Skincare products – What are the ingredients listed in yours?

Do you know what ingredients are in your favorite skincare products?   Have you ever flipped over the bottle to look at the product ingredients listed on the back?

If the answer is no, I highly suggest you do!

Did you know that on the back of your products the ingredients are listed in order of most abundant to least?  Did you know that the first ingredient can make up anywhere between 70-95% of the entire product!  It is TRUE!

If I look at the back of my old facial wash, I can see that the first ingredient, the one that makes up the greatest amount of the product is WATER! Water is the first thing listed on the back of my skincare product ingredients!

WATER

I am paying $27 for a facial cleanser that is 70-95% water? Like the water that I can get out of my bathroom sink faucet. Water… that just blows my mind! In addition to the water, there were some others on the list like alcohol, petroleum, sodium lauryl sulfate, dimethicone, fragrance, yellow, red, and blue dye.

Skincare products ingredients (the bad stuff)

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS)

Another fun thing I see listed on my skincare product ingredients list is sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS)!  SLS is LITERALLY horrible! It is used in engine cleaners, degreasers, industrial car washed, dish soap stuff like that. You are using an ingredient on your face that is used to clean the grease off a car engine!  What the heck is that about???  Why is it even in the product you ask?  Well, it is what makes the product foamy or bubbly, so if you think about it, it is also probably in your shampoo and in your toothpaste and anything else that you use that gets foamy or bubbly!!   It is linked to eczema, dermatitis, skin dryness, itching, irritation, allergic reactions, other skin issues, canker sores, and other mouth sores (from the toothpaste).

Dimethicone

Dimethicone was also listed as an ingredient.  What is dimethicone?  It is a silicone-based skincare product, which helps to fill in fine lines and wrinkles. Sounds great right??  I mean in theory who doesn’t want their fine lines and wrinkles filled in?!?! The downfall to filling those fine lines and wrinkles in with silicones is that they will plug up your pores causing acne and other skin breakouts.  Exactly what we are trying to avoid am I right???

Artificial colors and fragrances

Artificial colors and fragrances are some other ingredients listed on my skincare product.  These are often made from petrochemicals (petroleum), coal tars, and heavy metal salts… all things that do not sound like they are going to be good to use on one’s face or body!! They are skin irritants that lead to redness, rashes, hives, headaches, psoriasis, and dermatitis (just to name some)!

So, to recap, I am spending $27 on a face wash that is 70-95% water, which I can get out of my bathroom faucet for next to nothing, and then the rest of the products’ ingredients are pore-clogging, drying, congesting, irritating and just plain not good for my skin! Seems like a new product is what is needed for my skin!!

Now I am asking you to go check your skincare products ingredients listed on the back of the facial wash you use!