Powerful Skincare Secrets You Need to Know

This post was updated on 27/02/23

Looking after your skin is an extension of self-care. It can be a relaxing process to start and end your day. However there are some powerful skincare secrets you need to know, to make sure you are making the right decisions. That sounds harsh, how about not all skincare products are good for your skin?

This is a further post to An Introduction to Self-Care for Your Body

Did you know up to 60% of what is put onto your skin, is absorbed into the body? So we need to ensure what we put onto our skin is going to nurture it. Have you ever read the ingredients list of the products you use? Do you know what the products are? Maybe you don’t know what they are but you put them on your skin. The other scary aspect is when you start to investigate some of the ingredients and the potential risks of them. That’s also scary.

Parabens

Parabens have been found in breast cancer tissue. Up to 60% of what you put on your skin is absorbed, remember. So that’s enough for me to no longer want to use products containing parabens. Look on your products to see if it has an ingredient that ends with the word paraben. look out for are butylparaben, methylparaben and propylparaben.  Parabens are believed to disrupt hormone function by mimicking oestrogen. Too much oestrogen can trigger an increase in breast cell division and growth of tumours, which is why paraben use has been linked to breast cancer and reproductive issues. (Elle)

Sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS)

Mainly found in items that are formulated to clean our skin, teeth and clothes, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) is an ingredient that is added to skincare and other everyday products. It’s main aim is to create a foam or lather in our products and is great as a cleaning product. It is also well-known to be an irritant when left on the skin for prolonged periods of time. By affecting the everyday function of skin proteins, this leads to damage of the outer layer of skin which helps to cause cracked, dry and tender skin. Additionally, SLS in shampoo and other hair products can often ‘sit’ on hair follicles even after washing, resulting in weakening of the hair follicles over extended periods of time.

Is it safe?

Surprisingly, SLS is deemed as being ‘safe to use’ by many regulatory bodies such as The Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association (CTFA) and The Cosmetic Ingredient Review Panel (CIR). In recent years, it has picked up a considerable amount of attention across the internet with rumours of it being linked to cancer, however, there has been no evidence that SLS is linked to this in any way.

I define self-care as any activity that individuals does for themselves, to protect, maintain, develop and improve their health and wellbeing. So if self-care is an activity that nourishes your body, in this case your skin. It is important to ensure that we use products that do nourish and benefit our skin. The best way to do this is to keep the products as natural as possible. Paraben, SLS and harsh chemical free.

Have you ever read the ingredients list on your products? It can be quite scary.

I’ve found this so interesting, that I’m thinking of getting more involved in this area. Would you like to find out more? Register your interest on this link.