Home > Natural Skin Care

If you are buying skin care products, then you should consider investing in all natural skin care items versus other products. These items are just as successful as other items if not more so. Not only are these items generally better for the environment, but they are a much better choice for those with sensitive or temperamental skin. The following are just some of the many reasons to invest in all natural skin care items.

One of the best reasons to buy a natural skin care product versus other types of skin care is that they tend to be safer for both the body and the environment. These products are made with all natural ingredients. Thus, you don't have to worry about animal testing or worry that man-made materials will have a negative effect on your overall health.

All natural skin care products are much easier on the skin. Thus, if you have sensitive skin, these items are great because they will not inflame the skin or result in dry patches. Often, folks break out or experience blemishes because their skin can not handle the chemicals in other skin care products. Thus, all natural skin care items are a safe alternative.

Lastly, you won't need to use a lot of product to clean your skin if you go the all natural route. A little goes a long way: thus, you are receiving more bang for your buck. Natural skin care products are as effective as other skin care products, if not even better. Thus, there really isn't a reason not to try them out.



Reasons to Invest in Natural Skin Care Products

On Mount Sapo, ancient Roman women noticed that their clothes got cleaner after the rain. Animal sacrifices were made upstream, and when the wood ashes and fat were washed into the river, they mixed with the clay soil to create a miraculous substance. Out of “Sapo” the term soap, and the human quest for cleanliness, was born.

As early as 2800 BC, other ancient cultures also documented the process of mixing plant and animal fats with ashes, alkaline salts, or herb. As society progressed, clean skin became the bare minimum. Today, one’s body needs to be sweet smelling, soft, and free of bacteria.

Over time, the use of these chemicals has contributed to everything from dermatitis (skin irritation) and allergies to cancer and endocrine disruption. Many chemicals have dangerous effects on reproductive systems and hormone balances. In addition to affecting the humans that use them, these chemicals make their way out of our drains and into rivers and streams where they disrupt the health of wildlife and eventually end up in our drinking water.

The lower cost associated with these additives, as opposed to the natural ingredients that have been used for centuries, has made them a part of our world. Information about toxicity and health risks has been slow to filter into the mass market. Products deemed “natural” have historically been less effective than “conventional” products with man-made, chemical agents.

However, today new advances and discoveries in natural skin care products have yielded soaps, moisturizers, shampoos, and other cosmetic products that work just as well, if not better, than those with harmful additives. For each bad chemical out there, Mother Earth has provided a natural alternative.

Today, cancers, allergies, and endocrine disorders have increased tenfold from the days when natural skin care products were used. Alzheimer’s Disease, breast cancer, precocious puberty (when a young child is exposed prematurely to hormones), and other disorders can be directly attributed to the harmful substances that we apply to our bodies.

By purchasing natural skin care products, we’re not only investing in our own bodies and health, but also in the environment. Natural skin care products are from the earth so they return to the world when we’re finished.

Antiseptics and Preservatives

In this day and age, everyone is afraid of germs. Bacterial infections, while often very harmful, have given the skin care product industry an effective scare tactic. Today antibacterial agents are added to everything from hand soap to dental floss!

Chemicals are added to skin care products to prevent bacterial growth that may spoil the product. In both cases, these compounds can be harmful.

Potentially Harmful Substances

Parabens

Parabens—with prefixes such as methyl, ethyl, propyl or butyl—have been used for decades as a preservative in cosmetics and other skin care products. Most commonly, it is used in underarm deodorant.

Many forms of parabens are xenoestrogens. Once in the body, certain parabens have the same properties of the hormone estrogen. Estrogen balance is essential to the proper functioning of the human body. When xenoestrogens are introduced, the balance can be disrupted. In addition to causing disorders and imbalances, traces of ester-bearing parabens have been found in breast cancer tumors.

Triclosan

One antiseptic added to many products including soaps and toothpaste, triclosan, has been proven to create chloroform gas (a carcinogen) when mixed with chlorinated drinking water. In addition, when mixed with even a small amount of chlorine, a dioxin is produced. Dioxins have been proven to be “endocrine disruptors.” When absorbed in the body, this particular dioxin created by triclosan can disrupt the metabolization of thyroid hormones.

Because of these grave concerns, products with triclosan manufactured in the US must be present on the label.

Natural Alternatives

There is a theory that for every harmful organism, the earth provides a natural antidote. Before antibiotics and harsh chemicals, these natural substances killed bacteria, viruses, and fungus. Many natural skin care products still contain these ingredients—and most also smell good!

