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Natural Cosmetic Products May Not Be the Best

By Ruthan Brodsky
Dec 1, 2008
Your face is what people see when they meet and greet you. Your face becomes even more prominent in the winter months when the rest of your body is covered with long sleeves and trousers. For some reason, we tend to pay more attention to our faces as the daylight hours get shorter and we make note of the wrinkles.

That is usually the signal that it is time to embrace a new skin care regimen.

The end result is you spend lots of money on products that you believe will reduce some of the finer wrinkles and give our skin a better looking appearance.

The trend this year in skin care products is to go natural.One of the problems with natural products, however, is they often cost more than products already on the shelf. By the same token, most of us will rationalize the cost by declaring we are willing to pay more if the natural products work better and do not create an allergic reaction.

You may be in for a surprise! Buying these pricey products for gentler, problem-free skin care may not necessarily be a better option.

According to Joel Schlessinger, MD, past president of the American Society of Cosmetic Dermatology and Aesthetic Surgery, you should not always assume that natural ingredients are more pure and kinder to skin than something made in the lab.

Not all artificial ingredients are harmful either. Just because something synthetic is an ingredient is not enough reason to stop purchasing a particular product. The fact is most skin care products are a combination of natural and artificial ingredients and they do not cause any problems.

Many of us have decided to go natural because we have been told to avoid certain ingredients that may be harmful to our skin and even more so as we age. These include preservatives and other ingredients such as petrochemicals. The trouble is that purchasing a natural product doesn't guarantee you won't find those ingredients in the product. There are no government regulations to date about what natural products can contain and cannot contain.

Besides, even an all-natural product can cause an allergic reaction. For example, the popular natural ingredients such as tea tree oil, feverfew, lavender and jasmine brought on allergic or sensitivity responses in some people.

What is important before you buy any skin care product is that you research it. Check each ingredient by looking at the label. Know what you may be sensitive to even if it is listed as a natural ingredient.

Here are a few ingredients you want to make sure are not on the label when you purchase your skin care product.

Petroleum/petrolatum/mineral oil/liquid paraffin

These are considered cancer causing by some researchers. They are often used as moisturizers in some brands.

Propylene Glycol

This is a natural ingredient composed of alcohol and vegetable oil but it often causes skin irritations.

Fragrance

There are over 200 ingredients in fragrances and many are used to mask the odor of other chemicals. Many people are allergic to fragrances.

Parabens

This is a highly toxic chemical that often causes allergic reactions.

It may take more time for you to check out the labels before you purchase the product, but the results will be well worth it for you because you will be closer to getting the results you want.
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