We know that if you’re reading this article you’re not the mainstream shopper looking for a bargain in the drugstore. Well, it’s hard to step out of the shopping stereotypic behavior. The markets around the world are flooded with goods striving to deliver low prices and better margins that often come along with compromised quality.
We, at Nordics, aim to create better opportunities for everybody to reach and buy high quality, clean label oral care products. That’s why we just said “No” to some of the most used cosmetic ingredients and took the long, but far more satisfying road of clean labels.
But what exactly is a “clean label”? This means that you won’t find “parabens, SLS, PEGs, synthetic flavors & colorants, preservatives, sugar or soy”, written anywhere on our packaging. The reason we don’t fancy those substances is simple: they have controversial effects on the human body. Even though they do wonderfully for producing a cheap, foamy, strong-flavored toothpaste with a long expiry period, we couldn’t be tempted into going that direction. Our values are superior, and we believe that well-being, safety and sustainability are better than simple good looks?
Parabens. These types of preservatives have been used for decades around the world. However, some 15 years ago, it was up against convictions that they might cause breast cancer. This was followed by a controversial discussion and at the end, parabens were marked as “generally safe“. Then, and in fact, now, parabens are widely spread around the cosmetic industry, as “The World Counts” estimates. That’s the key moment. Nowadays parabens are all over your cosmetic box and bathroom shelves and they begin to accumulate. Research shows that parabens have a direct relation to skin irritation, allergies, and dermatitis in children. Furthermore, there is data that preservatives hide health risks, and as scientists (Schnuch et al.) noted in 2011, “Preservatives are still important contact allergens. The introduction of new preservatives should consider the specific characteristics of occupational and of nonoccupational (cosmetic, household) exposure, and preventive measures should aim equally at both areas”.
That is why we conserve our products with natural preservatives that are harmless to our body and nature and ensure long shelf life.
SLS or Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. This additive is used as a surfactant to create big and fluffy foam in cosmetic products. As we all know, foam washes away impurities, and also SLS is believed to have a mild antibacterial effect.
So far so good.
Looking at the other side, in vitro tests show that SLS slows gum healing. SLS is also an irritant that could be unpleasant for more sensitive people. In spite of this, our research shows that a fair share of users just cannot think of toothpaste without thick rich foam. That’s why Nordics portfolio offers both toothpastes containing SLS and ones using a bio-based foaming agent (Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate)
Propylene Glycol is a synthetic substance that is used in various industries, including cosmetics. Speaking about oral care, its function is to smoothen and soften the base of the toothpaste. Even though propylene glycol makes the toothpaste strip on your brush look shiny, its relation to allergies and contact dermatitis is well-documented. Also, the propylene glycol (PG) that is used in oral care products is toxic, as are other ingredients on our “forbidden” list. Even though its toxicity is low and propylene glycol is “Generally recognized as safe” by the United States Food and Drug Administration, it’s not something we want on our labels or in our customer’s mouths.
Synthetic flavors and colors are designed to recreate natural tastes and smells since extracting essential oils is expensive, time-consuming, and laborious. You would guess that the lower price plays the main role in manufacturers’ decision-making. That’s far from surprising since using a purely natural scent is exclusive and even boutique practice. To continue the moral discussion, there is scientific evidence that synthetic food colorants are connected to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Furthermore, the toxic effect of synthetic food colorants is visible in the deviations of a number of health indicators, such as blood cell quantity, hemoglobin levels, bilirubin and total protein.
Well, Nordics standards cannot allow such a thing at any cost. Our appealing tastes and crispy freshness come from 100% natural flavors.
Sugar. The words “sugar” and “oral health” lay at the two opposite ends of one semantic line, but “sweet” and “oral health” go together just fine. We’ve used the perfect sweetener that not only pleases the palates but also protects the enamel from decay. Our favorite natural ingredient that has the sweetness of sugar – xylitol. It’s truly a gift from mother nature’s raspberries, oranges, corncobs, and mostly in birch tree barks.
Oral care is a huge market and you can swim in a variety of different mint tastes or color stripes. Nordics is devoted to making a well-being impact that goes beyond human-being. The essence of rejecting popular cosmetics substances and carefully selecting the ones we cherish, is a challenging and nerve-wracking process, indeed. The result, in the end, is what’s paying off and that is a healthier smile for a healthier Planet.
