10 skin care ingredients that I avoid & why
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
A big thanks to all who participated in my poll last Friday to find out how many of you are into natural or organic skin care products. I received 103 responses – out of which 23% use only natural or organic skin care products, while 63% use natural or organic skin care products whenever possible and 14% are not into using such products at all. Some of you also commented that not all natural or organic skin care products are genuine and may still contain some undesirable ingredients. Others commented that natural and organic skin care products may not be entirely beneficial – something I’ve discussed in an earlier entry are organic and natural skin care products useless?
I mentioned in that entry that we need to learn to read the ingredient list of a product and avoid some of the harmful ingredients commonly cited. Well, since writing that entry, I’ve learnt a bit more and today, I’ll discuss the top 10 skin care ingredients that I avoid and the reasons. Most of these are synthetic ingredients but there are also a number of natural ingredients that I avoid too.
1. Silicone derived emollients
Silicone emollients are occlusive and are used to create a watertight film on top of the skin to lock in moisture. Listed under the names of Dimethicone, Dimethicone Copolyol or Cyclomethicone, these show up in over 80% of all skin-care and cosmetics such as foundation, primers, concealers and the popular BB creams. While they make application smoother, these compounds coat the skin, making it impossible for the skin to breathe. This is why they are often described to be like a plastic wrap suffocating the skin and trapping anything beneath it. Prolonged usage can cause skin irritations and breakouts for some people. In addition, it also means it would be difficult for any of your skin care goodies to penetrate into your dermis layer effectively, which I believe causes products to become ineffective after a period of time.
2. Petroleum-based ingredients
These are byproducts of petroleum and include ingredients such as petrolatum, mineral oil, and paraffin which also block your skin and coat it like plastic, thus clogging up the pores. When the skin cannot breathe properly, it builds up toxins and leads to all kinds of issues. So these are definitely no no for me when it comes to skin care products. While, I may not mind using a lip balm containing petrolatum but somehow they’ve never really worked very well for my lips.
3. Beeswax
For the same reason as silicones, mineral oils and petrolatum, I avoid beeswax in facial products as far as possible. Although beeswax is a natural ingredient, it is a form of impermeable oil that coat the skin, making it impossible to breathe too. It also has to be heated at high temperature to be melted into an ingredient mix, which means the product is unlikely to have anymore live cells to benefit our skin. This ingredient is commonly found in lip balms and lipsticks but I’ll avoid this ingredient in facial products and even body care products as far as possible.
4. Citrus Oils
Although citrus oils are natural, they can cause photosensitivity when applied topically. Common examples of citrus oils include Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Peel Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Oil and Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Oil. Others are bergamot, cumin, lemon, lemongrass, rue, angelica root and petitgrain. I may not mind if the product consist of one or two citrus oils and they’re listed at the bottom of the ingredient list but if it’s a combination of many citrus oils, I would definitely avoid.
5. Lavender oil
Topically, lavender oil is cytotoxic and increases photosensitivity. I would avoid products containing lavender oil or lavender essential oil as the key ingredient. If it is listed at the bottom of the ingredient list, I would be less concerned. I also avoid linalool as far as possible as this is a major component of the essential oil of lavender.
6. Sulfates
I avoid facial cleansers containing Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and or Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES). These are harsh detergents that are used in cleansers, soaps and shampoos and will strip our skin of its natural lipids.
7. Alcohol derivatives
As a whole, I avoid any products containing alcohol. Those like ethanol, ethyl alcohol, denatured alcohol, methanol, benzyl alcohol, methyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, and SD alcohol are solvents derived from petroleum and are extremely drying and irritating to the skin. With prolonged usage, these may strip the skin’s natural immune barrier, promote the formation of brown spots and cause premature aging of the skin. And even though cetyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, cetearyl alcohol and lanolin alcohol are said to be beneficial in skin care, I tend to avoid them as far as possible too.
8. Fragrances
Some fragrances listed as musk or 6-methylcoumarin can cause photosensitivity too. Hence, I generally avoid facial products containing fragrance unless they are derived from essential oils.
9. Hydroquinone
This ingredient is not so common and only used in some skin whitening products. I’ve used the ingredient before as prescribed by a dermatologist but this ingredient is terribly damaging as it thins out the skin when used after a few weeks. When the skin becomes thinner, it also means that the skin becomes more proned to sensitivity and damage under the sun.
10. Alpha- and Beta-hydroxy acids (AHA/BHA)
I avoid creams and lotions containing AHA or BHA altogether as these ingredients also make our skin more sensitive to the sun. I have so far only tried Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser and I don’t mind it so much only because it doesn’t stay on my skin for a prolonged period. But having said that, I don’t use the product any longer now.
