French brand prides itself on using plant extracts

Do organic ingredients in skin care products mean better quality and more marked effects? Not necessarily, according to French skin care brand Clarins. Even though organic seems to be the buzzword for many major cosmetic brands, Clarins is keen to emphasise that it is the effects that count when it comes to choosing its ingredients.

Clarins prides itself on using plant extracts, and has been conducting research for more than 50 years on how these ingredients react with skin.

While some brands market their products based on their organic appeal, Clarins laboratories and logistics managing director Lionel de Benetti believes there is more to offering good quality skin care products than simply being organic.

'Organic products are good products. But because of regulations, there is a limited choice of organic ingredients that can be used in skin care products,' he says.

Some consumers tend to assume that organic skin care and makeup are better and safer. But in fact, some organic ingredients can be toxic, he says. 'For us our ingredients have to be both efficient and safe. Not just because they are organic.'

The number of plants including active ingredients used in Clarins' products has increased significantly over the past 30 years. The brand now uses about 1,000 ingredients and 200 different types of plants. Each year, it works on new plants and introduces five to 10 plants to its products.

But how does Clarins choose what it uses?