Are you thinking about switching over to natural products but don't know where to start? I remember when I first started making skincare products 10 years ago, I knew I didn't want to include ingredients that weren't beneficial to the skin but it's difficult to decipher through so many ingredients. I researched and read everything over the course of the next year that I could get my hands on to learn about some of the most common ingredients you find in personal care products. Fast forward 10 years later and I'm still learning, but I've acquired some basic knowledge of many ingredients and their uses. Below are 10 ingredients that I refuse to ever include in any of Choiselle's products.
1. MINERAL OIL
Is derived from petroleum and is found in everything from lotions to mascara. When applied to the skin it leaves a shiny layer on top of the skin which prevents the skin from breathing
2. SYNTHETIC FRAGRANCES
Companies uses hundreds of chemicals to mimic the smell of your favorite flower or dessert treat because it's cheaper. A lot of times these chemicals irritate the skin, cause dizziness, headaches, rashes and hyper pigmentation. Don't use products that use the term "fragrance" instead look for products that uses essential oils.
3. PROPYLENE GLYCOL
Is used as an humectant in creams, suntan lotions, mouthwashes and many more products. In 1992 the FDA proposed a ban on propylene glycol in louse-killing products because it has not been shown to be safe and effective for it's claims. Need I say any more!!!!
4. TRIETHANOLAMINE
Used as a foaming/emulsifier, it is know to be harmful to the body in large amounts. Causes skin & eye irritation, drying hair & skin.
5. IMIDAZOLIDINY UREA
The most commonly used preservative in personal care and is the second most identified cosmetic preservatives causing contact dermatitis according to The American Academy of Dermatology Standards.
6. PHENOXYETHANOL
Another commonly used preservatives that the FDA states can depress the central nervous system as well as cause dermatitis.
7. METHYLPARABEN
If you don't know by now, then you will know now that anything with the word paraben attached to it is usually not good. Parabens are on everyone's radar because of it's ability to mimic the human hormone estrogen, which is known to play a role in the development of breast cancers. New studies are demonstrating that whole parabens can be found intact in breast tissue and are an endocrine disruptor. Synthetic chemicals such as parabens, like fat, collects in fatty tissue, i.e. breast tissue, which the body can not eliminate.
8. DMAE (Dimethylaminoethanol)
Often used in cosmetics as emulsifiers and/or foaming agents, they can cause allergic reactions, eye irritation and dryness of hair and skin. DEA are "amines" (ammonia compounds) and can form cancer-causing nitrosamines when they come in contact with nitrates. Toxic if absorbed into the body over a long period of time.
9. SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE
Used as a water softener, mostly in baby products, this ingredient can cause eye and skin irritations and skin rashes
10) DIAZOLIDINYL UREA
Another preservative used in everyday personal care products. It releases formaldehyde when mixed with water which makes the environment less favorable to the microorganisms to grow. Formaldehyde is classified as a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which provides sufficient evidence that formaldehyde causes nasopharyngeal cancer in humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.