Do you know the dangers of skin care? What are you really putting on your skin? Find out below and begin your journey towards natural skin care…
My mission for starting my natural skincare business is to educate people or make them aware of the dangers of the common products we are exposed to daily. Most people know we take care of ourselves by eating right and exercising. What about your skin? We disregard our largest organ in our body by staying out too much under the sun, exposing ourselves to chemicals such as cleaning products and even applying some skincare products. Even though you might think you have a great skincare routine, but do you really know the ingredients in your products?
Know thy skin care!
Our governing bodies do very little to regulate our cosmetic industry. Most toxic chemicals are deemed safe in small amounts. Sure, but did you know the average woman applies 10-15 products a day to their skin and hair? Many products have synthetic ingredients such as benzoyl peroxide (used in acne creams), sodium lauryl sulphate (found in face wash) and parabens (used as a preservative). Some of these products are carcinogenic, meaning they can cause cancer or irritate the skin. Our body absorbs 60% of products we apply and it doesn’t wash off as they have already travelled under the first layer of the skin.
Is organic and natural skin care the safest? Yes and no. Here is a quick definition:
Natural- ingredients which derive from the earth
Organic– products which are free from pesticides
There are no strict regulations of product labelling so anyone can call themselves natural and organic. I simply believe in minimising your chemical intake on your skin. Yes, I call my business natural skin care. I have personal experiences in choosing natural ingredients and I am true to my word. I know what I am putting on my skin through research and testing, and I would like people to do the same thing.
I don’t label my skin care organic because I truly believe nothing is organic in this world anymore. A farmer might not use chemicals on their crops but what about the pollution we are exposed to every day? Their neighbour might be spraying some pesticides and this ‘air’ will eventually travel to that ‘organic’ farm. I am not against it, as most of my ingredients are organic in my skincare range. One day, I will label my products organic but I want them to be certified.
It is up to you to choose natural or organic, but it doesn’t mean it won’t irritate your skin. Just be aware of the ingredients when purchasing skin care for you, friends and family. Most products will list their ingredients from the highest amount to the smallest amount. Most common skincare products will use water (aqua) in their products and very little of the actual ‘good’ ingredients will actually go in. Irritating ingredients will mostly include the ingredient ‘parfum’ or ‘fragrance’ to make their products smell good. Some skincare products will be deceiving in their packaging mostly in the colour green or brown or with a leaf with the appearance of natural. A great website to check natural ingredients is this Australian website of natural skin care products database:
Skin Care Ingredients Database
Or other ingredients which are not natural can also be checked on this American website:
http://www.naturalhealthyconcepts.com/
While you are taking care of your skin, you are also contributing to the preservation of our natural environment. If you haven’t read or heard already, some of our skincare products are contributing to the global warming. Every time we spray our deodorant we release carbon dioxide (not enough trees to absorb it), throwing away unfinished bottles of cream, facial cleansers with synthetic ingredients are travelling into our drains eventually ending up in our oceans are all examples of the dangers. By choosing natural ingredients in your skincare, you are already making a good impact as these products are harmless to the environment. When we take from the earth and we should be able to give it back. My skincare range even uses packaging which can be re-usable (glass) or less harmful for the environment.
Will you choose to look after your skin like the way you want to look after your body?
So you have learnt something new today about the dangers of the common skincare brands. Make everyone else be aware, look after your body and the environment.
Stay natural,
Divine
Watch a quick video of some of the dangers of skin care:
The Story of Cosmetics
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfq000AF1i8
Have you learnt something new? Are you already minimizing your chemical intake on your skin? Love to hear your thoughts!
