The skin is a living, dynamic and unpredictable organ, as well as the second largest functioning organ of the body. Skin protects by preventing bacteria, germs and pollutants from entering the blood stream. Everything we put on our skin is absorbed and goes through every vital organ. Our skin breathes out wastes and toxins, and takes in oxygen, moisture and nutrients.
Ingredients used in most American skin care formulations can contain potentially harmful ingredients, or at the very least ingredients that can cause allergic reactions. How can this happen? The FDA does not regulate what can be put into the skin care products. All the cosmetic company has to do is list the ingredient and they can use it.
It would be beneficial for all of us to search out safer skin care products that label their products so that we, as consumers, could know and understand what ingredients are used in their products, what the source of these ingredients are, and what their functions are.
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A Better Choice
Because These Don’t Belong On Your Skin
A mixture of refined liquid hydrocarbons derived from petroleum. Mineral Oil is the stabilizing ingredient of many skin formulas. It forms a film on the skin, blocking the pores and interfering with normal skin respiration (think of it like liquid Saran Wrap). It, therefore, not only dries the skin but is a contributing cause of blemishes. Mineral oil and all petroleum-based ingredients are products of black crude oil. Mineral Oil is the #1 most used ingredient in American skin care. It costs about $1.00/gallon, as compared to essential oils which can cost as much as $100.00/gallon.
PERTROLEUM
Petroleum products such as Vaseline (PETROLATUM), etc., do not penetrate the skin, but sit on the surface blocking natural respiration, excretion and absorption of other nutrients.
Petroleum jelly (petrolatum), another petroleum derivative: it forms a heavier film on the surface of your skin. When your skin perspires and releases water containing salt and chemicals, it aids the liver and kidneys in detoxifying your body. Like mineral oil, petrolatum blocks the skin’s natural breathing and excretion functions.
Paraffin wax is a hard, white material refined from petroleum by using various solvents. Ceresin is another petroleum product; it’s considered a higher-grade of paraffin. Toluene is commercially derived from petrochemicals. It can be found as a solvent in cosmetics, nail polish remover and dyes. You will also find it as a binding agent in gasoline.
Benzene is a petrochemical used as a solvent in cosmetics. It can cause depression, convulsions, coma and death.
BEESWAX is a sticky sealant. It attracts pollutants, dirt and bacteria and glues them onto the skin as it seals the pores.
SOLVENT (Solvent Alcohol)
Many skin care products contain solvent alcohol in the form of propyl, isopropyl (petroleum derivatives) or SD alcohol (specially denatured ethyl alcohol). These alcohols are very drying to the skin. They strip the skin’s natural acid mantle, exposing the pores to bacteria and germs. “Skin care products that strip do much more than cause skin problems, they leave pores exposed allowing bacterial growth in the pores which is where these harmful elements enter the blood stream and cause illness or even death,” reported Dr. Bruce Hensel.
LANOLIN
An oily excretion of sheep (sheep sweat!), lanolin is a common lubricating ingredient in skin formulas. Extracted from the wool, lanolin has been indicated as a cause of allergic skin reactions in sensitive people. Sheep are bathed twice a year, their wool boiled down and the lanolin skimmed off the top. Imagine not washing your hair for 2 months, scooping of the oily stuff and sticking it in your jar of moisturizer.
COLLAGEN
An animal product, collagen is added to formulas as a moisturizing agent. Contrary to what others might tell you, collagen CAN NOT be absorbed into the skin. Collagen molecules are too large to penetrate the skin and can therefore clog pores blocking the skin’s own natural respiration and secretion process, and absorption of other nutrients. It is an animal product (derived from chicken's feet and used cooking grease) that is sometimes added to cosmetics as a moisturizing agent.
Formulated chemically from a wide variety of sources. Artificial colors are known to cause allergic reactions. Chemical fragrances have been known to cause reactions and photosensitivity in some people. There are an abundance of herbs and botanicals that serve the same purpose, hence there simply is no need to add chemical dyes and fragrances to skin care formulations.
FREE RADICAL and ANTIOXIDENTS
Free radicals are highly reactive molecules that can bind to and destroy body components. Free radicals or “oxidative” damage is what makes your skin age. Free radicals have also been shown to be responsible for the initiation of many diseases, including heart disease and cancer. Antioxidants are compounds that help protect against free radical damage. Antioxidants in the form of nutritional supplements can help to give you the ammunition to fight off the aging process.