Parabens
You will notice that I didn’t include parabens in my list. Actually, I don’t mind parabens that much unless if I see a whole bunch of them like Ethyl, Methyl, Propyl and Butyl Parabens in an ingredient list. If it’s just one or two of them and they’re listed right at the bottom, they don’t bother me that much. However, since I’m using more natural and organic products, they do not contain parabens anyway.
For beauty sake
As you can see, my reasons for avoiding such ingredients stem from a beauty standpoint such as fear of photosensitivity or skin suffocation rather than a health standpoint because the ingredients are toxic. Typically, I avoid products – natural or otherwise – with a long ingredient listing as I am not familiar with some of the ingredients and I also have a tendency to miss or misread some words along the way. Additionally, I do not believe that effective products need to have a long list of ingredients. What’s more important are the active ingredients used in the formulation. As I’ve written in my entry 5 things to know about skin care labels, only the top 33% of the ingredients matter.
So what about you? Are there any ingredients you avoid in particular?
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Posted in Ingredients101 | 29 Comments »
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July 29th, 2009 at 9:44 am
i’ve noticed alot of foundations contain silicones =[
reccommend foundations please?
for sensitive skin thanks
sesame Reply:
July 29th, 2009 at 10:13 am
Yes, they do. Go with mineral foundation if you want something with bare minimum ingredients. I’m very happy using those from LA Splash. Or go with organic foundation. I use Zuii foundation and it’s lovely too. They don’t contain silicones but their ingredient listing is much longer than those of mineral foundation.
July 29th, 2009 at 10:12 am
hmmm silicone is my big big fear factor. salicylic acid used to be my enemy, now it is rescuing my acne. i guess our skin really changes a lot from time to time.
sesame Reply:
July 29th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
That’s true too about skin changing with age. I don’t remember my skin breaking out so easily with food that I consume. Plus, I think sometimes what to use is also personal. It’s like one man’s meat maybe another’s poison.
July 29th, 2009 at 10:28 am
You mentioned about citrus oils. I have just started using Suki’s moisture rich cleansing lotion. What’s your take on the use of lemon oil?
But I must say Suki’s transformative clay cleanser helped cleared up my skin after 2 weeks of application.
organic sage (salvia lavandulaefolia), thyme (thymus vulgaris) & rosemary (rosmarinus officinalis) infusions (aqua), organic sunflower (helianthis annus) & grapeseed (vitis vineifera) oils, organic lavender (lavandula angustifolia) & rosemary (rosmarinus officinalis) extracts, 100% natural beeswax (cera alba), pure vegetable glycerin (glycerine), organic fair trade cocoa butter (theobroma cacao), honeysuckle flower extract (lonicera caprifolium), kaolin (kaolinite), organic oat milk (avena sativa), organic lemon oil (citrus medica limonum), organic non-gmo lecithin (lecithin), cetearyl alcohol (cetearyl alcohol), food grade xanthan (xanthan) & arabic (acacia catechu) gums, aroma (pure premium steam distilled essential oil)
sesame Reply:
July 29th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
Lemon oil makes an effective ingredient in a cleanser with its antiseptic properties and ability to cleanse really well. In fact, my cleanser has this ingredient too.
If it’s just one citrus ingredient, I’m less concerned. Moreover, it’s a cleanser, and if it’s a good cleanser, it won’t leave any residues so the oil won’t stay on your skin. If the lemon oil is in a lotion or moisturizer that you leave on your skin, then that could cause photosensitivity. In that case, always make sure your sunscreen provides broad spectrum protection.
July 29th, 2009 at 11:18 am
isn’t it difficult to find a product that doesn’t have all the ingredients that you listed out? btw, do you mind doing a post on your skincare regime?
sesame Reply:
July 29th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Hmm…I agree it can be difficult with commercial makeup products. But with skin care, it is possible if you select only natural or organic products. Those that I use do not contain most of these ingredients and for makeup, I use mineral or organic so they do not contain most of these too.
I did consider doing a post on my skin care regime but hesitated cos some of the products are not readily available to all. I’ll think about it.
July 29th, 2009 at 11:43 am
So far, I only buy products that state Parabens-Free e.g. Yes To Carrots products which I really love.
I tend to avoid thost containing alcohol too, but they are hard to avoid e.g. ZA’s Dewy Effect.
I use them in moderation.
sesame Reply:
July 29th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Yup, agree…not always possible to avoid. Need to make a conscious effort and it’s not always easy. Eg. a lot of sunscreens also contain alcohol. I had to source for one that doesn’t contain most of the ingredients I’ve listed and it was not an easy find.
