6 Skincare Ingredients You Should Avoid at All Costs
We’ve all seen a new, exciting skincare product blow up in stores and all over social media — and we know how exciting it can be to hop on the new trend train. However, a lot of these products are not exactly known as ‘clean’ beauty products, and all the hype surrounding their release can cloud you from how damaging the ingredients of the product are for your skin.
No matter how pretty the packaging is, if the skincare product you’re using or are interested in includes these ingredients, leave it on the shelf.
1. Parabens
Did you know that about 70-90% of cosmetic products contain parabens? These are preservative chemicals that mimic estrogen and help give off a radiant, youthful appearance — but at the cost of your skin’s health. Parabens can be found in many major brands of makeup, moisturizers, and shaving creams, and have been linked to breast and skin cancer and are easily absorbed, causing them to spread throughout your body.
Before choosing a product, make sure the label reads ‘paraben free’, and check the ingredients list to be sure.
2. Phthalates
Wonder how your foundation sticks to your skin so well? You can thank phthalates — not a Greek god, a group of chemicals used to increase the flexibility of plastics in cosmetics.
Phthalates have been known to be extremely troubling for children (resulting in its ban from children’s products), and have been documented as endocrine-disrupting and birth defect-causing substances.
3. Fragrances
Your favorite cleanser may smell like eucalyptus, but does it actually contain eucalyptus? If a skincare company lists "fragrance" as one of their ingredients, they aren't required to disclose the actual chemicals that make up this fragrance.
This means that the calming or enticing scent in your product could be any number of irritating chemicals that can harm your skin — or even cause asthma, allergies, and hormone disruption.
4. Formaldehyde-Releasing Preservatives
Here’s a pro tip: formaldehyde has no place in your skincare. Yet, many cosmetic companies get away with adding this colorless, strong-scented, and flammable gas to their products. How? By disguising it as one of these ingredients:
- DMDM hydantoin
- Diazolidinyl urea
- Imidazolidinyl urea
- Methenamine
- Quaternium-15
- Sodium hydroxymethylglycinate
- Bronopol (2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1, 3-diol)
- 5-Bromo-5nitro-1,3-dioxane
That’s a lot of words — so you may want to screenshot this list and bring it to the store with you!
5. Petrolatum & Lead
We wish we were kidding with this list of ingredients, but we’re not. Petrolatum contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and exposure has been linked with cancer, skin irritation, and allergies.
Lead is used in a wide variety of makeup products, and it’s a neurotoxin. This means that lead can cause behavioral and learning problems, like a lowered IQ.
6. BHT
Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) is a cocktail of synthetic antioxidants that are used to extend the shelf life of many cosmetic products. They are also likely carcinogens and hormone disruptors that may cause liver damage.
Gain Back Your Glo With Our Team
If this list of products made you question what ingredients are in your skincare products — we don’t blame you. Luckily, our team at Glo & Glam is here to help you find the perfect routine for your skin that won’t cause damage.
Check out our services online, and contact us today to book your first consultation!