Toxic Ingredients to Avoid When Buying Body Care Products and Cosmetics

The beauty products including lotions, lip balms, shampoos and other products that you apply to your skin can be as beneficial or toxic as anything consumed inside the body. The conventional beauty products contain toxic chemicals that result in clogged pores and thus we start facing several skin concerns including premature skin ageing and wrinkles. On the other hand, organic products contain natural extracts and are light on the skin. It reaches deep into the skin cells and repairs the damaged ones. Thus, organic products are more safe, gentle and potent on the skin.

We all know that whatever we apply on our skin gets absorbed into our bloodstream. Therefore, it is important to choose the right products to nourish the body from the inside and out. Unknowingly, we might be using products containing harmful chemicals that might be damaging the skin in a lot of ways we cannot even imagine. And the results appear on the surface until years later.

Here are a few toxic ingredients you should check on the label of the product and avoid when buying body care products:

Parabens

This is the most commonly used chemical ingredient since it helps preserve the shelf-life of products. However, this particular ingredient can disrupt our fragile hormonal balance. It is also linked to severe health issues such as breast cancer and can lead to fertility and reproductive issues. Parabens can be seen on the label as ethyl parabens, butyl parabens, methyl parabens, and propyl parabens.

Found in: A variety of body and personal care products such as face washes, shampoos, body wash, night cream, facial masks, body lotion, etc.

Artificial Fragrances

Almost all the body care products and cosmetics contain some artificial fragrance or perfume mixture to give the product a pleasant scent. However, with a pleasant scent comes allergic reactions. It triggers respiratory conditions and causes asthma. Furthermore, artificial fragrances can also lead to neurotoxicity, dermatitis. It can be seen on the label mentioned as parfum.

Found in: Moisturisers, face creams, body lotions, body washes, soaps, shampoo, and conditioner, etc.

SLS & SLES

Sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium Laureth sulfate can be found in more than 90% of personal care and cleaning products. It is used to produce foam and lather in products. These surfactants contribute to skin, lung and eye irritation. Furthermore, it can disrupt the skin’s natural oil balance and widely contributes to cystic acne concerns, especially around the mouth and chin area. It can be seen on the product’s label as sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and Laureth sulfate (SLES).

Found in: This ingredient is used to create foam, hence, it is mostly found in shampoos, body washes, face washes.

Phthalates

It is a plasticizer and is added to plastic to prevent it from becoming brittle. Phthalates help products retain scent and colour, hence, it is frequently used in personal care and body care products. However, this ingredient just like parabens is linked to reproductive issues. It results in hormonal imbalance, birth defects and can also cause breast cancer. It can be seen on the product label mentioned as dimethyl phthalates, diethyl phthalates, and dibutyl phthalates.

Found in: It is most commonly found in body lotions, moisturizers, and other personal care products.

The above-listed ingredients should be avoided while buying body care products and cosmetics as it can result in several health concerns. However, you can rely on organic beauty products as they are free of parabens, phthalates, SLS, SLES, and artificial fragrance. When it comes to switching to natural and organic products, you can trust Organic Harvest as we ensure transparency concerning ingredient safety. Furthermore, the personal care and body care products at Organic Harvest restores your skin’ health keeping it soft, supple and imparts a glow from within.