Why Formulating with Natural Ingredients is Hard: Supply Chain Issues, Ingredient Inconsistency, and Consumer Expectations

Natural ingredients in beauty products has attracted consumers and brands alike. However, creating formulas with these ingredients is not as simple as it appears. While "natural" ingredients appeal to consumers for being safer and environmentally friendly, the reality of using them in cosmetic formulations is far more complex and challenging. Formulating with natural ingredients presents significant obstacles, both from a technical and consumer-facing perspective.

Inconsistent Supply and Stability Issues

One of the most significant challenges with natural ingredients is their inconsistency in quality and availability. Unlike synthetic ingredients, which can be precisely replicated in a lab, natural ingredients depend on factors like weather, soil, and farming practices. A poor harvest can dramatically affect the potency and availability of these raw materials, leading to variations in the final product. For example, if a specific crop doesn't harvest well, the brand may need to source the ingredient from another region, where the chemical composition and quality might differ from the original source​. This leads to inconsistencies that are difficult to control, potentially affecting the product's performance.

Consumers Expect Consistency but Don’t Want the Backstory

Most consumers expect consistency when they buy their favorite products. When natural ingredients cause a product to vary from batch to batch, they might feel as though they’re being duped or that the company is cutting corners. Brands cannot easily communicate supply chain disruptions or ingredient shortages without affecting consumer confidence. And, frankly, consumers don't want to hear about these issues; they expect the product to work the same way every time they use it. Any inconsistency in texture, scent, or effectiveness might lead them to believe that they are getting a subpar product.

Ineffective Ingredients and Marketing Gimmicks

Another reality is that many natural ingredients are included in products at concentrations too low to be effective. In many cases, these ingredients are used more for their marketing appeal than their functional properties. As a result, the amount present in the formulation might be just enough to make a marketing claim without actually delivering any real benefits to the consumer. This leads to a misleading perception that the product is more natural or beneficial than it really is.

In fact, if many of these natural ingredients were as effective as they claimed, they would be classified as drugs and require regulation by the FDA. For example, an ingredient touted to significantly grow your hair or heal damaged skin would need to be classified as a cosmeceutical or drug, thus falling under more stringent guidelines. Minoxidil is a great example of this as it is shown as a treatment for hair loss and is classified as a drug. However, most natural extracts used in cosmetics do not reach this level of efficacy.

Natural Does Not Always Mean Safe

While natural ingredients are often marketed as safer alternatives to synthetic compounds, they can still pose significant risks. Many herbal extracts can lead to skin irritation or allergic reactions, particularly for sensitive individuals. For example, certain plant extracts may contain allergens or compounds that can cause skin sensitization. Citrus extracts, though widely praised for their brightening effects, can sometimes trigger reactions depending on the concentration used or the individual's skin type.

This underscores the fact that natural does not always mean safe, and consumers are often unaware of these potential risks. For brands, balancing the marketing appeal of “natural” ingredients with the possibility of irritation or adverse reactions requires careful testing, transparency, and clear communication with consumers about what’s inside their products.

Uncertainty in Extract Composition

Another complication with natural ingredients is the lack of consistency in their composition. When you purchase an herbal extract, there is often no way to know the exact composition of the material. Some tests can be performed—such as pH, color, and GC-MS—but these tests cannot provide the precise detail needed to identify all components and their percentages in a given sample. For example, suppliers may substitute different plant extracts due to supply chain issues, which may of recently just happened due to the orange shortage in the USA and unless companies receive detailed communication, they might not be aware of such substitutions. Most substitutions in raw material from suppliers does not get communicated to the end manufacturer unless it’s a dramatic change.

An example of this occurred when some formulators used "Grapefruit Extract" as a preservative. The extract worked—only because it was later found to have been spiked with synthetic preservatives such as Benzethonium chloride, Methylparaben, or Triclosan, which are known to be effective at preserving formulations. In this case, the companies using these extracts were likely unaware that their "natural" preservative was far from pure. Ingredient adulteration in prevalent not only in the cosmetic industry but the food industry as well. 

This example highlights a crucial issue: mainstream companies cannot rely solely on raw material suppliers for consistently high-quality herbal extracts. Instead, they often include only tiny amounts of these ingredients, which may not impact the formula's effectiveness, but allows them to feature the ingredients prominently in their marketing. These marketing claims make the product sound more appealing to consumers looking for natural solutions, but the actual benefits of the herbal extracts are often minimal at best.

Supply Chain and Resource Issues

Supply chain instability is another significant problem with natural ingredients. Agricultural challenges—such as poor harvests or changing environmental conditions—can drastically affect the availability of certain ingredients. For instance, if a crop fails due to bad weather or disease, brands must scramble to find alternative sources. However, these alternatives may not match the original in terms of quality or chemical composition, leading to product inconsistencies that consumers can notice.

This inconsistency feeds into the larger issue of consumer expectations. When customers feel like a product has changed—whether its texture, scent, or effectiveness—they often feel misled, assuming that the company has cheapened the formula to save money. And yet, brands can’t always easily communicate supply chain challenges to consumers, who often don’t have the time or interest in understanding the complexities behind sourcing natural ingredients.

The global supply chain for natural ingredients is also riddled with complications. Many of these raw materials come from developing countries, where they are grown as cash crops. While the beauty industry often markets these ingredients as exotic and pure, they can have significant negative impacts on local communities. While these crops may provide income to local farmers, other food crops could be grown on this limited fertile land that could be used to feed the local population, thus taking valuable resources away from local populations​.

Additionally, in some cases, the high demand for natural ingredients can contribute to over-harvesting, deforestation, and unsustainable farming practices. This exploitation not only harms the environment but can also drive-up costs and create further supply chain bottlenecks. The beauty industry, with its ever-increasing consumerism, demands more resources than these regions can sustainably provide.

The Reality of Natural Ingredients in Modern Formulation

While the use of natural ingredients sounds appealing, the practical reality is often less glamorous. Many of these ingredients are not as effective as they claim, can be inconsistent due to supply chain issues, and contribute to environmental degradation when sourced unsustainably. Consumers, driven by marketing, often expect these ingredients to be "miracle workers," but the truth is that many are included at such low levels they don't make a significant difference.

The beauty industry must navigate these challenges while managing consumer expectations. Formulating with natural ingredients may sound enticing, but without a stable supply chain, reliable efficacy, and the ability to maintain product consistency, brands risk losing the trust of their consumers.

In conclusion, while natural ingredients play a crucial role in the branding and marketing of beauty products, they come with significant challenges. These range from the instability of ingredient supply chains and efficacy concerns to the exploitation of resources in vulnerable regions. Brands must balance the desire to use natural ingredients with the practical realities of formulation and the expectations of their consumers. Only then can they achieve both sustainability and efficacy in their products.