Grapefruit Seed Extract

Grapefruit seed extract has been used for generations as a natural astringent, preservative, and antiseptic effective against viruses, bacteria, and fungus. It contains high levels of vitamin C and E, and bioflavonoids. These substances have an antioxidant action.

Lemon

Lemon’s high level of ascorbic acid (also known as vitamin C) makes it a natural, potent antiseptic. When added to skin care products, it has disinfectant properties. In addition, it provides flavor and fragrance to toothpastes and mouthwashes.

Tea Tree Oil

Tea tree oil is a natural antibiotic and it contains antiseptic compounds that are a very effective skin disinfectant. In addition to adding pleasing fragrances, tea tree oil can be used to treat acne, athlete’s foot, ringworm, jock itch, fungal infections, yeast infections, and minor skin infections.

Lavender

Products made with lavender are antiseptic, yet very gentle. Lavender will also soothe pain of skin irritation due to infection or minor burns and scrapes.

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus is naturally antiseptic, antibacterial, and antiviral. Everyone knows the value of eucalyptus for fighting coughs and sore throats, but eucalyptus is a very effective insect repellent! Eucalyptus oil can be substituted for harmful chemical repellents that may contain DEET.

Dyes and Colors

Potentially Harmful Substance:

Artificial Coloring

Take any bottle of a mass-marketed skin care product that is colored and chances are, there is a mentioning of the term “FD&C” or “Lake” coloring. These commercial pigments are made from coal tar and can contain residual cancer-causing substances such as phenols and benzene. In addition, dyes can cause irritation and allergic reaction.

Natural Alternative:

Plant Derived Dyes and Essential Oils

Many essential oils, plant pigments such as annatto and henna, as well as natural mineral oxide compounds create brilliant colors that add a pleasing touch to soaps and other natural skin care products.

Detergents and Foaming Agents

A skin care product must have some kind of property that dissolves dirt and oil and lifts it off the skin. A nice lather or foam is needed to accomplish this. Unfortunately, some ordinary skin care products use harsh chemicals to get suds.

Potentially Harmful Substances

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

The most common detergent added to ordinary skin care products is sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS). This compound is formed by a chemical combination of lauryl alcohol, sulfuric acid, and sodium carbonate. Powerful enough for industrial cleaning and degreasing, SLS cleans the skin by stripping away oils and creating a lather.

SLS is notorious for causing dermatitis for people with sensitive skin. As well, human skin needs oil for protection and to stay healthy. With prolonged use, SLS can cause skin to become dry and irritated.

Diethanolamine (DEA), Monoethanolamine (MEA), and Triethanolmine (TEA)
These similarly formulated chemicals function as emulsifiers or foaming agents in such skin care products as body wash, shampoo, and facial cleanser. Individually, the chemicals are not as potent of a threat, but when they’re combined together in one product, they form nitrates and nitrosamines, which can be carcinogenic. Some names of these compounds are:

Cocamide DEA
Cocamide MEA
DEA-Cetyl Phosphate
DEA Oleth-3 Phosphate
Lauramide DEA
Linoleamide MEA
TEA-Lauryl Sulfate

Alkylphenol Ethoxylates

Alkylphenol ethoxylates (APE’s) are used in products to break the surface tension of other liquid chemicals to cause a foaming effect. Commonly used in cosmetics, hair dye, shaving gels, and foaming facial cleansers, these chemicals have been reported to the FDA as “endocrine disruptors.” Laboratory research has shown that APEs can cause growth of human estrogen-dependent breast cancer cells and uterine growths.

In addition to affecting the person using the product, these chemicals are washed down our shower drains and sinks and into the waste water sewers. The chemicals then pass into water supplies affecting the reproductive systems of wildlife. Research has shown that APEs can then make it into drinking water supplies causing the same endocrine disruption in people who aren’t even using the products!

Natural Alternatives:

Instead of harsh chemicals, there are many centuries old plant derivative products that can achieve the same foamy lather.

Vegetable Glycerin

Created when vegetable protein is boiled and separated, vegetable glycerin has been the staple of soaps and cleaners for centuries. When mixed with lye or essential oils, vegetable glycerin is a natural, effective detergent.

Shikakai

Skikakai is a small shrub that grows in the warm, dry plains of central India. For centuries, people there have collected, dried, and ground the fruit into a powder and used it as shampoo and soap. Mild and gentle, it doesn’t strip the skin of oils.

Since the discovery of soap, natural skin care products have kept the world fresh and clean. An investment in products that contain plant extracts, essential oils, and other substances from nature is a step toward achieving the kind of healthy living that nature intended.