Natural vs conventional skincare: what really makes the difference for your skin

NATURAL SKINCARE

Is natural skincare better than conventional skincare?

Natural skincare is not inherently better than conventional skincare – it simply follows different rules when it comes to choosing raw materials. The term has no legal definition in Switzerland. What counts as natural skincare is set by private standards, which you will see on the packaging as natural skincare certifications. They govern where raw materials may come from, how they are processed and which synthetic substances are excluded. They say nothing about the amount of an active ingredient or what it does on your skin. Nor is conventional skincare a clearly defined alternative – it is simply everything else, from the inexpensive drugstore product to formulations with high doses of well-researched active ingredients. Both categories have to meet the same legal requirements for safety and labelling. A meaningful comparison is therefore made criterion by criterion, not camp against camp.

Whether natural ingredients are better tolerated is a separate question, and the short answer is: not automatically. It is covered in detail in the article on natural Swiss cosmetics and how to tell what’s really inside.

Does natural skincare work just as well?

Natural skincare works as well as the active ingredients it contains – at the dose in which it contains them. Exactly the same applies to conventional skincare. Your skin does not care whether a molecule comes from a plant or a reactor, only whether it arrives in sufficient quantity, in stable form and in the right place. Niacinamide, a form of vitamin B3, is a good example. In a study in Dermatologic Surgery, 50 women with signs of photoageing applied 5% niacinamide to one half of their face and a base without active ingredients to the other, twice a day for twelve weeks. The niacinamide side showed fewer fine lines, pigment spots and red blotches, a less sallow complexion and improved elasticity. The study comes from the laboratories of a large cosmetics company, which is worth bearing in mind when you weigh it up. But what made the difference was the active ingredient at a defined dose, not whether the cream counted as natural.

Plant extracts are harder to pin down. An extract is a mixture of many substances, and its composition can vary depending on the plant, the harvest and the processing. A review article in Open Research Europe describes an EU research project on plant-based cosmetic raw materials that focused on exactly this: the reproducibility of production and the stability of the extracts. So a claim such as ‘with edelweiss’ tells you nothing about how much of it is actually in the formulation. There are, however, well-researched plant actives too, such as bakuchiol. Where certified skincare reaches its limits on older skin is explained in the article on natural skincare for mature skin.

Which active ingredients are only found in conventional skincare?

What certified natural skincare mainly lacks are active ingredients that are fully synthetic or heavily modified chemically – and these include some of the best-researched substances in skincare. The standards do not exclude them because they are bad, but because they do not fit the idea of a formula that stays as close to nature as possible. Typical examples:

• Retinol and other retinoids: vitamin A derivatives that are made in the laboratory for use in cosmetics.
• Many peptides: short chains of amino acids that are synthesised for a specific purpose.
• Many stabilised forms of vitamin C, such as 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid: pure vitamin C breaks down quickly, and the stable forms are created by chemically modifying the molecule.
• Silicones: they give the skin a smooth feel but break down poorly in the environment.
• Chemical UV filters: certified natural skincare generally relies on mineral filters such as zinc oxide or titanium dioxide.

There are also substances that exist in both worlds. Niacinamide and hyaluronic acid occur in nature as well, but for cosmetics they are produced synthetically or biotechnologically. Whether a standard allows them often depends on how they are made, not on the molecule itself. So if you specifically want to work with retinol or a form of vitamin C such as 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, you will almost always end up with conventional or nature-based skincare.

How do preservation and shelf life differ?

Every skincare product that contains water or water-based plant juices needs preserving, whether it is natural skincare or not – the only difference lies in which substances are used. A review in the journal Molecules describes how cosmetics are preserved with synthetic or natural antimicrobial substances or with multifunctional ingredients. Whether the system works is checked with what is known as a challenge test: the product is deliberately inoculated with bacteria, yeasts and moulds and then monitored for 28 days. According to the same review, plant extracts and essential oils are often advised against as the sole preservatives: they lose effectiveness when diluted, they depend on pH, and essential oils have a strong smell. Natural skincare therefore often works with organic acids, which occur in nature but are usually produced in nature-identical form for cosmetics, or with alcohol.

Conventional skincare can also draw on substances such as phenoxyethanol or parabens. Why paraben-free does not automatically mean safer is explained in the article on parabens in cosmetics. For your everyday routine, where the preservative comes from matters less than whether the product stays stable once opened. Look for the PAO symbol with the open jar, keep your skincare out of direct sunlight and use it up promptly.

What about the environment and sustainability?

Natural skincare is not automatically more sustainable, and synthetic ingredients are not automatically worse for the environment. What matters is what happens to a substance once it is washed off and how much effort goes into making it. A 2026 review in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science describes how cosmetic ingredients reach the environment via wastewater and how many of them are neither removed in sewage treatment plants nor broken down in the environment. Whether a molecule is biodegradable depends on its structure: linear carbon chains and groups such as esters favour breakdown, while highly branched chains or halogens hinder it. The authors cite PFAS and silicones as examples of persistent substances.

Plant-based raw materials have a different footprint, because they need farmland, water and transport. The Open Research Europe review mentioned above notes that optimised biotechnological processes could reduce the industry’s carbon footprint and free up farmland for crops. At the same time, the authors call the term ‘green’ extremely vague. The term clean beauty is similarly fuzzy: it promises a lot and pins down very little. In practice, this means looking for biodegradable ingredients, skincare without silicones and microplastics and sensible packaging – and using up what you buy. The most sustainable product is the one that does not end up half full in the bathroom cabinet.

Is there a middle ground between natural ingredients and active ingredients?

Yes, and for many people it is the most pragmatic solution: nature-based skincare that combines plant-based raw materials with well-researched active ingredients at disclosed doses. Products like these usually do not carry a natural skincare certification, because individual active ingredients or preservatives are not on the standards’ lists. That is not a lack of quality but a trade-off. How to recognise good skincare without a certificate is covered in the article on natural skincare without certification. The Duo is one example of this approach: its base is aloe vera juice, which comes before water on the ingredient list, complemented by extracts of Swiss edelweiss and gentian root. These are combined with active ingredients at disclosed concentrations, such as 5% niacinamide and 2% vitamin C as 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid. That makes the Duo of serum and cream nature-based, but not certified natural skincare. In her review on Judge.me, Brigitte Z. writes: ‘Already have experience with natural cosmetics. […] Simple, no frills and a good feeling on the skin’ (review translated from German).

Whichever direction you choose, these four questions will help with any product:

1. Which active ingredients does it contain, and is their concentration stated?
2. What is at the top of the ingredient list?
3. Does the product contain fragrances or essential oils that your skin does not need?
4. Does the number of products match what your skin actually needs?

If you are currently moving away from conventional skincare, the guide to switching to natural skincare shows you how to go about it. And if you are torn between drugstore, pharmacy and natural skincare, a separate article looks at whether pharmacy skincare is really better.

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