From green to greenest: celebrate Earth Day by embracing all-natural green beauty and personal care products.(PERSONAL CARE: TRANSFORMATIONS WITH KAT JAMES)

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What does green beauty mean to you? Apparently, a whole lot, if the nearly 40 percent annual growth in natural and organic cosmetic sales (in this economy, no less!) is any indication.

One person's idea of green beauty might mean recycled packaging. Another person might feel the latest product to contain a fairy dusting of organic green tea, used by their favorite actress, is all they need to "go green." Another might demand paraben-free products (even if they still contain mineral oil or fragrance), and yet another might expect fair-trade ingredients, or a company's donation with each purchase to an environmental fund (even if the product still contains FD&C colors). What consumers deserve--and should expect--are products that reflect green dedication from the inside out--not just in packaging and company gestures.

Still, setting one's own criteria for what constitutes "green" cosmetics is far more daunting than setting your criteria for, say, green foods or paper goods.

The Four P's: Purity, Performance, Packaging, and Practices

I call my own green criteria the four P's. Purity is key. We know that chemicals in products, including those that mimic and disrupt our hormones, are not only able to easily make their way into our bodies, but, once down the drain, will find their way back into the environment and drinking water sources all over the country. Petrochemicals--found even in some so-called natural products--are processed to the extent that they no longer break down readily in the environment, let alone on or in our bodies.

Performance is the major challenge for green cosmetics. After all, the goal of cosmetics is to pick up where nature leaves off. Up until recently, truly natural skin, hair, or color cosmetic products have been defined by very limited capabilities of natural preservatives, colorants, and texturizing ingredients. But recent technical advances in natural preservatives, as well as innovative coloring and texturizing capabilities, have opened the door for in-the-know consumers--and formulators--to identify products that deliver on all of the four P's. Now that clean cosmetics have been achieved in every product category, I encourage everyone to read a product's ingredients list with higher expectations--and higher demand--than ever. The time has come when you can truly have it all.