Stop word: Suspicious cosmetics ingredients
In the modern world of endless supply, the idea of informed choice has recently become particularly popular. But whether he became conscious is another question: we are at the mercy of our own vanity, fashion, clever and not so much advertising, and so on. When it comes to cosmetics - let's be honest - most often, sort out the composition and find out what all these complex names mean, just laziness. Another approach is possible - to decide that all "chemistry" is equally harmful and start trusting only those banks that say "organic" or "100% natural ingredients", or even switch to honey masks and baking soda scrubs. It is important to find a middle ground, and not to succumb to hysteria and destructive perfectionism. So conscious choice is quite possible; the main thing is to understand what is right for you.
In terms of the ineffectiveness of the ingredients - first of all, it concerns face products - you should pay attention to their potential comedogenicity, allergenicity, and whether they can provoke irritation or give another negative effect. Potentially comedogenic ingredients contribute to the pollution of pores, the appearance of inflammation: acne, black spots and acne. There are many lists on the Internet with ingredients ranked according to the degree of skin absorption. For example, like this. We chose a number of the most popular substances, the action of which is important to understand, and turned to Tatyana Al Sabunchi, Candidate of Medical Sciences, cosmetologist and dermatologist at the Time of Beauty clinic, for comments.
A lot of ingredients that fall under the suspicion of "harm" are used everywhere - for the sake of interest (and not only) you should look at the tools that are already on your shelves. There is a high chance to find one of the most common ingredients in the care cosmetics - sodium laureth sulfate, without which not a single foaming product can dissolve dirt and oils. For example, shampoo or foam for washing. Laureth sulfates, indeed, are included in almost all shampoos, but it is hardly worth stopping to wash your hair because of this. As cosmetologist Tatiana Al Sabunchi explains, “there must be some kind of solvent in washing in order to wash off all impurities and oil on the surface and clean the skin well. Severe contamination is washed off with oil, but it softens it more likely, mixes with it, helps cleanse the skin. However, oil is not suitable for everyone, it can also be comedogenic, so it is worth alternating between the types of purification among themselves. " Due to its sharp effect and ability to dissolve all the oils on the skin, laureth sulfate can provoke the skin to produce even more fat. Those whom it does not suit, you can try cleaning with oil and hydrophilic oils. It is worth considering that the portability of natural oils is individual, and the popular, for example, olive oil is usually rated as comedogenic - therefore it is not suitable for everyone. Among other common ingredients that should be treated with special attention, various alcohols, to which it still comes, or highly allergenic red dyes D & C # 3, # 17, # 19, # 21, # 27, # 30, # 36, # 40. However, in small quantities, even they can be transported calmly. Squalene (squalene), oils with a high content of oleic acid (oleic acid), lanolin (lanolin), soybean oil (soybean oil) and algae (algae) stand in the same row.
The comedogenicity of the ingredients is not an established value: each person’s skin is individual, and therefore, when choosing means, one should focus on the history of skin sensitivity in the past. Even the pores of dry skin can be subject to pollution, and oily skin can easily carry high-mediated oils. It must be remembered whether any ingredients caused an unpleasant reaction, and if so, whether they are contained in the list of comedogens. Different ingredients can change their degree of comedogenicity depending on processing, purification and method of preparation. Take, for example, squalane and squalene: both are made from the same raw material and are used as moisturizing ingredients, but the first is a hydrogenated version of the second.
Contrary to popular belief, not all alcohols dry their skin.
In addition to comedogenicity, you need to pay attention to the allergenicity of the ingredient. It is a little simpler here: sensitive skin is likely to be better if you choose odorless and colorless products. "People with sensitive skin, in addition to dyes, should also avoid essential oils and any perfume compositions," recommends Tatiana Al Sabunchi. Do not be deceived by the "pleasant tingling" of mint masks - for sensitive skin, menthol and mint are strong irritants. And do not forget about spirits, which, contrary to popular belief, not all dry skin. Medical alcohol is not their only form, alcohols are used to moisturize the skin and even as a binder. Alcohol emollients from the comedogenic list are well suited for dry and normal skin. Alcohol disinfects, if you take it in the right proportions. Oily and problematic skin tonic with alcohol, most likely, will do, but they should not be used every day twice - it can dry out the skin on the surface and not remove its fat content, since the alcohol itself does not have a seboregulatory property. Alcohols can be used as a disinfectant if there is inflammation, for example, after cleansing the skin. There is a whole list of alcohols that should be avoided: isopropyl alcohol (isopropyl alcohol), denatured ethyl alcohol (SD alcohol, denatured alcohol), ethanol (ethanol), methanol (methanol), ethyl alcohol (ethyl alcohol), methyl alcohol (methyl alcohol) , polyvinyl alcohol, and benzyl alcohol, if it is at the beginning of the list of ingredients.
