Breaking Down Beauty: Definitions

Some Basic Definitions from Seth:

Before proceeding we should first agree on the definition of the following key terms: chemical, toxic, organic, synthetic chemical, natural chemical.

molecule/chemical/chemical compound: The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) defines a molecule as a group of atoms chemically bonded together, representing the smallest fundamental unit of a compound that can take part in a chemical reaction. For example, vitamin C is a molecule consisting of six carbon atoms, 8 hydrogen atoms, and 6 oxygen atoms - bound together in a specific geometrical way.  In common usage, the terms molecule, chemical and chemical compound have become interchangeable – thus, vitamin C is also considered a chemical or a chemical compound.

toxic:  The OED defines toxic as:
     (1) poisonous - The OED defines "poison" as a substance that causes death or injury when swallowed or absorbed by a living organism. Thus, the term toxic applied to a chemical present in a cosmetic infers that the chemical causes death or injury when absorbed/applied to the skin of a human subject.
     (2) relating to or caused by a poison - This definition of toxic covers a very wide range of injury, from the low end of toxicity, with a chemical which irritates the skin so as to produce an itching rash which remains for several hours and then goes away (after which one assumes you will stop using the product) without permanent injury, to the high end of toxicity with death.

Since cosmetics are often applied several times a week for long periods of time, it is certainly appropriate to investigate whether the chemicals present in cosmetics are harmful to your health. 

organic:  Organic Chemistry is the study of the compounds of carbon. So, to a chemist, the term organic applies to all carbon-based compounds, whether they are obtained from nature (vegetation, micro-organisms, animals) and are thus “natural”, or they are synthetic (man-made). 
     For example, vitamin C is found naturally in vegetation (from which it can be extracted), and it can also be synthesized in a laboratory for use in commercial vitamin supplements. It is considered organic in both cases by a chemist. Whether vitamin C is considered natural or synthetic depends only on its source (nature versus laboratory) and the actual vitamin C compound is the same whether it is extracted from a plant or made in the laboratory. 
     Over time, common usage of the term organic has morphed into an implication that something is “natural,” for example: food that has been grown without the use of man-made pesticides, herbicides and hormones, and commercial products (e.g. cosmetics) prepared with all natural (obtained from nature) ingredients, such as plant extracts. I will bow to common usage and use the common definition of organic in this series.