we’re supposed to be able to get via Arbonne consultants (let me repeat, I asked one and she quickly referred me to the website). Let’s take a look, shall we?
Ingredients for Arbonne’s Line Defiance Liquid Foundation SPF15: Water, Octinoxate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Isododecane, Butylene Glycol, Peg/ppg-18/18 Dimethicone, Dimethicone, Polysilicone-11, Hexyl Laurate, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Dimethylacrylamide/acrylic Acid, Polystyrene Ethyl Methacrylate Copolymer Disteardimonium Hectorite, Cetyl Peg/ppg-10/1 Dimethicone, Caprylyl Glycol, Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Lycium Barbarum Fruit Extract, Lecithin, Coco-caprylate/caprate, Dimethicone/divinyldimethicone, Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Stearoxymethicone/dimethicone Copolymer, Peg-10 Dimethicone, Propylene Carbonate, Propylene Glycol Stearate, Propylene Glycol Laurate, Ethoxydiglycol, Dimethyl Isosorbide, Polysorbate 20, Sorbitan Laurate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Oligopeptide-10, Aminobutyric Acid, Barium Sulfate, Glycerin, Steareth-20, Hydroxypinacolone Retinoate, Chrysin, N-hydroxysuccinimide, Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-14, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Sodium Chloride, Stearic Acid, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Phenoxyethanol, Alumina, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Mica (77019), Iron Oxides (Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499).
It’s practically like rubbing a garden all over your face!
Now I realize I’m likely to get more than one angry comment from someone linked to Arbonne, and to that I say, bring it on! Please, if this information is incorrect, enlighten us! I couldn’t help but notice, however, that the angry comments under the Winking Brunette post did not dispute the accuracy of the ingredients. So are they just upset to see the truth plastered on the web without a sales rep there to explain away our concerns?
The bottom line is that the vast majority of Arbonne customers are under the distinct impression that Arbonne products are natural. Yet, one quick look at the ingredient lists – should you exert the considerable effort necessary to find them – and it becomes quite clear that it takes some serious spin cycles to wash this line green.
I am so happy to see this discussion going on. I am a huge advocate of the truth and have heard many times that this company is natural. When I received samples of the baby products and read the ingredients, I was quite surprised and disappointed . If one truly understands how our health is affected by what we put on our skin continuosly even in small doses, you would be concerned!
I have found only one company that I ethical, truly organic and very informative.
Please feel free to view my site to make comparisons and see what real products should look like.
http://www.aprilshabazz.mionegroup.com
blessings!
I have been an avid user of Arbonne products for a couple of years and the results are amazing. I would like to know, which specific ingredient you seem to have a problem with? And what is the problem with “rubbing a garden all over your face?” To me, that is much better than rubbing toxic (and sometimes cancer-causing) chemicals all over your face. More than that, I don’t know which Arbonne reps you have been talking to, but I’ve gotten an ingredients list straight-away every time I have asked (which has been often). Moreover, I am a preferred client, so I can log onto the website at any time and get the ingredients of every single Arbonne product with the click of a button. It seems you have been a bit misinformed. But if my word isn’t enough, my Oncologist believes enough in the ingredients of the products that he offers them to patients in his office, sometimes for free. Yes, he had no problem finding the ingredients list either.
As a former Arbonne rep,I had many people who tried samples of the products break out in rashes and developed inflamed skin. This is one of the reasons I could no longer recommend the products. There is a website – http://www.safecosmetics.org that lists the names of companies that have signed the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, saying their products are safe from known toxins. My new company, Apriori Beauty, is based on the new science of Nutrigenomics – the molecular relationship between nutrition and the response of your genes. We have gone away from the AHA/BHA’s and highly acidic ingredients that cause sensitive skin to respond in such a way, and our ingredient lists for each product are on that product’s page. Our ingredients affect our genes in such a way to keep our cells healthier throughout their normal life and beyond. We are certified Organic, with a new OPN toxicology rating for Organic, Performance and Natural. With the release of new scientific research, there will be so many more great products released. I have even seen a new serum that contains stem cells to be applied directly to the face! I don’t think I am quite ready for that! Best wishes to all of you on making your life beautiful!
