How Healthy is your moisturizer?

Taking care of your skin can feel like a full-time job

When you visit a beauty counter, you are confronted with so many products making just as many promises. Rather than focusing on the promises that these products make, you should focus on keeping a promise to yourself: to use only the healthiest available products for your skin.

For many people, dry skin is a seasonal issue or related to geography. People reach for a moisturizer when they live in a dry climate or when winter rolls around, but dry skin can be an anywhere, anytime issue. Proper moisturizing not only prevents dry, flaky skin, but is also the first line of defense against fine lines and wrinkles.

Proper non-toxic moisturizing 

Dry skin can be tricky. While moisturizing products are essential to keeping dry skin at bay, don't forget about the other things you can do for it, too: drink lots of water; mind your nutrition; get your blood pumping; get plenty of rest; and don't spend too much time in a hot shower. With a mindful approach to skin care and life balance, your skin will remain healthy, happy, and looking its best.

 What to look for in a non-toxic moisturizer

When trying to find non-toxic products, make the job easier by looking for third party certifications like EWG Verified. If a company is willing to pay someone else to say they have passed a rigorous review, then trust that company.

While the FDA requires all ingredients to be listed on packaging labels, it’s not required for manufacturers or retailers to list them on their websites. At Essential Natural Brands (ENB), we promise to always list all our ingredients on both our website and our product packaging, both by their scientific names and common names.

Facial moisturizers are classified as cosmetics, which means the FDA imposes very few marketing regulations on manufacturers. Walk through the personal care aisles and you may be tempted to pick a moisturizer boasting argon or coconut oil on its label. While these are great ingredients, it is important not to take them at face value; there could be other not-so-great ingredients lurking in the formula. A quick survey of common moisturizers returned a long list of artificial and potentially toxic ingredients. Manufacturers then advertise the products with argon and coconut oil to make them seem natural or non-toxic.

How to spot a toxic product without having to memorize complicated language:

• Scan the ingredients for toxic red flag warnings like fragrance (phthalates) and artificial colors (carcinogens). If those are in the mix, there is a good chance other toxic ingredient are in there, too.
• Avoid products that contain ingredients that start with Ethyl-, Methyl-, Butyl-, or Propyl-, which tend to be parabens and glycols. 
• Not sure what ingredient goes with which INCI name? Pull out your smartphone and do a quick Google search!  
• Download the EWG’s wallet-sized “Shopper’s Guide to Safe Cosmetics” and keep it on hand for quick reference.

Don't forget to moisturize your body

While many of us focus on facial moisturizers, it is also important to moisturize the rest of your skin as well. Remember, your skin is your body’s largest organ! Here are a couple of ways that you can keep the rest of your skin well-maintained:

• Use Extra Rich Moisturizers – a good example is our BODY LOTION. Our lotion is free from artificial fragrances and full of organic oils and butters to moisturize your skin. Another great advantage of using a lotion such as OUR BODY LOTION is its ingredients have anti-inflammatory and skin calming properties.

The information in this article is for educational use, and not intended to substitute professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and should not be used as such.