When you’re reading product ingredients, how many can you recognize or say you actually know? The number is probably very small, because aside from basic things like water, fragrance and maybe some extracts, we don’t really understand what kind of ingredients go into our skincare products.
Our skin absorbs a great deal of what we put on it, so whenever we moisturize, exfoliate or cleanse with harmful ingredients we don’t know, we are letting them all into our body; which could potentially cause irritation or some other kind of skin condition.
Natural based and organic ingredients, on the other hand, are meant to support and enhance our body’s natural characteristics in a gentle but effective way, thus preventing any skin issues. Sensitive skin types can especially benefit from switching to an organic skincare routine.
With that said, you’re probably wondering which ingredients are organic or natural. Look for plant and fruit extracts, acids and oils that haven’t been chemically treated or enhanced; and try to avoid pesticides, synthetic chemicals and petrochemicals like some of the most used ones in skincare which are parabens, formaldehyde, phthalates and propylene glycol.
The trick is to never buy your skincare products on a whim but to always read the ingredients first. Something to keep in mind is that ingredient lists on products always appear in order of highest use, so make sure that the first ingredients are always organic; usually, products that avoid harsh chemicals state it in the packaging, you might have seen the phrases “paraben-free” or “sulfate-free” before.
One of the few downsides that organic products used to have was their low accessibility, because you could only find them in very expensive or unknown brands, but nowadays more and more organic product ranges are making their way into our local drugstores and with services like Spa de Soleil’s Certified Organic line, anyone can venture into the world of natural skincare.