Can you really believe everything you read? When it comes to selecting skin care products, the answer might surprise you. A debate rages on as to whether products containing all natural ingredients are really better than those containing synthetic ingredients. With both sides of this issue taking a firm stand, and publishing ‘official’ report after report, it is the consumer who most often becomes lost in the maze of unfounded marketing promises and supposedly ‘guaranteed’ results.
Are skin care products with natural ingredients better?
This seems to be the million-dollar question, literally. Skin care product manufacturers right now are spending millions of dollars researching everything from alfalfa to yucca in an attempt to not only gain a competitive edge, but to grab more of consumers’ dollars.
With marketing departments working overtime, manufacturers of skin care products work hard to cleverly combine catchy phrases, attention-grabbing packaging and testimonials from ‘experts’ in the field of natural product research and development. The end results of these efforts are expensive moisturizers, cleansers, shampoos, masks, exfoliants and cosmetics that claim to work miracles on your skin, safely, and most importantly, naturally.
But are these claims true? Once again, that depends on which side of the fence you’re on when it comes to supporting natural products versus synthetic products. Before you take a side on this hotly contested issue, there’s one very important fact that you need to know. The federal government has yet to define guidelines and regulations governing use of the term, ‘natural’. That means marketers can use the term any way they choose, irregardless of the ingredients used in their products or the manufacturing processes used to produce those products.
Although a skin care product might very well contain natural products like aloe or vitamin E, what you’re not being told is that the processes used to extract these components often utilize many synthetic materials. And even once natural ingredients are extracted, they’re usually combined with synthetic products such as preservatives and stabilizing agents that help prolong shelf life.
One of the biggest risks involved with using natural ingredients is the potential for an allergic reaction. Lots of people have food allergies, so putting products containing plants or plant extracts on their skin may increase the risks of an allergic reaction. And even if a full-blown allergic reaction doesn’t occur, natural ingredients often cause skin irritation and/or sensitivity. Focus more of your attention on putting natural ingredients into your mouth and not onto your skin. One thing everyone can agree on is that eating a diet loaded with antioxidants and vitamins is extremely beneficial to healthy skin. The body is very efficient at processing natural foods and using the blood stream to transport these nutrients to the skin.
Find a skin care product line you trust and that works well with your skin type. Then become a loyal customer of that product line. Your skin will be happier as a result.
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