List of Harmful Ingredients Found in Skin Moisturizers

According to Dr. Mercola (http://www.mercola.com/)

'if you can’t read or pronounce the ingredient, there is a high likelihood it should not be in your lotion or other skin care product.'

As it is the biggest organ, your skin is a big part of your health. Skin absorbs and excretes nutrients as well as toxins through the pores. Anything that our skin absorbes, enters our bloodstream and becomes integrated into the body tissues. Doesn't it make sense than - that what we put on our skin is just as important as what we put in our mouth (eat)?

Shopping at the health food stores is no guarantee that the products are free of potentially dangerous chemicals, sometimes even disguised as being natural.

And here's the list of ingredients, frequently found (because they're cheap and readily available, not to mention how easily deluted!) in moisturizers for men and women - in moisturizers for oily, dry, combination, as well as sensitive skin, in cosmetics and cleaners. This list is not complete, these are but some of the most common chemicals, potential toxins, used "for the sake of beauty":

• Acrylamide - chemical, frequently found in hand creams and facial creams. Laboratory researches linked it to mammary tumors.
  



• Dioxane is a coconut's synthetic derivative, found in the following compounds: ethoxylated alcohols, Laureth, PEG and Polysorbates. Dioxane is a very common ingredient in personal care products, easily absorbed through the skin. Carcinogenic.
  



• Petroleum products: mineral oil, paraffin, petrolatum make plastic-like coat over your skin, clogging pores, building-up toxins, slowing cellular development and disrupting hormonal activity. Possible results: dermatological problems, early aging signs, cause of cancer.
  



• Parabens are used as preservatives in (estimated) more than 13,000 cosmetic and skin care products. Because they are mimicking estrogen, they disrupt hormonal processes in body and interfere with endocrine system in the body. According to studies connected to cancer.
  



• Phenol carbolic acid might cause circulatory collapse, convulsions, paralysis, coma and possibly death due to respiratory failure.
  



• Propylene glycol can cause inhibited skin cell growth, dermatitis, skin irritation and kidney/liver abnormalities. Used as carrier in fragrance oils and as moisturizer in cosmetics products.
  



• Sodium laurel or lauryl sulfate (SLS), also known as sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) is found in over 90% of personal care blends as well as in garage floor cleaners, engine degreasers and car shampoos. Easily penetrates the skin and helps other ingredients to easily penetrate because it breaks down the moisture barrier of the skin. In combination with other chemicals SLS turns into nitrosamine, a potent carcinogen and a possible cause of hair loss. SLES is sometimes hiding behind the ingredient description "coconut derived" or "comes from coconut".
  



• Toluene (benzoic, benzyl) is a well known poison, harmful or fatal if swallowed, harmful when inhaled or absorbed through the skin and at the same time a common ingredient of most synthetic fragrances. Chronic exposure might affect a developing fetus, cause anemia, lowered blood cell count, liver/kidney damage. Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) also contains toluene.

Check the ingredients of all the beauty/personal care products. They might contain several chemicals from the list above that are possibly dangerous for your health.

Natural personal care products are supposed to enhance our wellbeing and ageless beauty. After all, they are food for our skin.

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