"Natural ingredients" may indicate a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to beauty. It is not only a matter of the actual plant, but how that plant is processed and what any given plant may come into contact with, which is also relevant.

Many natural plant ingredients used in skin care products can rapidly lose a lot of their efficacy when they are taken away from their natural environment. Further, that efficacy can be reduced, depending on the method used in the plants' processing. Heat, as used in steam distillation, can cause fast oxidation of the natural ingredients.

Product descriptions, though correct, can be affected by things such as the nature of a given plant, where it is grown and when it has been harvested, for example and can and do affect the natural chemistry of that plant. The chemistry breakdown of what in a plant may be useful, can even change significantly between suppliers and dates of harvest. Hence, in any natural product, maintaining stability and above all, consistency, can be an issue.

This is not say that you should not use products with natural ingredients, indeed, significant research is ongoing into maintaining consistency and the efficacy of any product. Anyone buying products offering natural ingredients should be aware, however, that being natural does not always mean £being the same, when a product is used over a longer time period.