Is Your Skincare Routine Helping or Hurting?

Is Your Skincare Routine Helping or Hurting? 4 Chemicals to Avoid. 4 Ingredients to Look for in Natural Skincare.

You slather this goop on your face as part of your nightly ablutions in hopes that it will stave off the effects the years may have on your once youthful appearance. But is your nightly routine helping or hurting?

According to the Environmental Working Group, people can use on average 126 chemical ingredients each day through their skincare. While these products may claim to work wonders, in the long run they may cause dryness and irritation - or worse.

Here are just some of the chemicals that I found among the multi-syllable ingredients in the skincare product I was using. You might want to avoid these popular chemicals.

4 chemicals to avoid:

1. Dimethicone: a synthetic chemical polymer derived from silica that may be harmful because it prevents moisture from entering or leaving the skin.
2. Distearyldimonium Chloride: used to prevent static (really?) and as a smoothing agent and can be an irritant to the upper respiratory tract.
3. Isopropyl Palmitate: used as a thickener and may clog pores and cause acne.
4. Petrolatum: used to prevent moisture loss, but also prevents moisture from entering the skin and can be an irritant to the skin, eyes, digestive tract and lungs, because it’s made from…wait for it…crude oil.

So, why are these chemicals in your skincare products? It’s because they allow massive conglomerates to pump out tons of product as cheaply as possible and maximize the bottom line. These ingredients are combined with other cheapo chemicals, like lots of “fragrance” and “color” in attractive packaging to create the appearance that they will work, even though we know they may be hurting us over time.

Why not use something that is made with ingredients found in nature and may actually work? For me it was because I didn’t know any better. But switching to natural skincare gives you peace of mind knowing you are avoiding chemicals you aren’t sure are safe. It can also improve your skin and keep it healthy over the long term.

Below are some of the main ingredients in the natural skincare product I am now using. You might want to look for these.

4 ingredients to look for in your natural skincare:

1. Shea Butter: extracted from the nut of the African Shea Tree, it protects and moisturizes naturally.
2. Organic Avocado Oil: comes from...avocados and contains Vitamin E, potassium, lecithin and other nutrients that can nourish and moisturize.
3. Organic Coconut Oil: comes from…coconuts and is known for its ability to fight aging, improve elasticity and is full of antioxidants, which may slow down damage from the sun.
4. Organic Jojoba Oil: comes from the seed of the Jojoba plant, is anti-inflammatory and reduces chapping and the effects of eczema and rosacea.

The best thing of all is that this stuff really works. I have been using natural skincare for over a year and it has reduced the wrinkles around my eyes and improved my overall skin tone. I feel like nothing was getting any better with the old product I was using. If you’d like to ask me any questions about the new product, please email me at glenn.myers@localwe.com.

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