Cosmetic Truth of the month : NUXE Fondant Shower Gel

NUXE
Body
Fondant Shower Gel
With almond and orange flower petals
Fine soap-free foam
400 ml , 8,80 €

 

NUXE is one of the brands which offers both certified organic ranges (the “Nuxe Organic Beauty” range) and products which are not certified. Sometimes this can cause confusion to customers who tend to believe that the entire brand is formulated in the same way. An analysis of the component list can be useful for products which are not certified.  The Fondant Shower gel selected here is not part of the certified range.

Here is the description of the product on the brand’s website:

“With almond and orange flower petals, this soap free Fondant Shower Gel gently cleanses the skin. An essential part of your daily routine, you’ll love its smooth foam and delicate fragrance.Ingredients of natural origin almond and orange flower petals … Paraben-free.”Contains at least 96 % of natural origin ingredients

Ingredients/ INCI: AQUA/WATER, SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE, GLYCERINE, CAPRYLYL/CAPRYL GLUCOSIDE, ACRYLATES/C10-30 ALKYL ACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER, PARFUM/FRAGRANCE, PHENOXYETHANOL, GLUCONOLACTONE, SODIUM HYDROXIDE, SODIUM COCOAMPHOACETATE, LAURYL GLUCOSIDE, SODIUM BENZOATE, CITRIC ACID, TETRASODIUM EDTA, 1,2-HEXANEDIOL, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, SODIUM COCOYL GLUTAMATE, SODIUM LAURYL GLUCOSE CARBOXYLATE, CALCIUM GLUCONATE, CITRUS AURANTIUM DULCIS (ORANGE) FLOWER EXTRACT, PRUNUS AMYGDALUS DULCIS (SWEET ALMOND) FLOWER EXTRACT, TROPOLONE [N2102/A].

Component analysis:

Ingredient’s list analyzed with the website’s INCI Search tool

As always, it is the first 5-8 components that make up the majority of the product’s “profile”. 

Generally speaking, a shampoo is made up of about 70% water, (or more). Then come washing bases (about 20%) and the rest, ancillary components (additives, plant extracts, etc.).As far as shampoos, (or even shower gels, for example), are concerned, what is essential is the choice of washing bases (also known as surfactants) which can either be very gentle, well tolerated by the skin, or irritating and/or problematic for the environment. The formulation here consists of a mixture of a irritating surfactant Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (2nd position), present in large quantities, combined and softened by softer surfactants such as Caprylyl/Capryl Glucosideine (4th) and Sodium Cocoamphoacetate and Lauryl Glucoside much lower.

We are still quite far from a « washing base of vegetal origin ».

The advantage of this type of formulation for manufacturers is that the main surfactant, Sodium Lauryl Sulphate, considered to be the most irritating surfactant, is also among the cheapest of the surfactants. The most gentle, skin-friendly sugar-based washing bases, « acylglutamates », are also the most expensive. This is why there are very few products formulated exclusively with these very gentle washing bases.

But other problematic and controversial substances have also crept into the formula:

  • Phenoxyethanol,  a controversial synthetic preservative, with a proven toxic potential (harmful to the liver, in particular).
  • In addition to environmentally problematic raw materials, the film-forming agent Sodium Acrylates/C10-30 Alkylacrylate Crosspolymer, for ex.
  • and Tetrasodium EDTA, polluting substances.

One might think that cosmetic components classified as « pollutants » would generally be « less problematic » than the controversial components classified as toxic to health. Except that everything is connected…

For example, plastic micro beads* that pollute lakes and oceans are ingested by fish. The fish that, later on, we eat.

This video shows a very graphic description of this:

  • In France, the marketing of products containing plastic microbeads in rinsed cosmetics, products that are rinsed with water, have been banned as of 1 January 2018.  But the oceans and lakes are already heavily polluted by these substances. Plastic microbeads also come from other everyday products: laundry, clothing, etc.

But where have the « ingredients of natural origin » displayed in the description gone?

The « almond and orange flowers » praised in the product description have been relegated to the last three components in 20th and 21st position, so they are present in infinitesimal quantities.

Verdict:

In the category « problematic and controversial substances » we find: irritating surfactants, a dubious synthetic preservative and polluting components. And the percentage of natural ingredients displayed no longer makes much sense either. Not so great on the whole…. and quite far removed from the « vegetal promises », of the flower petals.

******

Note; this article is from 2019

Product formulations can change, even an entire product line can change from year to year and the brand can choose to remove or add certain ingredients or even entirely remove products, for example. No consumer site or magazine constantly updates these changes, it would be a gigantic job, to do continuously.

And the articles are not removed at the simple request of the brands who would explain that the formulas have changed since the test was published. The product test reflects « the exact image of the moment »,  and the tests are clearly dated.