If you are looking for all natural skin care products, it is important to know that not all products marketed as “natural” are, in fact, natural. Sure, one ingredient out of the 30 may be natural, but the other 29 may be some sort of laboratory concoction. So what should you be on the look out for if you want a true all natural skin care product?
No Fragrances
Rose. Lavender. Vanilla. These scents all sound natural and like things that we can find in our environment, but when it comes to producing skin care products most of these so-called “natural” fragrances are actually a certain combination of several of the 3100+ chemical ingredients that are at hand to create certain scents and fragrances.
That’s right, that water lily after shower spray that you love so much that claims to be “natural” is probably made up of several different chemicals, a whole lot of them just to create that fake water lily fragrance! As a matter of fact, a good handful of perfumes on the market today contain at least 15 different synthetic petrochemicals that are added together in varying amounts to create those smells you have come to love.
Moral of the story: No product with a chemical fragrance is even remotely natural. Instead, always choose products that are made of natural oils only. Essential oils should be the only fragrance that you find in your all natural skin care products.
No Dyes
FD&C Blue No 1. FD&C Blue No 2. FD&C Yellow No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. Flip over to the ingredients on several skin care products (and food products!) and you will be sure to find these dye shades listed on the back. Just what exactly is FD&C? Who came up with these colors? FD&C dyes are artificial, synthetic dyes, many of which have actually been withdrawn from several countries due to their carcinogenic (cancer) causing properties.
So next time you think you care about the color of your facial cleanser or your moisturizer, think again. You can certainly do without a slight “blue” tinge to your facial cream and save your health.
No Preservatives
Finding skin care products with no preservatives can be pretty tough, even where the “all natural” skin care department is concerned. Preservatives allow the life expectancy of any product to be extended exponentially, therefore ensuring the company who has produced it that it is less likely to go to waste. This also means that the company can make less of their product, which of course means that they are saving money in the process.
Preservative-free all natural skin care products do exist out there, and they certainly are worth seeking out as you will be saving yourself a number of extremely harmful ingredients from touching your skin. You will pay a higher price for these products, and need to be astute about finding the freshest product available, but your body will be thanking you for it.