We at NUORI take great pride in the fact that we only use pure, natural ingredients of the highest quality. There are many brands that call themselves natural, but at closer inspection turn out to be only 80%, 90%, or even 97% natural. It is these last few percentage points of synthetic ingredients that are really difficult to avoid, but also make all the difference to product efficacy and purity.

Why 100% natural?

The reason we are so committed to only using natural ingredients is three-fold:

Firstly, compounds that are organically found in nature (opposed to man-made compounds), tend to have a much greater affinity to our skin. This means that the skin cells more readily receive and utilize these compounds.

Secondly, natural ingredients are bio-degradable, which means that they do not pollute our planet.

Thirdly, natural ingredients are a much cleaner, naturally renewable alternative to petrochemical-derived ingredients. Many consumers aren’t even aware of the fact that commonly used skincare ingredients such as mineral oil, petrolatum, paraffin wax, PEGs, MEAs, DEAs and TEAs are all derived from petroleum, which is an unrenewable resource with high toxicity concerns.

Natural vs. Synthetic Ingredient Variants

Take for example pentylene glycol. This moisturizing ingredient offers a great example of the differences between natural vs. synthetic variants. Pentylene glycol is commonly used in a variety of cosmetics. The old, but still used synthetic variant of pentylene glycol was found to be toxic in animal studies already back in the 1970’s. More recently some studies have shown this synthetic pentylene glycol to be a skin irritant and a potential cause of contact dermatitis.

We at NUORI have found a new, natural pentylene glycol to use in our products. This pentylene glycol is extracted from corn hubs and sugar canes, as opposed to petrochemicals, and is both ECOCERT and COSMOS approved. This ingredient has fantastic hydrating properties, creates a lovely skin texture, and as an added bonus, naturally preserves our creams against bacteria and mold.

Unfortunately, both the synthetic and natural versions of pentylene glycol have exactly the same official name that needs to be used on ingredient lists on product labels. This makes it very difficult for the consumer to know which variant is found in the product you choose. At NUORI, we have decided to help our consumers by noting 'plant origin' on the ingredient list, if there is a risk of confusion with a synthetic variant of the particular ingredient.

Finding the perfect, pure ingredients

Only using the best natural ingredients requires a lot of tenacity from our development team. It is often much more difficult and expensive to find natural variants of ingredients, as opposed to synthetic ones. The availability of natural ingredients is dependent on the outcome of crops that are easily impacted by climate change and natural disasters. Therefore, we must stay open to working with a large number of trusted suppliers from all corners of our planet.

Natural variants of ingredients also often come from smaller manufacturers who are not as good at promoting themselves as larger chemical companies are. Finding them sometimes takes some detective work. For example, when we wanted to procure a soothing, steam-distilled rose water for our Supreme-C Serum Treatment, all the rose waters we were offered by suppliers were ‘man-made’.

After a long hunt, we located a Bulgarian family-run business that has been producing pure rose water since 1909. Their company name is hard to pronounce and their website impossible to find. But their product is excellent: a 100% pure organic rose water manufactured by double distillation of the oil-bearing rose (Rosa Damascena P. Miller). It is a food-grade ingredient that doesn't contain any additives, preservatives or synthetic substances. In other words, a truly fantastic ingredient, but quite well hidden from the world!

You can read more about NUORI's pure and effective ingredients here.