Allergic and comedogenic reactions can also be caused by chemical sunscreens such as oxybenzone (oxybenzone), so it is best to use sanskrins with reflective substances like titanium dioxide and zinc oxide (zinc oxide). Recall, sunscreens are divided into physical, reflective radiation, and chemical, absorbing it. The composition of the funds may include only one or only others, but it is better when they are together. "It is better if the components protect against both UVA and UVB rays: the former cause burns and irritation, and the latter lead to skin diseases. Titanium dioxide is a neutral popular ingredient, its particles do not penetrate the skin and do not have an irritant effect, but simply lying on the surface like small mirrors and reflecting radiation, ”the cosmetologist advises.
Another stumbling block is silicones, parabens and mineral oil. More specifically: dimethicone (dimethicone, polydimethylsiloxane), cyclomethicone (сyclomethicone, decamethylcyclopentasiloxane, cyclopentasiloxane), petrolatum (petrolatum, petroleum jelly), mineral oil (mineral oil), glycerol (shells) (), body oil (), body oil (), body oil (for example, sheath) (-), (shee) (-), sheath (-), (-), (-), shea oil (), (in addition to sheath) (-), shea oil (), (in addition to shear), (shee) (-), shea oil (), body oil (), body oil (), body oil (in addition to sheath) (-), (shee) (-), (shee) (-), shea (-) body oil (), body oil (glycerin), body oil (shee) (-), body oil (glycerin), body oil (glycerol, petroleum jelly); , rosehip oil, hempseed oil, jojoba oil, squalane, sodium pyrrolidonecarbonate (sodium PCA), panthenol (silicone).
Contrary to the powerful movement of recent years in their conviction, cosmetologists still agree that these ingredients are rather neutral, and their presence in face products should not have negative consequences. The Beauty Brains blog regularly answers the same question of whether petroleum jelly clogs pores and causes cancer (the short answer is no, cool petroleum jelly, an excellent moisturizer, but the degree of purification must be high). On the set of tools for the face, especially organic, necessarily written "without parabens." However, funds that do not contain them are stored much worse, and there seems to be no research that directly proves their harm.
The danger of parabens and silicones is a question that is rather in the field of marketing. Tatiana Al Sabunchi reassures: “There is nothing wrong with silicone. You can’t confuse a cream with silicones: it is very delicate in texture, it fits well on the skin. In addition, silicone is one of the most inert products in cosmetology. It is very good gives everything that is mixed into it, creates a pleasant gliding texture. Creams based on vaseline, glycerol or lanolin are different in that these substances penetrate the skin themselves, while vaseline is successfully used for many years. The same applies to parabens: when they were removed from composition to Eats, they became worse, began to deteriorate faster, and the substances they are trying to replace them with do not give proper results. Now manufacturers are trying to return to parabens, because in the concentrations in which they are contained in products, they do not pose a danger. " .
Even the most natural ingredients can be individually intolerable.
The listed components of cosmetics are surrounded by many prejudices, such as "if it is impossible to read the name of the substance the first time, this is definitely harmful chemistry." It should not be forgotten that the majority of “chemistry” somehow has a completely natural origin, and even the most natural ingredients can be individually intolerable. Many more natural remedies, unfortunately, due to the lack of preservatives are stored for a short time and should be used rather quickly. You should not sweep everything in the store with the words "organic" and too trust another advertisement of a large cosmetic corporation - just like any advertisement in general, if it comes to that. There are different approaches even among cosmetologists: someone chooses more natural products, someone calmly treats parabens and silicones. “You can’t say categorically that a particular drug is bad,” says Tatiana Al Sabunchi. “Cosmetics always need to choose the one that suits skin type and components. I’m in favor of choosing cosmetics individually, although it’s better not to use cheap products “Still, producing good money is costly.”
Large corporations really invest expensive technologies in the available funds, simply because they can afford it. But you should always remember that an individual intolerance in a person can cause anything, even the products of an expensive brand, and a cream of an unknown or democratic brand - on the contrary, it is good to approach. To better understand what suits your skin and what does not, smart smart beauty blogs will help you on a daily basis. The only universal advice is not to save too much, and also be attentive to how your body reacts to cosmetics, and carefully study the list of ingredients of the product to which you are intolerant. As with everything in the world, the main thing is to know when to stop and not to panic. Therefore, here is a cool sketch about cosmetologists who will help you to look at everything with humor.