Naturals: The New Cosmetic Religion

By: Johann W. Wiechers, PhD, JW Solutions

Posted: December 7, 2010

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Why do people believe such things? Christopher Hitchens, a practiced logician trained in rhetoric, once said, “What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence.” It is time that the personal care industry removed natural claims to treat natural products for what they are—a fantastic store of interesting molecules. Some natural ingredients have good properties and some have bad properties. Due to the power of logical thinking, many in the modern world have lost their faith in the existence of a god. Many logical thinkers will also lose their faith in “the good of nature.” As Michael Shermer wrote, “Openness and honesty in the long run weeds out the cheats and exposes frauds and hoaxes.” History will hopefully soon demonstrate this. It is only a matter of time before naturals will return to what they really are—from supernatural to natural.

The viewpoints expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Allured Business Media.