How to Point Out If Your Skincare Includes Nasty Ingredients?

Recently, several skincare lines faced backlash because of the ingredients they use to manufacture products. Nowadays, people are more aware of the harmful effects specific chemicals have on their health, and when they’re buying skincare products, they’re carefully checking their elements.

Articles that share tips on how to evaluate skincare products and ingredients are highly needed because few trusted sources provide information on how harmful or beneficial skincare elements are. When buying beauty products, be sticker with the ingredients because after you strip the aesthetically attractive package, pseudoscientific claims and marketing campaigns, they are what you pay for. It’s crucial to be an informed buyer, and be aware of what you apply on your skin. Safety is one thing, but beneficial ingredients are essential because they are making a difference for your health. And sadly, more and more skincare brands are working for shareholders instead of creating products that serve customers’ needs.

But for someone who lacks chemistry knowledge, it’s becoming increasingly challenging to decipher ingredients, mainly because brands are using chemical abbreviations. This article functions as a guide that helps you determine if the parts your products include are suitable for your skin.

Determine where the product is going

Since skincare products cover the largest organ in your body, their ingredients need to be clean. Before checking the enormous list of ingredients printed on the back of the product, you may want to determine what’s the product’s use.

When you’re using a small amount of product in a small area, it’s not worth stressing yourself about the ingredients. Most companies use the same ingredients for mascara, eyeliner, or brow gel. So, it’s not worth to fuse about beauty essentials like lipstick or mascara because they cover small areas for small periods. The same goes for the products you wash off immediately like scrubs and cleansers when they rinse away without leaving residue. Products containing sulphates are the exception to the rule because they’re bad for the skin, no matter how little you use or how long they stay on your skin.

But for the products you apply to your body, and stay there, like oils and lotions, it’s best to contain clean ingredients. You use them in large areas, and your cells absorb most of the ingredients.

Be particular for the creams and lotions you apply on your face because the skin is delicate and gets high UV exposure. From cosmetics to powders and foundations, they all should contain clean ingredients.

Go beyond the marketing

Yes, we’re living in a world where brands promise to give you the moon if you buy their products, but it doesn’t mean you should also believe them. Just because all influencers are promoting a specific skincare line, it doesn’t guarantee beneficial results. The most critical tip someone could offer is to ignore the hype created around a product and go beyond its packaging.

To sell their products, companies use all tricks in the books, to catch your attention. They count on the cool factor because people have the terrible habit of thinking that if a brand is cool or a cult favourite, it uses clean ingredients. Surprise, most times, when a brand invests millions in marketing, it tries to cover something else.

With the switch to eco-friendly and organic products, skincare brands also adopt the new trend and promote their products as organic and natural. But are they really beneficial for your skin? Natural ingredients are always better alternatives to chemical ones, but only because a product is advertised as organic and natural, it doesn’t mean it’s also regulated. Also, not all-natural ingredients are beneficial for skin use, especially when they’re not correctly processed and mixed.

Beauty producers also try to distract your attention by promoting their lines as free of parabens and sulphates. It’s great they don’t include these ingredients, but look beyond the elements the products don’t include. What else is in the bottle, besides the missing ingredients?

Since skincare manufacturers must disclose the full list of ingredients only on the product label, they choose to post on their websites only the cool-sounding, active ingredients. When a brand provides a shortlist of ingredients for its products, it definitely hides something. No foundation or cream contains only five elements. Alternatively, some companies choose to give the ingredients list on a spot hard to find, like under a sticker. When brands list the active ingredients, you need extensive chemistry knowledge to determine if the compounds are harmful to your skin.

The first five ingredients are the most important ones

To determine if a product is beneficial, check its first five ingredients because brands are required to disclose the elements in the order of their highest to lowest concentration. For most products, the primary five compounds make over 80% of the entire formula. So, if they are safe, the product is good for your skin. To make sure it’s on the safe side, check the first ten ingredients. It’s best to contain no synthetic fragrances or chemicals.

Don’t buy it if it includes problem ingredients

You want to use products that don’t include polyunsaturated oils that leave residues on the skin. The list of ingredients a safe product contains is exhaustive, but to be caution avoid the following: synthetic fragrances, sulphates, silicones, mineral oils, polyunsaturated oils, and chemical sunscreens.

Synthetic fragrances cause allergic reactions, so check for hidden chemicals and phthalates that trigger hormone disruptions. Products advertised as fragrance-free often include synthetic compounds.

Detergents contain sulphates because they function as cleansing products. As you can imagine, they are harsh with the skin and strip it from essential oils and produce irritation.

Silicones form a film on top of the skin, trap debris in the pores, and prevent beneficial ingredients from absorbing. When used extensively, they cause acne and dehydration.

Did you know that mineral oil is a deodorised form of kerosene? Would you apply it on your face? Mineral oils have an occlusive effect on cells and cause dryness, acne and stop cell renewal.

As you can guess, all the ingredients found on the no-no list are somehow harmful to the skin, and it’s always smart to check their properties when you aren’t familiar with their name.

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William Woodall

Hi, My name is William Woodall, and I am a person who is determined to make the world a better place. I like to be around people and enjoy adventure and challenges.
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