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Does Good Skin Care Require the Elimination of Fragrances?

01/14/2008

Sometimes figuring out which skin care products are helpful and which are going to damage the skin can be all but impossible. Although there are several ingredients that are known to be toxic and have been widely published as such, if you checked the ingredients in 10 different skin care products would probably still come up with a list of 50 or 60 ingredients you’ve never heard of and know nothing about. So, which skin care products should you choose to avoid toxicity and skin damage?

Assuming that you choose a skin care product that doesn’t contain the big ones – propylene glycol, mineral oil and petroleum - if you had to choose just one other ingredient to eliminate it would be ‘fragrance’.

Of all the ingredients used to make skin care products, fragrance is the most likely to cause a reaction. On the skin, that reaction will most likely be allergic contact dermatitis — redness, rashes, bumps and sometimes blisters – but your skin is not the only area of your body that may be affected.

A study done some years ago on a brand name perfume found it to contain 41 ingredients known to be carcinogenic, toxic to the skin, respiratory tract, nervous and reproductive systems. Although only one product was analyzed, the author of the study said the product was no different than any other mainstream brand.

Also, although a label may simply say ‘fragrance’, that fragrance could have been formulated using up to 5,000 different chemicals, only 20% of which have been safety-tested by the FDA.

If you have sensitive skin you definitely want to avoid ‘fragrance’ of any kind, but you also have to realize that using those products can actually cause sensitivity – in other words, if you didn’t have sensitive skin before you used them, you will afterwards.

Fragrance is found in perfumes, shampoos, conditioners, hairspray, shaving cream, make-up, baby care products, deodorants, soap, and just about every household cleaning or laundry product on the shelves. To be safe, choose products marked "fragrance-free" or "without perfume." Don’t choose something labeled "unscented” as that often means a fragrance was added to mask the scent of other ingredients or chemicals.

If you’re not willing or able to totally give up fragrances, there is one skin care product that is an absolute must - a shielding lotion. A good shielding lotion bonds with the outer layer of the skin to form a protective layer that keeps out chemicals. It can help prevent the absorption of the fragrances and the reactions they make provoke. Fragrance free household and natural skin care treatment  products are best but if you’re not going to use them you should, at the very least, ensure you’re protected with a shielding lotion.

Technorati Tags: skin care, skin care treatment, skin care product, natural skin care, shielding lotion

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