Eyes may be windows to the soul, but the health of our hair, skin and nails is a direct reflection of what we are within. Health 2000’s Stu Cook gives us his guide to the skin care ingredients we should all avoid.
As skin is our largest organ, absorbing everything we put on it, what may seem great for skin today, could impact on our internal health over long-term use – and often the first warning signs of that are seen in our hair, skin and nails.
Skin nasties that should be avoided:
• Artificial colours – in lipsticks, skin creams and foundations. Linked to a wide range of conditions including allergic reactions, migraines and conditions affecting vital organs. Experts can’t agree, as some are banned in one country and not others, but we can say that consumers ingest surprisingly large amounts of these products over their lifetimes!
• Petroleum by-products – found in tumours and shown to cause premature skin aging and acne. Known to smother skin so it can’t breathe, decreasing its ability to absorb oxygen into the bloodstream.
• Artificial fragrances (parfum) – can cause allergic skin reactions, and often derived from petroleum by-products.
• Parabens – preservatives used to kill bacteria and fungi in body products. Parabens can mimic the hormone estrogen, and butylparaben adversely affects the secretion of testosterone and male reproductive function. Many researchers believe there is a link between parabens and tumours.
• Sulphates – surfactants foam and clean, but strip natural oils leaving skin and hair dry, and cause irritations.
• Methylisothiazolinone (MIT) – biocide shown by some studies to cause damage to brain cells.
• Lanolin – a moisturising agent from sheep sweat used in skin products, lotions, creams and baby oils. Poisonous when ingested, and may contain pesticide residue, which can accumulate in fat tissue. Can cause allergic reactions.
• Isopropyl myristate – helps other products absorb, can dry skin and clog pores, causing acne and inflammation.
• Formaldehyde – preservative in cosmetics, linked to numerous adverse reactions and classified as a carcinogen.
• Animal derived products – many skin care products contain animal products like ambergris (sperm whale vomit), civet extract (from its musk sac) and tallow (meat waste from slaughterhouses). Not to mention the animal testing of questionable compounds!
When there are safe alternatives available, why bother?
Using natural plant based ingredients with today’s advanced science and technology has created skin care products that are gentle, healing, soothing and more in tune with people.
According to dermatologists, it takes 8-12 weeks for a little pimple to form on your face – not overnight, as it usually seems. So if you want to move from synthetic to botanical skin care and really “feed” your skin with nutrients, remember that it will take about that long for your pores to unclog from what you used before. Then you will have living, breathing skin that is healthy!
Article | Stu Cook.
With a passion for Natural Health, Stu joined the industry 10 years ago in the UK. As the Health 2000 Marketing Manager he is constantly looking for ways to engage consumers to think about ways to live naturally healthy.
