Beauty

Natural Skincare 101: Check for These 3 Ingredients

You shouldn’t need to be convinced to switch to using natural skincare – but if you’re hesitating, it’s understandable. We all have our favorite beauty products.

Some are safer than others, though! Did you know that the average woman exposes her body to more than 160 chemicals daily just by following their skincare regimen?

Natural skincare with familiar ingredients on the label gives you peace of mind and often works just as well as their chemical-laden counterparts.

What Does Using Natural Skincare Say About You?

When you switch to natural skincare:

  • You help save the planet by using products made from sustainable ingredients.
  • You tap into ancient knowledge of what’s safe to use, based on the experiences of those who came before us.
  • You keep things simple by choosing topical products with ingredients you can define and wouldn’t be afraid to eat.

I love having a skincare regimen that’s supported by natural ingredients because I can see the difference it makes. My skin is healthier, and I feel so much better.

3 Ingredients That Shouldn’t Be in Your Skincare Products

While there are more ingredients that you should be careful to avoid, these are the three I scan the back of product labels for when I’m in a rush.

1. Parabens: Chemical Preservatives

Parabens have been around since the 1950s and are used because they prolong the shelf life of the products that contain them significantly.

These harmful chemicals in skincare have been linked to several physical symptoms that cause problems to the body’s reproductive, immunological, and neurological systems. Less alarming but more common effects include minor skin irritations, premature skin aging, and even the development of dermatitis.

The FDA hasn’t banned parabens yet, but several parabens are already restricted or banned in the EU.

2. Silicones: Silica-Derived Substances

Silicones work by smoothing over rough patches, usually to lock in moisture. This process makes your skin look and feel great, but it doesn’t actually contribute to its health and improvement.

Silicones are also hydrophobic , which means that products containing them are hard to wash off your skin. This characteristic makes it easy for silicones to block or trap dead skin and dirt in your pores. Hello, breakouts.

3. Sulfates: Chemical Foaming Agents

Skincare products containing sulfates are 100 percent safe, but that doesn’t mean they won’t irritate your skin .

Anytime something needs to lather up, chances are it contains sulfates. The problem is that sometimes they work too well.

That squeaky clean feeling you get after washing up can mean that your hair or skin has been stripped of its natural oils. Over time, your hair might turn brittle or dry. You may also develop acne near your hairline.

How I Became a Natural Skincare Convert

I wasn’t always a natural skincare enthusiast. It wasn’t until my first pregnancy that I started to pay attention to the ingredients of the products I was using on my body.

Worried that chemicals in skincare would affect my baby in any way, I ended up switching to coconut oil. The results were so amazing that I used it during my second pregnancy, too – and then some! Motherhood was the catalyst that inspired CocoBaba and my lifelong passion for natural skincare.

harmful chemicals in skincareparabenssiliconessulfates

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