Not all of the chemical-sounding ingredients on natural skin care products' labels are harmful, Balm Balm points out.

A post on the company's blog explains that there are rules about using technical terms to refer to certain derivations of natural materials.

For instance, coconut oil consists of two parts - a fatty, thick element and a lighter content.

Skimming off the heavier substance leaves an ingredient that can be washed off more easily, making it well suited to natural skin care applications.

However, the rules state that this must no longer be called coconut oil, but must appear on labels as "Caprylic/capric triglycerides".

The confusion that may arise from this could seem particularly frustrating to individuals who have been following the activity of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics in the US.

In recent months, the organisation has been working to have laws changed so that potentially harmful ingredients cannot be included and simply listed on packaging as "parfum".