July 29th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
wow! Thanks a lot. I really, really love this post. I like the way you put everything together and tell us why they are no good.
sesame Reply:
July 29th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
You’re welcome! I hope some info here are useful for you.
July 29th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
wow that’s a long list! thanks for sharing!
I had no idea about the silicon emollients!
I’ll watch out for those when I go shopping next time^^
sesame Reply:
July 29th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
You should find them in lots of products though…
July 30th, 2009 at 12:33 am
you have provided excellent information. Now-a-days most of the skin care products contain parabens and petroleum based ingredients.
sesame Reply:
July 30th, 2009 at 10:57 am
Yes, they do. Look out for the natural and organic products. The genuine ones don’t contain these.
July 30th, 2009 at 2:35 am
I try to avoid Sulfates and anything with fragrances in them. They always dry up my skin or make my breakout. I’m exactly like you when it comes to parabens. Seeing 1 or 2 is okay with me, but a see a list full of them, I tend to put them back on the shelves. Lovely post Sesame.
sesame Reply:
July 30th, 2009 at 8:54 am
I think a whole list looks kind of worrying…one or two at the end, we can deal with it huh?
July 30th, 2009 at 10:09 am
Lavender- that is interesting. They are actually in a lot of skin care products and I do use them quite a lot. I love the smell and so far, those products that I use with them are great – like the Aesep primrose facial hydrating cream, which is a reasonable moisturizer.
sesame Reply:
July 30th, 2009 at 11:05 am
Yes, it was a shock to me to find out about lavender too. I don’t love it that much but it is in a lot of products. I still use products with the oil, as long as it is not the key ingredient but somewhere at the bottom. That, or I use the product at night to minimize the risk of photosensitivity.
July 30th, 2009 at 10:25 am
wow.. your post really open my eyes..
now I’ve become more conscious about the ingredient in my makeup and skincare..^^
sesame Reply:
July 30th, 2009 at 11:11 am
Actually, there are more ingredients that are said to be toxic…but it can get endless. I just focus on those that make me uncomfortable due to problems they could create for my skin.
July 31st, 2009 at 12:47 am
i agree with avoiding products with long lists of ingredients.. i stepped into Korres recently at ion, though the SA kindly pointed out that the ingredients they used included organic and natural porducts, i was uncomfortable with the long long list of ingredients which i didnt quite understand their properties (and this is even after reading up on skincare ingredients)
sesame Reply:
July 31st, 2009 at 10:01 am
Their products are not totally natural or organic if I remember some of the ingredients.
July 31st, 2009 at 1:00 am
Oh no! So many things! This post should be pinned!
I detest mineral oils! Petrolatum i use on my lips:Vaseline. So far nothing else has worked as well as it.
I hate parabens too! Trying to getout of using it. And SLS though that is getting less common i think.
Beeswax and ctrus oils are bad? Oh gosh. I thought that essential oils are good.
Mind listing down all the brands you use? Skin care, makeup, hair care? I knw it is probably a lot of work but it would be real helpful!
Thanks!
sesame Reply:
July 31st, 2009 at 10:07 am
Beewax is okay for lip products. Citrus oils are not bad, but can cause sensitivity. So I tend to avoid products with a bunch of them.
Okay, two months ago this was what I use in the morning:
- Sukin facial cleanser which is SLS and paraben free
- Hydrosol as toner
- Grapeseed oil as moisturizer (around eyes too)
- Marie-Veronique Creme de Soliel sunscreen
In the night, it was:
- Sukin facial cleanser
- Hydrosol
- Grapeseed oil around eyes
- John Masters Organics Mandarin Maximum Moisturizer
There is a change now. Instead of grapeseed oil and John Masters Organics, I use products from True Bio Skin Care which are free of those ingredients I mentioned. Will probably review the products in time.
July 31st, 2009 at 9:58 am
Thanks for the info. Cosmetic database is a resource I rely on quite heavily when unsure.
August 2nd, 2009 at 4:56 pm
The more I know of synthetic ingredients and their effects, the more I avoid them. The list posted is nearly the list I have. I am trying to educate my teenage daughter to understand the ingredients in the bottles. I regret to say that she belongs to a group where they think they are invinsible.:( She can happily use a product where Urea and Parabans are in the top of the list!). we come from a family with cancer gyenes. I hope my daughter will fast apreciate the education.
September 29th, 2009 at 3:05 am
There really are so many ingredients to avoid, which includes the natural products. There is also a lot of alarmist behavior on the internet which, in the end, just confuses people. I would also suggest doing the research on any ingredient at the cosmetics safety database (cosmeticsdatabase.com). If you use it to reference any skin care product you want to try, or if you’re looking for safe skin care, it’s hard to go wrong there.