3 Common Skincare Ingredients to Avoid
The skin care industry is continually evolving and it feels as though we are seeing more and more ingredients and product formulations launched into the industry each and every day. This can make choosing the right product and formulation for your skin difficult as we navigate our way through the myriad of HYPE.
One thing remains true LOVESKIN products are blended with the minimum of ingredients, always all natural and skin loving. We won’t introduce ingredients just to improve the texture, colour or fragrance of a product . We’ll only include ingredients that improve the performance on the skin.
Although denatured alcohol isn’t toxic at the levels needed for cosmetic formulations, it can cause excessive dryness and disturb the delicate balance or homeostasis of the skin. Some studies suggest that denatured alcohol when used on the skin, may cause breakouts, skin irritation, and increase inflammation.
Apart from water, which is essential for all known micro-organisms to grow, organic matter, such as vegetable oils, waxes and butters, protein/amino acids, and organic based active ingredients, may act as nutrient source for a wide range of bacteria. Therefore, all water based cosmetic formulations should contain some form of preservative action in order to ensure that micro-organisms do not cause any problem for the consumers.
The challenge is that preservatives can lead to skin irritation and barrier impairment. Not only this, but there are so many common preservatives used within cosmetic formulations, that it can be challenging to decipher what is good and what is bad.
Because the majority of LoveSkin products are oil based, only one of our products requires a preservative. We’ve chosen a preservative that is both naturally derived and proven to be moisturising for skin.
Sodium Lauryl Sulphate or SLS: Sodium Lauryl Sulphate is a conventional emulsifier and is perhaps one of the most commonly used in skin care, make up and other personal care products. When used in cosmetic formulations, SLS dissolve the intercellular lipids that make up the skin barrier structure and in doing so, accelerate the movement of trans-epidermal water loss from the skin and this is one of the reasons why emulsifiers are avoided in our LoveSkin formulations! Our blends include skin loving oils and lipids bound together using blending and heat based methods, so they don’t require an emulsifier.
For our body sorbet we choose an all natural, vegetable derived emulsifier, proven to be moisturising and gentle enough for all skin concerns.
The foundation of everything we do at LoveSkin is based on the principles of Corneotherapy. Corneotherapy focusses on working with and repairing the stratum corneum, otherwise known as the skin barrier, the outermost layer of the epidermis, to improve the function of the deeper skin layers.
By working with formulations free from alcohol, preservatives and damaging emulsifiers, our products rebuild, repair and strengthen our skin barrier for optimal skin performance, naturally. At strong skin barrier will facilitate and ensure the repair of 90% of skin conditions.
One thing remains true LOVESKIN products are blended with the minimum of ingredients, always all natural and skin loving. We won’t introduce ingredients just to improve the texture, colour or fragrance of a product . We’ll only include ingredients that improve the performance on the skin.
Alcohol
Alcohol is widely used in cosmetic formulations as a solvent – meaning that it allows for actives to ‘get into’ the skin. As well as being a solvent, alcohol is also a ‘drying agent’ used in many toners and other skin care products designed to ‘mop up’ oil. Not all alcohols are created equally though… Denatured alcohol — often abbreviated as “alcohol denat.” or “SD Alcohol” on an ingredient list, shows up not only in many skin care products.Although denatured alcohol isn’t toxic at the levels needed for cosmetic formulations, it can cause excessive dryness and disturb the delicate balance or homeostasis of the skin. Some studies suggest that denatured alcohol when used on the skin, may cause breakouts, skin irritation, and increase inflammation.
Preservatives
Any cosmetic formulation that contains water – such as most creams, gels and lotions – have the potential for bacteria, yeast, and moulds to grow, spoiling the product and rendering it unsuitable for use. Bacteria can break down ingredients in a product, making it less stable and less effective, as well as posing some serious health risks.Apart from water, which is essential for all known micro-organisms to grow, organic matter, such as vegetable oils, waxes and butters, protein/amino acids, and organic based active ingredients, may act as nutrient source for a wide range of bacteria. Therefore, all water based cosmetic formulations should contain some form of preservative action in order to ensure that micro-organisms do not cause any problem for the consumers.
The challenge is that preservatives can lead to skin irritation and barrier impairment. Not only this, but there are so many common preservatives used within cosmetic formulations, that it can be challenging to decipher what is good and what is bad.
Because the majority of LoveSkin products are oil based, only one of our products requires a preservative. We’ve chosen a preservative that is both naturally derived and proven to be moisturising for skin.
Emulsifiers
Emulsifiers are widely and very commonly used to bind water-based ingredients with oil-based ingredients to form a stabilised, creamy suspension, ie a cream. Unfortunately, cleansing the skin “reactivates” these emulsifiers, causing them to dissolve our natural barrier lipids. Over time this can lead to skin sensitivity due to the breakdown of the first lines of skin barrier defence or what we refer to as the “wash-out effect”. There are many types of conventional emulsifiers that are used within cosmetic formulations, and some can be incredibly harmful to the health and function of the skin.Sodium Lauryl Sulphate or SLS: Sodium Lauryl Sulphate is a conventional emulsifier and is perhaps one of the most commonly used in skin care, make up and other personal care products. When used in cosmetic formulations, SLS dissolve the intercellular lipids that make up the skin barrier structure and in doing so, accelerate the movement of trans-epidermal water loss from the skin and this is one of the reasons why emulsifiers are avoided in our LoveSkin formulations! Our blends include skin loving oils and lipids bound together using blending and heat based methods, so they don’t require an emulsifier.
For our body sorbet we choose an all natural, vegetable derived emulsifier, proven to be moisturising and gentle enough for all skin concerns.
The foundation of everything we do at LoveSkin is based on the principles of Corneotherapy. Corneotherapy focusses on working with and repairing the stratum corneum, otherwise known as the skin barrier, the outermost layer of the epidermis, to improve the function of the deeper skin layers.
By working with formulations free from alcohol, preservatives and damaging emulsifiers, our products rebuild, repair and strengthen our skin barrier for optimal skin performance, naturally. At strong skin barrier will facilitate and ensure the repair of 90% of skin conditions.