I agree with one of the posts that Arbonne doesn’t claim to be organic and most companies that are “natural” really are not so being educated with reading what’s on the labels is your best defense.
I check ingredients on http://www.skindeep.com when I’m not familiar with something. Having said that, I don’t think all products with low doses such as parabens may be all that bad, especially in tiny doses and for some people, it doesn’t bother them. There are worst things like eating fast food on a daily basis. I feel as someone who loves healthy, clean products I want to educate people, but ultimately it’s their decision to choose what they want to use. But with so many healthier products on the market these days and at reasonable prices, I do wonder why someone would risk using products with toxic ingredients.
Great article!
Janette
Arbonne is Botanically based, which means a proprietary blending of science AND nature, based on herbal and botanical principles. It is the main thing that makes Arbonne different. Because Arbonne formulates their ingredients without any animal products or by-products (aka vegan friendly), they must use science to formulate their products. A good example: natural beeswax is a wonderful ingredient with many beneficial properties. Because it is considered an animal by-product, to use it would not be in compliance with our philosophies. To overcome this, we use synthetic beeswax, which replicates the composition of natural beeswax.
Therefore, the ingredient list may confuse those who are not as educated about the products and the philosophies of Arbonne.
Perhaps this will also help. http://www.arbonnemarketing.com/PK/dl/pk/1060_us_eng.pdf
Hi,
I’d like to see your ingredient list of the products you sell?
My thoughts are that a poor extraction process can leave residual solvents in ppm or ppb range in the ingredients used in formulations, so if you sell “natural” products, your ingredients are probably not as natural as you think. For the example of natural sun protection, the best choice for natural sun protection is staying out of the sun. Also, if your sun protection factor doesn’t have any active ingredients, then it is totally unregulated, and probably a bigger wild card in terms of effectiveness and clinically proven, reproducible results.
I think it’s important for me to once again clarify that the point of this article was not to criticize the actual ingredient content of Arbonne products. If they want to blend “the best of science and nature,” that is certainly their perogative. But the reality is that somehow, the vast majority of American consumers end up believing that these products are completely natural. Many believe they are “organic.” My guess is that Arbonne simply choose not to dispell this belief.
Also, to say that using commercial (rather than “natural”) products means you have some kind of clinical, proven results is simply untrue. The beauty industry is UNREGULATED. No one has to provide any reproducible results. Zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are proven full spectrum sun blocks.
What I’m learning is that people will often believe what is most comfortable for them to believe. If you really don’t want to switch to natural/organic beauty products, then just make that a conscious choice, rather thanngrasping onto untruths, myths, and nonsensical phrases to justify sticking with what you know.
If you claim an active ingredient, then the U.S. Federal Government will want to see the proof that you are adding those active raw ingredients in the correct concentration range – not too high and not too low. (Check out the USP for cosmetic chemistry testing). Zinc Oxide and TiO2 will get audited (and an audit happens after an SOP is validated and results are reproducible), just like any other active ingredient, not to prove it as a sun block, but to prove that it is present in the correct concentration.
If you add too much of an active ingredient, you will harm or permanently damage human beings. If you put too little concentration of an active ingredient in a product, it is ineffective and people, in this case, will get sun damage, and sue the company for not living up to its claims.
The cosmetics industry is regulated. If you buy from a cosmetics company that does not get audited, then you are buying a high risk product. Small, ma and pa compounders may not get audited, but the big names such as Arbonne, Avon, Mac, you name it, they get audited and they use SOPs and validated methodology, and for that reason, the bigger names have a competitive advantage over the smaller, individual compounders.
Active ingredients in cosmetic products are regulated. I know. I was in the industry as a testing chemist for 10 years.
Good blog post. It’s interesting stuff, isn’t it?
I too was disappointed when I got the ingredients of their “natural” cosmetics. There are a host of synthetic dyes in their lipsticks. The web site is careful not to say their cosmetics are natural; however the reps just lump all their products under the “natural” claim.