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In most places across the globe, skin care products are manufactured in accordance with some sort of a regulatory framework that ensures the standardization and safety of the ingredients used and the end products. We search long lists of best skin care products online, shortlist according to our perceived needs and then finalize a few that fit within our budget to take care of our needs. We have varying end goals in our minds at different points in time, like to moisturize, prevent acne, avoid blemishes or marks, delay aging signs, etc. One situation we always try to avoid and mostly don’t even see coming is when the very products we’re using for protection or beneficial properties end up hurting us and causing damage instead of any good. It comes as a surprise to most people but some personal care and beauty products end up doing just that. Instead of preventing the signs of aging they start escalating them and rather than protecting us they start making us sick. There are certain ingredients in products like conditioners, shampoos, moisturizers, sunscreens and whatnot that are actually detrimental to your health and general appearance. It is due to these concerns that we bring to you an elaborate list of risks that may be inherent in your personal care shopping.
What kinds of risks are inherent to the shady product ingredients?
Not all risks are the same and there is a level of gradation within the potential hazards when the debate about specific ingredients is brought to the forefront. Before we can start pillorying specific substances for their possible dangers, we must understand what sort of calculation goes into the risk evaluation of the particular ingredients. Some risks associated with personal care product ingredients are still suspected and dreaded ones, others are proven and widely known. Others still are perhaps only guessed or put down as having to known to affect only a small minority of people. Whatever the intensity or proven level of threat for any particular risk, we believe that it should never be swept under the rug. We don’t second chances with our health and human life is far too precious to be betted on. Of course, the unwanted consequences of any such ingredient may be subjective depending on individual sensitivity, region, medical history or other specifics.
Catch those emulsifiers and nip them in the bud!
Emulsifiers are one such culprit responsible for taking away hydration from your skin leaving in dry and stiff. This in turn expedites ageing and wrinkles. These ingredients are added to your skin lotions and creams as binding agents because they help the water based and oil based ones bond such that you don’t always have to shake them before use. The cost of this convenience is really high though, in that the nurturing oils get absorbed in your skin while the water content eventually evaporates. The emulsifier layer however stays on as a soap like residue, resulting in the disturbing the natural pH levels of your skin. Every skin type has a natural pH value representing its level of alkalinity or acidity. Normally your pH levels with a healthy skin remain in the range of 4.5 to 5.3, meaning that in an ideal scenario your skin is slightly acidic. However, the emulsifiers are alkaline and the sticking of this this layer takes your skin into the range of 6 to 7 i.e. slightly alkaline. What this ultimately does is that your skin produces extra oil, as it is being made to work extra to return to its normal pH range, resulting in problems like rosacea, acne, redness, pimples, etc. Furthermore, a healthy pH range is also required for your skin to foster the production of lipids or healthy fats which are needed for natural skin repair and healing on a daily basis. Offsetting that balance deprives your skin of its natural protection mechanisms and leaves it defenseless. These bonding agents are so notoriously good at wreaking havoc that they also tend to bind with your skin’s natural oils. These natural oils are the actual protective barrier provided by healing lipids and once you wash them away, the skin left behind is completely dry and ripped off of the essential nutrients it needs for healthy function. The result is that signs of aging are accelerated as lines and wrinkles start appearing and forming on the surface of your skin. Most skin care products online have ingredient details provided in the online catalogues and it is absolutely necessary that you take a good look at what you’re about to purchase. In order to root out emulsifiers you should watch out the product labels that mention polysorbate, steareth, ceteareth, stearate, cetearyl, emulsifying wax or 1-4 dioxane among the ingredients.