About So Organic

Organic products for skin care.make up.hair care.all the family.

At So Organic we aim to take the hard work out of shopping for organic products. We have read all the labels and asked the tough questions so that you don’t have to. All the products we recommend are genuinely natural and free from parabens, SLS, petroleum based oils and nothing we list online has been tested on animals.

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Our Principles

Our philosophy since day one has been that if we would use a product ourselves and give it to our friends and family then we will recommend it, and if we wouldn't then we won't.

The area of natural and organic cosmetics is very complex and it can sometimes be a minefield for customers trying to work out whether products are as natural as they claim. It comes as a surprise to many people that the word organic is not legally protected in relation to cosmetic products in the same way that it is for food, which means that there have been lots of brands jumping on the green band wagon and making organic claims for products that contain very little in the way of organic ingredients.

On the other hand, cosmetic products are very different from food and we expect them to perform and last in a totally different way. You would not expect to open a pot of yoghurt, keep it at room temperature and dip your fingers into it daily and still expect it to be safe to use 6 months later, yet this is exactly what we demand from our skincare. Therefore, some technical ingredients are essential to preserve products, stop the oil and water based ingredients separating and also to make them foam in the case of washes and shampoos.

Generally, it is the number of these technical ingredients (which cannot be called organic as they are not farmed or grown) necessary to make an effective product that determine what % of organic ingredients the product contains. We make decisions on a case by case basis, taking into account how technically difficult it is to produce an effective product to decide whether to accept a particular formulation onto our website.

For example, it is very easy to make a totally organic lip balm and many brands offer them so we would never recommend a lip balm product that was not organic. However, when it comes to hair styling products or nail polish things are a little trickier. These products are technically very complicated to make and since effectiveness is crucial, we do accept a far greater number of technical ingredients in these products.

Many of the products in our range are independently Certified Organic, when they are not, please be assured that we have vetted them carefully and considered that for their product type their ingredients are necessary and in line with our ingredients policy. If you ever have questions or concerns about ingredients, please get in touch, we love talking to people who love organic products and will be happy to assist you.

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Our History

Now

In 2017 we evolved into an opinion and advice site. We still have a product directory with 1000’s of the best organic and natural products on the UK market, but now when you click to buy you will be taken to a range of retailers to complete your purchase.

This enables us to concentrate more on doing what we do best; researching and writing about the products we love. We still only ever recommend them when we rate them highly and would be happy to use them ourselves and we’re still just as strict about our ingredients policy so you can trust us to give you excellent advice.

If you follow our recommendations and purchase via a link on our site, we will receive a small commission as a thank you (this enables us to continue our work). So if you do like our advice please see purchasing via the links as an easy way to thank us for our advice without it costing you a penny!

We will continue to expand our recommendations as the industry develops, and we hope you'll enjoy the journey with us. If there are products you would like us to review, please get in touch, and help us deliver the service that best meets your needs.

2012-2017

During these years our focus was purely online, delivering a very broad range of organic cosmetics and toiletries all over the UK and Europe. Our highly trained team gave excellent customer service by telephone and email and our ranged changed with the times.

2007-12

During this time So Organic opened 2 stores in London as well as an organic beauty treatment rooms and own brand range of products. This was a fun and exciting time in the business's history and many people loved the experience of visiting the stores. However, times change and in order to keep up with the way in which customers were choosing to buy products, the shop and treatment rooms closed in 2012.

2005

SoOrganic.com went live for the first time and was an instant success. It was clear that there was a huge appetite for this new way of shopping for organic products. Finally, people who were used to shopping for cosmetics in department store beauty counters had a place to go for detailed advice and consultative levels of service by highly trained beauty specialists, but for genuinely organic products.

2003

Sam Burlton, our founder, frustrated by the lack of choice and dreadful shopping experience that faced anyone wanting to switch to organic cosmetics, realised that if she was struggling to find the products she needed, others must be too, and the idea for SoOrganic.com was born. Many months of hard work and detailed research went into creating the original So Organic website and product range. Relationships were forged with some of the most well known and prestigious organic brands many of which are still featured on our website today.