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It's winter here in Canada (as if we needed to
say that!) where cold air, dry indoor environments and lack
of sunlight can impact our skin, causing it to lose moisture
and elasticity. What's the skinny … on creams, lotions
and potions?
Why do you care?
- Skin is thirsty - it craves oil to keep supple
and moisture to plump skin cells.1
- Moisturizers are basically a mixture of water, oils, waxes,
fragrances and preservatives that:
- hydrate skin cells on the outer epidermis layer, giving
skin a temporarily smooth, soft and plump appearance.
- forms a thin barrier to hold moisture from underlying
dermal layer which prevents evaporation of water from
the skin's surface and further drying out.2
- Skin is semi-permeable - many ingredients found in
skin care products are absorbed directly into the our bloodstream
without passing the body's de-toxifying organ, the liver.
(it works for the nicotine patch!).
- These may include ingredients that:
- clog pores/disturb skins natural respiration - mineral
oil and petrolatum (better known as Vaseline, petroleum
jelly, or paraffin wax/oil).
- irritate skin - SLS, DMDM hydantoin, propylene glycols(EGPE,
EGME, EGEE, DEGBE, PGME, DPGME), TEA.
- possible and known carcinogens - PEG (polyethylene and
polyethylene glycol), ceteareth compounds, quaternium-15.
- hormone disruptors - parabens (methyl/propyl/butyl/ethyl),
phthalates. 3/4
- Concern is that skin moisturizers lie on large areas of
the skin for extended periods of time, which increases exposures.
- Exposures add up - 1 in 5 adults are potentially exposed
every day to all top seven carcinogenic impurities common
to personal care product ingredients. 5
The Know How
- Look for labels that note only natural ingredients
or certified organic.
- Look for plant-based ingredients that provide long
term benefits to skin such as: Beeswax, Candelilla wax, Cocoa
Butter, Jojoba oil, Pycnogenol (from pine trees), Rice bran
oil, Shea butter, Sunflower oil, Sweet almond oil, Vitamins
A, C, E. 6
- Shea Butter is especially good for dry skin.7
- Avoid synthetic preservatives and synthetic fragrances.
See e-bulletins Face it and Get
a whiff of this.
- Be wary of misleading or exaggerated claims about the ingredients
in moisturizers. An "active ingredient" is
considered a drug product and the claim must be proven.
- Remember your skin is thirsty - Drink
up!
- Check out products from the Guide
to Less Toxic Products and EWG's Cosmetics Database: hand
creams, body
moisturizers, facial
moisturizers.
Know and Tell
- Patti has been experimenting with "clean" lotions
and potions of all kinds to help ease and prevent that dry,
tight feeling on her hands, face, eyes and other body parts.
Check out her finds
… what she hasn't found yet is one to "turn back
time".
- Tamey's skin has never been happier. The natural products
she has been using have made a real difference in her skins
moisture level this winter. Not a dry patch on her face to
be found - how refreshing!
Pure Know How Kids
- Children are like sponges for chemical exposure - a child's
skin is 30% thinner than an adults', on average, and can absorb
greater amounts of chemicals from the skin surface. Check
our Kids
- Skin.
1 Organic Beauty. Josephine
Fairley, 2001.
2/3Skin
Care and the Physiology of the Skin. Lori Stryker, retrieved
from Web site January 2008.
4/6 Moisturizers,
Body Lotions and Hand Creams Product Report. The Green Guide,
Mat 2006.
5 Exposures
Add Up - Survey Results, Environmental Working Group, 2004.
7 Guide
to Less Toxic Products. Environmental Health Association
of Nova Scotia, 2004.
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