Increasingly, more Asian women are natural beauties.

No, the gene pool hasn't been more generous lately - it's just that more Asian women are clamouring for beauty products as close to nature as possible, without ingredients contaminated by pesticide, or containing man-made chemicals.

One word sums up this back-to-nature buzz: Organic.

Put the word organic in front of a product and it is generally regarded as superior to one without it.

There's an element of eco-chic - witness the cool factor of carrying a hemp shopping bag rather than a plastic one. So it is inevitable that along with organic clothes and food, the craze would spread to skincare.

So for the first time in its 12-year history, the annual beauty tradeshow BeautyAsia held last month devoted a whole section to distributors in the organic and natural beauty business. They made up 20 per cent of the total number of participants.

A survey by the organisers found that two-thirds of the consumers polled believe that organic and natural products are a 'healthier choice'.

And beauty product retailers and distributors Urban spoke to report increasing sales in recent years.

At specialist shop Purely Botanic at Square 2 in Novena, for example, sales have grown by 15 to 20 per cent since opening in January last year, says co-owner Michael Soh. It sells skincare products from Australia, Canada and the United States.

And Aussie skincare company Jurlique, which uses ingredients grown via what it calls 'biodynamic agriculture' (see facing page), has seen 'a good 50 per cent' spike in business here between 2006 and 2007, says the brand's local product manager Ashlyn Aw.

The latest big brand to roll out an organic skincare range here is American company Origins.

Last month, it launched a new organic line called Origins Organic in Asia that is certified by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to contain up to 95 per cent organic ingredients.

This means that its manufacturing process is as simple and ecological as possible. The certification also means that ingredients in an organic product are grown without the use of pesticides and fertilisers.

The finished product does not contain any chemicals, synthetic or petroleum derivatives, thus reducing the risk of skin irritation.

The new range costs 10 to 15 per cent more than the Origins main line, with prices from $32 for a lip balm.

Retailers and distributors admit that the organic tag generally comes with a higher price.

Kervin Tan, director of organic skincare distributor Botanic Source, says the cheapest organic line he has seen starts from $30 for a 250ml-sized facial cleanser.

Upper- and middle-range organic products can cost up to 40 per cent more than those without that cachet, says Purely Botanic's Soh.

What consumers ultimately pay for is the tedious care that goes into cultivating the ingredients, retailers say.

Eminence, a Hungarian organic skincare brand that Tan distributes to spas, is said to handpick its fruit 'one by one' and uses windmills to generate electricity.

'PEOPLE THINK ORGANIC PRODUCTS CAN WORK MIRACLES BUT IF YOU DON'T LOOK AFTER YOURSELF, NOTHING CAN HELP YOU'- Lynda Law, product manager of organic skincare distributor Medtra

'What you pay really goes into the ingredients and not some middleman,' he says.

Eco-friendly folk like headhunter Vivian Tay don't mind the extra cost.

'Price is definitely not an issue when it comes to grooming,' says the 29-year-old, who turned vegetarian in her early 20s.

'Anything that's natural is better than products with chemicals and has a feel-good factor.'

Dermatologists, however, say the belief that organic and natural equals good is not necessarily correct.

'It's not as simple as applying fresh orange juice on the face,' says Ang Por, a dermatolgist at Dermatology Associates in Paragon.

'There are chemicals that are necessary to hold the ingredients in a product together and make them stable.'

Elizabeth Tien, senior pharmacist at the National Skin Centre, also points out that 'natural' ingredients like tea tree oil and aloe vera have been found to cause allergic skin reactions, while others like gingko can interfere with the body's systems when taken alongside medicinal drugs.

Then there's the problem of what 'organic' actually means.

In Singapore, the Health Sciences Authority is in charge of regulating cosmetics sold here, based on the Asean Cosmetic Directive, and retailers have to declare all ingredients that go into their goods.

There are, however, no specific legal regulations on organic skincare products, so it's difficult to tell what is the real deal, retailers say.

'Sometimes the organic label is really just a label,' says Lynda Law, a product manager at organic skincare distributor Medtra, referring to other brands.

'A product can contain just 0.5 per cent of organic ingredients and still be called organic.'

So local retailers and distributors have been turning to foreign guidelines like those imposed in Australia and the United States.

At Purely Botanic, for example, products are referred to as natural, not organic.

'The percentage of organic ingredients in our products does not warrant them to be called organic by USDA standards,' reveals owner Soh.

'By local standards we could, but that wouldn't be ethical'.

To play it safe, dermatologists and retailers alike say it's best to buy from credible sources.

Dermatologist T. Thirumoothy says: 'Retailers, organic or not, are serious about their businesses and as long as they follow industry standards, there should be no issues with safety.'

Law adds: 'People think organic products can work miracles but if you don't sleep, don't drink enough water and basically don't look after yourself, nothing can help you.'

This article was first published in Urban, The Straits Times on Mar 13, 2008.