Top 10 skincare nasties to avoid

Top 10 skincare nasties to avoid

23 February 2016, 1:33PM
Lily & Louis

When last have you read the ingredient list on your natural skincare products?

You wouldn’t guess it but many of the ingredients found in some ‘natural’ skin care products are actually bad for the health and appearance of our skin.

Most conventional beauty products start with an inexpensive base of toxic petroleum glycols like petroleum jelly or use non-­‐natural preservative and thickening systems and with no regulation certified standards for “natural” skincare in either Australia or New Zealand, many beauty products can claim to be natural while using these harmful ingredients.

Some natural beauty brands have resorted to creating their own regulatory standards to ensure their products are good for the skin.

With no regulation certified standards for natural products in New Zealand, it’s difficult for consumers to know whether the products they’re purchasing are truly natural and good for their health. Companies like Natural Instinct have to regulate themselves by using Ecocert ingredients and banning potentially harmful chemicals to deliver a truly natural, plant derived range of personal care products.

The Natural Instinct skin and haircare range uses a unique authenticity standard method of balancing carefully selected naturally plant derived ingredients while excluding hundreds of potentially harmful chemicals. This ‘Natural Ingredient Standard’, ensures that all of their products are 100% free of sulphates (SLS and SLES), petrochemicals, propylene glycol, parabens or PEGs and over 400 potentially harmful ingredients to you and the environment. There are also no artificial colours or fragrances, harsh detergents, silicones, animal derivatives and mineral oils in their products.

The Natural Ingredient Standard is their personal guarantee that all Natural Instinct products are formulated with the finest plant-derived ingredients, certified organic extracts and pure essential oils.


Photo courtesy of Lily & Louis

Here is a list of the top 10 toxic nasties you should avoid and what to look for on product labels:

1. PEGs, PPGs
These are humectants commonly used in cosmetics and are a by-product of petroleum production. Known as ethoxylated chemicals, they may cause irritation and contact dermatitis. During the ethoxylation process unwanted impurities can form.

What to look for on the label, and avoid:
PEG (polyethylene glycol), PPG (polypropylene glycol) PEG laurate, PEG-60 almond glycerides, Sodium laureth sulphate, Ceteth-5 steareth-21, Ceteareth-20, PEG-20 stearate, Oleth-10 phosphate, Octoxynol-9, Polysorbate 20 (& 40, 60, 80 etc), Emulsifying wax, PEG-8 stearate, Glycereth-26, PEG-40, Castor Oil.

2. Petrochemicals
Alkoxylated petrochemicals can form nitrosamine impurities, which are known carcinogens. Some may cause irritation and contact dermatitis.

What to look for on the label, and avoid:
MEA monoethanolamine (MEA), DEA diethanolamine (DEA), TEA triethanolamine (TEA), TEA-lauroyl, acetamide MEA, lactamide MEA, cocamide DEA, cocamine MEA.

3. Synthetic alcohols and related chemicals
Synthetic alcohols and other related chemicals are known to cause skin irritations and dermatitis, and some have been shown to promote acne.

What to look  foron the label, and avoid:
Isopropyl palmitate, octyl palmitate, butylene glycoland propylene glycol.

4. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
PAHs are directly linked to cancer in generaland breast cancer specifically. Present as low level impurities in petroleum derived ingredients.

What to look for on the label, andavoid:
Petroleum jelly (Petrolatum) and paraffin.

5. Artificial fragrances
The descriptions ‘Fragrance’ or ‘parfum’ in an ingredient list typically denotes up to 200 differentchemicals, most or all of which are man-made. These chemicals are known to cause the majority of allergic reactions with cosmetics and skincare products.

6. Synthetic colours
In most cases artificial colours are synthetic and derived from coal tar. Coal tar is a mixture of various petroleum-derived chemicals. If not purified well, coal tar can contain traces of heavy metals known to be carcinogens. They can cause hypersensitivity & irritations or clog your pores, leading to breakouts.

What to look for on the label, and avoid:
Blue 1, Green 3, Red 27 Lake, Yellow 5 Lake, CI (followed by a number). The exception being our Tinted Face Natural Sunscreen which used naturally derived Iron Oxide which is listed on the packaging as CI 77491, CI 7492, CI77499. This is  sourced from minerals.

7. Paraben-based preservatives
Parabens are synthetic chemicals used to inhibit microbial growth and to extend shelf life of products but are widely know to cause dermatitis, allergic reactions and rashes.

What to look foron the label, and avoid:
Ethyl paraben, methyl paraben, butyl paraben, propyl paraben.

8. Silicone oils
Silicone oils are synthetic emollients, which block pores, clog skin, and can cause allergies and dermatitis.

What to look for on the label, and avoid:
They can often be spotted by the suffix ‘thicone’. for exampledimethicone and cyclomethicone.

9. Synthetic Preservatives
Commonly used preservatives after parabens and are identified to be a primary cause of contact dermatitis. Are toxic and can release formaldehyde at just over 10 degrees. Fornaldehyde is a toxic material.

What to look for on the label, and avoid:
Imidazolidinyl Urea and Diazolidinyl Urea, DMDM Hydrantoin, Methylchloroisothiazolinone.

10. Triethanolamine (TEA)
Often used in cosmetics to adjust the pH,and used with many fatty acids to convert acid to salt (stearate), which then becomes the base for  a soap cleanser. Poor quality TEA can contain  highlevels of nitrosamines which are known sensitisers.

What to look for on the label, and avoid:
Triethanolamine, TEA Stearate, TEA

Reading the ingredients list on all of your natural products may take time, but your skin is your largest organ and needs to be taken care of so make sure you invest time in finding a range of products that will help, not harm your skin.

For further information on Natural Instinct products visit: www.naturalinstinct.co.nz

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