What’s Really In That Natural Skin Care Product?

The cosmetic industry loves natural. "Natural cosmetics" and "natural skin care products" have a "feel good" sound about them. People will assume if a product is natural it won’t do them or their family any harm. After all, if it’s a natural skin care product it must be good to use on your skin?

Many people believe that a product labelled as natural contains no chemicals. The truth is there are many “natural” skin and hair care products that contain a many chemical ingredients, for example preservatives, perfumes and emulsifiers, with maybe a few herbs or a few drops of essential oil essence thrown in just to make them “legitimate“.

Most people won’t have a bad reaction to chemicals in cosmetics, but for those who are prone to allergic reactions, the consequences can be uncomfortable and even life threatening.

Certain chemicals have a small molecular structure which is easily absorbed through the skin‘s pores. Although our bodies can usually process and eliminate these substances quite effectively, we live in an age of pollution and absorb enough toxins without rubbing them into our skin!

These chemicals can then cause an excess of free radicals in our systems which damages our organs, particularly the liver and kidneys, putting our immune system under constant stress.

Of course there are no guarantees even a completely natural cosmetic will not cause an allergic reaction, especially if your skin is very sensitive. For example Lanolin is found in many “home made” cosmetics. It’s a natural product which is obtained from sheep's wool. Lanolin can contain allergens and possibly fertilizers and pesticides as well due to the sheep’s diet, all which can be absorbed through our skin.

How can we guard against allergens and toxins in our cosmetics? One way to do so is to read the label to make sure there are not too many ingredients in that particular product. The more ingredients a product contains, the greater the chance that your skin isn’t going to like one of them!

What should we be looking for in a natural cosmetic? Essential oils are safe for most people, while also having some great skin benefits. Oils from fruits and nuts are suitable as well, as are any cereals eg oats. Alpha Lipoic Acid sounds alarming but is actually quite safe. Aloe vera and tea tree oil are harmless and beneficial.

What to avoid? Well the list goes on and on but here’s just a few:

Tetra Sodium EDTA, Isopropyl Myristate, Propolene Glycol, Sodium Laurel Sulphate and Phenoxyethanol. While these may not cause any problems, they build up over time and could put a lot of stress on our immune systems.

Remember many natural skin care products won’t have a long life compared to their chemical cousins, so keep them in the fridge during hot weather to prolong their useability.

For totally natural skin care products that don't contain any chemicals click below.

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