5 Skincare Ingredients to Avoid

Would you lotion-up with an industrial degreaser?  Or how about bathe in a potentially cancer-causing chemical? Sure, you're careful about what you put IN your body and only shop at your local natural foods market, but what about your skin care products? Many so-called "natural" and "organic" skincare products are filled with some not-so-natural ingredients. Unfortunately, "natural" and "organic" are the new buzz words for skincare that almost every manufacturer has slapped onto product labels in hopes that you wont turn the bottle around to read the back side.  

Apothena.com has made label-reading a whole lot easier, since we have already done it for you and have inspected every product before it reaches our shelves and your skin. We make sure that each product is only chock full of truly natural, good-for-you ingredients. The top 5 nasty substances, common in many "natural" products, are listed here, and ONLY here (You will not find any of the below ingredients in ANY skincare product offered at apothena.com). 

Too many "natural" and "organic" skincare products contain potentially harmful chemicals that makes us ask:  What's in your lotion?

Propylene Glycol - Very popular with the salon-formulated products, this industrial-grade synthetic chemical is alarmingly abundant in many "natural" products.  It is a known skin irritant and derived from petroleum. Can also be found in many grocery stores (such as in prepared baked goods and ice creams). In industrial settings, this chemical is used as a degreaser.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (also Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, and other "sulfates") - Although sometimes touted as "coconut-based" or "derived from coconut oil," this lab-created surfactant (what gives shampoo and shower gel lots of lather), is far removed from the tropical fruit that puts the colada in pina colada. Created in the high-tech era of the 1950's, this irritant is known for causing allergic reactions and is on the FDA's watch list as a possible cancer-causing agent. Other studies have found this drug to penetrate into the eyes and brain and cause cataracts in adults.

Methylparaben (also propylparaben and other "parabens") - This industrial-grade chemical is used as a preservative in many "natural" skin care formulas. Parabens are known to cause allergic reactions.  The EPA has also documented that paraben preservatives have endocrine-disrupting effects.

Artificial Fragrances (aka "parfum") - These scents are not natural, plain and simple. Have you every bought an "aromatherapy" candle and later discovered that the lavender fragance is just that: fragrance? Aromatherapy does not exist without essential oils. The chemical property of an essential oil is what created the "therapy." This cannot be duplicated by any artificial scent. Artificial fragrances are also used in many non-aromatherapy skin care products simply to mask the smell of those not-so-natural chemicals.

Artificial Colors (FD&C dyes, etc.) - Why ruin a perfect natural formula with blue dye? Artificial colors are used mainly for marketing purposes or to make something look "pretty." Most of the time, dyes are used in chemical-based skin care creams and lotions to mask the true color of the chemicals since they are not too appealing. 

Other common ingredients that you will not find at apothena.com: Paraffin, Petrolatum, Mineral Oil or other petroleum-derived substances; Urea, Germall (brand name of paraben-containing preservatives), PVP/VA Copolymer (common in mascaras), Solvents, Formaldehyde, Toluene, Phthalate, Acetate, EDTA....the list goes on and on.....

Only you can decide what product is right for you.  There is much controversy surrounding the chemicals listed above, and many claims exist on both sides of the spectrum. We have provided the above information for your reference only and do not certify to have all the answers when it comes to natural and not-so-natural ingredients.  At Apothena.com we just don't want to take any chances and have elected to not carry products containing the above ingredients, whether definitely dangerous or benign. We hope you will enjoy the many natural formulas that do not contain these questionable ingredients. We surely do!