Pretty marketing slogans lead us to believe that regular cosmetics provide beautiful, glowing skin, but when you take a closer look at the ingredients, nothing could be further from the truth. Most products contain crap that does your skin and health no good.
Also note if a product says “natural” on it. The term “natural” is already allowed by skin care manufacturers to appear on the packaging if only a small percentage of the product is of natural origin. Unfortunately, that just says nothing about the rest of the ingredients used in the product. Imagine, a single drop of almond oil allows a product to describe itself as “containing natural ingredients,” while that drop of natural almond oil swims in liquid kerosene. Good for your skin? Doesn’t seem to us.
Our goal is to raise awareness around the drawbacks of the ingredients in regular skin care products and show what alternatives are available.
INGREDIENTS YOU PREFER TO AVOID AND WHY:
Mineral oil (Petrolatum, Vaseline, Parafinnum, Ceresin, Ozokerit, Cera microcrystallina)
Mineral oil is a waste product from the oil industry and often the main ingredient for a cream because it is cheap. Mineral oil, however, does nothing for the skin. It seals your skin with a waterproof layer, preventing your skin from absorbing or excreting anything. As a result, your skin becomes unbalanced. It becomes drier (and thus ages faster) or just greasier, causing blockages.
Preservatives (Benzoic Acid, Butylparaben (parabens), Chlorhexidine, Chlormethylisothiazolinone, Digluconate, Ethylparaben (parabens), Formaldehyde Methylparaben (parabens), Phenoxyethanol, Propylparaben (parabens), Triclosan)
Highly allergic, accelerate the aging process of cells and can affect hormones (parabens have also been detected in breast cancer tissue).
(Synthetic) Perfume
Perfume is often the causative agent of dermatological reactions, and it also often contains phthalates that have a bad effect on hormone balance.
Emulsifiers (PEG and Ceteareth-25)
These substances are drying and have risk of hazardous residues such as 1,4 dioxane.
Foaming agents (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate, also known as SLS and SLES)
These substances provide a foaming effect in products, but are drying and highly irritating.
Silicone oil (Dimethicone and Cyclomethicone)
This oil is often found in anti-aging products because it fills in lines, but in the process it also seals the skin.
UV Filters (Benzophenone-3 Oxybenzone Homosalate)
These UV filters have strong allergic effects.
Propylene glycol
Often used in creams to absorb petrochemical ingredients. May have a bad effect on the central nervous system.
Microplastics
Microplastic pollution can have a profound impact on people’s hormones, blood pressure, fertility, affect the immune system and cause multiple diseases, including cancer. You can use the app Beat the Microbead to very easily check for yourself if your product contains microplastics.
Aluminum chlorides: are commonly used in deodorants because it reduces or eliminates sweat secretion. But the negative factors are: clogging of the sweat glands, disruption of waste disposal, irritation of the armpit skin, disruption of hormone balance, as the aluminum penetrates the skin and is absorbed by the lymphatic system and is also linked to breast cancer.
AHAs (Alpha Hydroxy Acid)
Esse Probiotic Skincare also considers AHAs a real no go. They believe its daily use is unhealthy and can accelerate the aging process. AHAs dissolve the cement (NMA) that holds skin cells together and causes skin cell division to accelerate. In the short term, this solves certain skin problems, but since each cell can only divide 60 times, long-term effect is opposite. If enough skin cells have reached their limit, the skin will become thinner, more susceptible to sun damage, wrinkles and attacks from bad bacteria. Esse sometimes uses low doses of lactic acid to adjust the ph value of the skin, but will never use the amounts of a chemical peel.
INGREDIENTS THAT ARE OK:
Anti-Oxidants:
Polyphenol
Green tea extract (ECGC)
Natural protective coating:
Urea
Phospholipid
Lactic Acid
Ceramide
Squalene
Caring high-quality Oils and waxes:
Jojoba oil
Sesame oil
Evening Primrose Oil
Shea butter
Macadamia oil
Argan Oil
Coconut oil
Natural vitamins (Protection and Cell Renewal):
Vit A (retinyl palmitate)
Provit B5 (panthenol),
Vit C (ascorbyl phosphate)
Vit E (d-alpha-beta- gamma-delta-tocopherol or d-mixed-tocopherols)