Gone are the days that women purchase personal care products based on pretty packaging and free-from claims. Today we’ve gotten smarter, we know flipping a bottle over and reviewing the ingredients is a key driver on whether or not we head over to check out with that same item. Scanning an ingredient list helps us better understand what we’re using on our skin giving us the peace of mind we need. But often what’s listed on the back of the bottle are fancy chemical terms we’ve never heard of. So let us help – here are two common ingredients that are often used that can be synthetics that aren’t so good for the skin.
PARABENS
Parabens are not natural, so you’ll never find them in beU by ORGANO skincare products. But they are common and used in many personal care products in the market which is why it’s important to know how it might show up in an ingredient listing. Generally, parabens are used as a preservative –protecting products from growing harmful bacteria and mold and ultimately spoiling products. However, the verdict is still out whether or not parabens have long term health risks as the research is limited, this is usually determined by the percent used which can vary from product to product, but if you ask us, we’re not willing to take any chance and is why we only use natural ingredients, the safest solution with no health risk at all.
Common names to look out for: butylparaben, methylparaben, propylparaben, ethylparaben
Usually listed as methyl-, butyl-, and propyl-paraben
SULFATES
Sulfates, like parabens, are synthetic ingredients often found in a wide range of personal care products like facial cleansers, shampoo and body washes. In facial cleansers the sulfate acts as a surfactant which is when water and oil soluble compounds are mixed together with water and result in a foamy substance that is used to spread around the face. Women are quite familiar with this as we get this result with both our facial cleansers and shampoos –after all the greater the foam, the more effective the product, right? Well, not necessarily. Often it comes at a cost. Think about it – sulfates are part sulfur, which comes from petrolatum…not exactly something we want to use on our skin. But sulfates also come from lauryl alcohol which is derived from coconut oils –which is a natural ingredient. So the key is to look out for the synthetic sulfates known to be irritating to the skin or scalp versus the ones from natural ingredients.
Common names to look out for: sodium lauryl sulfate, ammonium lauryl sulfate, and sodium laureth sulfate
Our advice, if you’re not sure about an ingredient, don’t use it. At beU, we’re all about obtaining that foam-like-feeling the o’natural way. And remember, just because something doesn’t foam does not mean it doesn’t work – lucky for you there’s 100% natural ingredient products like beU by Organo so you don’t need to be a scientist to understand what’s good for you, beU removes the guesswork for you.
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