Herbal Skin Care Products May Not be What They Seem

Before you buy herbal skin care products, be sure to read the label of ingredients. If the product is manufactured in the US, manufacturers are not required to use herbs or plant-based oils. In fact, they can use the term on their labels and still include any ingredients that they want. Sometimes, the only thing herb-related about the product is the artificial plant-like scent. You don’t have to take my word for it. You can visit the website of the US Food and Drug Administration. They have an article about choosing safe cosmetics. They admit that they have been unable to regulate the terms that companies use. There advice is the same as mine. Read the label of ingredients. If you see a long list of chemical-sounding names, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Manufacturers are required to use the International Nomenclature for Cosmetics on the label. Because of that, coenzyme Q10 is ubiquinone and Shea butter is Butyrospermum Parkii. Beeswax is still beeswax and honey is still honey, but most of the names read like a foreign language. The easiest thing to do is to learn what ingredients to avoid. Herbal skin care cleansers should not contain ethylene oxide. It’s a petrochemical that combines with other ingredients to form cancer-causing Dioxane. The creams should not contain petrolatum, mineral oil or paraffin. They are not similar to the skin’s own oils, which we call sebum. They clog the pores and cause blemishes. They are prone to contain cancer-causing contaminants and they interfere with the skin’s natural rejuvenation processes. That means they contribute to an aged appearance. The cleansers should contain ingredients like olive oil and sea salt. Herbal skin care creams should contain oils that are similar to the skin’s own sebum, on a molecular level. For example, Shea butter is nearly identical. Grape seed oil is, too. It also has an additional filming ability that helps to keep moisture in, keep out dirt and grime. It makes an excellent base cream to wear under makeup during the day and speeds makeup removal at night. Everyone can benefit from an after-cleansing moisturizing cream. It’s just that most of the ingredients in lotions and creams on the market are not moisturizing. They leave a greasy feeling and that’s why many people don’t like them. If that describes you, simply remember to avoid petrolatum, mineral oil and paraffin. Those are the culprits. An excellent herbal skin care ingredient is phytessence wakame kelp. It’s a type of seaweed that has been used for centuries as a beauty preserver. Modern-day research has shown us why. There is a compound in the skin’s layers called hyaluronic acid. It helps to hold the layers together. One of the causes of an aged appearance is low levels of hyaluronic acid, due to increased enzymatic activity that breaks it down. Extracts from wakame kelp inhibit the enzymatic activity. There are dozens of other good herbal skin care compounds, far too many to list here. But, now that you know what to avoid, you’re ahead of the game.