These Ingredients Are Best Avoided on Your Skin

Are you applying a host of chemicals to your skin daily, perhaps without even realising it, through your use of creams, shower gels, or body lotions? It's unnecessary, as there is now a wide range of natural cosmetics available that protect your skin, enhance its beauty, and are less harmful to the environment. Do you think your skin deserves a well-earned break? Head to your bathroom and take a critical look at the ingredient lists on your skincare products. We guide you on what to look out for if you prefer cleaner and more effective cosmetics.

What is Natural Cosmetics?

Many cosmetic brands appear 'green', but they are not. There is no law that defines what natural cosmetics are. A manufacturer can label a product as ‘natural’ by adding just one or two natural ingredients, creating the impression that the entire product is natural. What does provide some assurance is a certification, which is awarded to products meeting certain standards. Natrue, Ecocert, and BIDH are certifications that stand for environmentally friendly natural cosmetics. Well-known brands with such certifications include MÁDARA, Dr. Hauschka, and Weleda. Even without certification, natural cosmetics can be safe and effective, although you may need to do a bit more research to find product information.

Why Switch to Natural Cosmetics?

The products currently in your bathroom or bedroom might work perfectly fine. However, there are several reasons to switch to natural cosmetics. If your skin is very sensitive and irritated, natural cosmetics can support your skin's healing power and help restore its natural balance. Many cosmetic products contain ingredients like parabens, phthalates, microplastics, and preservatives. Some of these ingredients regularly cause skin irritation, while others are harmful to the environment.

Preservatives, Parabens

Preservatives are added to prevent a product from becoming full of mould and bacteria within days. Methylisothiazolinone is one such preservative. It can cause allergic reactions, with symptoms like itching, hives, redness, and eczema. Dermatologists warn against methylisothiazolinone as the number of patients reacting to this substance has rapidly increased in recent years. Parabens are also preservatives, identifiable by their names ending in -paraben, such as methylparaben, ethylparaben, butylparaben, and propylparaben. Parabens are popular with cosmetic manufacturers because they are colourless, odourless, and inexpensive. If you are sensitive to these preservatives, this can result in redness, bumps, swelling, flaking, and itching. Parabens can also penetrate the skin to some degree when used in cosmetics. They have been found in human tissue. Like phthalates and UV filters, parabens are mentioned in relation to their hormone-like effects.

It's more complex and costly to develop a stable product without preservatives. Fortunately, nature offers a range of preservative substances without safety concerns. Especially in baby products, unnecessary risks are best avoided. With baby products from Naif and MÁDARA, you can be sure they are free from PEG, SLS/SLES, phenoxyethanol, and parabens.

Sulfates and PEGs

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) are strong cleansing agents added to shampoos, shower gels, facial cleansers, soaps, bubble baths, and toothpastes, as well as dishwashing liquids and all-purpose cleaners! These two sulfates remove oil and dirt from your skin and make your product lather well. The downside of SLS and SLES is that they can dissolve the natural oils on the skin. This damages the natural skin barrier, leading to irritated and dry skin, and can also cause breakouts. SLS is particularly irritating to the skin. It is used in low concentrations to provoke irritation, allowing manufacturers to test the soothing effect of cosmetic ingredients. Moreover, SLS is harmful to aquatic life.

Of the two sulfates, SLES is the slightly milder variant for the skin. However, if your skin is sensitive, it is better to avoid SLES as well. Additionally, SLES has another issue. Some products containing SLES have a small amount of 1,4-dioxane as an unwanted by-product. Another synthetic ingredient in cosmetics where contamination with 1,4-dioxane can occur is polyethylene glycol (PEG).

Legally, 1,4-dioxane is not allowed in cosmetics. However, a random test by the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority found that half of the cosmetic products with PEG (polyethylene glycol) contained 1,4-dioxane. When using a natural cleansing product, it might take some getting used to if your shampoo or facewash foams less. But it's unnecessary to cleanse excessively and strip away the natural oils and moisture that your skin needs.

Eco-friendly and Cruelty-free

The production of natural cosmetics takes the environment into account. Products are free from microplastics – tiny particles found in scrubs, face creams, toothpastes, and lipsticks. These particles contribute to the plastic soup in oceans and are harmful to fish and other sea creatures. Microplastics in a product can be identified by the word 'poly' in the ingredient list, such as 'polyethylene' or 'polymethyl'. The aforementioned certifications guarantee that your product contains no microplastics. Some sunscreens contain the UV filter oxybenzone, which endangers marine life and coral reefs. In principle, both natural and conventional brands sold in the Netherlands are cruelty-free, as animal testing for cosmetic products is banned in Europe. Since 2013, there has also been a trade ban on cosmetics recently tested on animals. However, this does not mean cosmetics are 100% cruelty-free. Many ingredients have been tested on animals in the past. Some major cosmetic brands no longer test in the EU but continue to do so in other countries like China, where they market their products. This country requires foreign cosmetic brands to conduct animal testing when exporting their products to China.

Natural Cosmetics Are Very Much of the Moment

The days when natural cosmetics were sold in brown glass jars with plain labels are long gone. Natural cosmetics are trendy and happening. There are natural brands that exude pure luxury. Anti-ageing creams, toothpaste, deodorant – there is virtually no cosmetic application without a natural variant. You can also find make-up free from synthetic fragrances and preservatives, mineral oils, silicones, and PEG, with ingredients that are sourced from controlled organic farming wherever possible.

View all our natural cosmetic products here

Author: Sanne van der Rijt