An Ingredient in Your Skin Care Product Could Harm You
Most of the skin care products on the market today are harmful to the skin, and potentially harmful for the body.
Many women spend hundreds of dollars a year on skin care products and do not know that most of those
products contain ingredients that are harmful to the skin or cause cancer.

There are over 7000 ingredients manufacturers can use in skin care products, with 1000 known to be harmful and 900 known to cause cancer. Do we need to die to look younger?

Each skin care product contains an average of 20 ingredients, and every time you use it, you are putting on at least 20 potential allergens on your skin, preventing or reversing the benefit of the product.

According to Dr. Getz, of Dundee Dermatology in Dundee Illinois, "Most of the skincare products on the market today are not what they promise [they are] not good for you." 

Here are a few of the ingredients to avoid ..

Here we list a few ingredients which may be capable of causing skin damage with prolonged use, or are simply redundant.

Imidazolidinyl Urea and Diazolidinyl Urea: Used as preservatives to prevent bacterial growth although ineffective against fungi. Known to be a relatively common cause of contact dermatitis. Two trade names for these chemicals are Germall II and Germall 115. Germall 115 may release formaldehyde, a potentially toxic chemical. Potential for low level skin damage in the long term is unproven but appears likely.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate: A detergent common in shamoos and cleaners, where it is relatively safe due to short contact time. If exposure is prolonged is likely to cause skin irritation, dryness and other damage. In fact, sodium lauryl sulfate is sometimes used as a model skin irritant in the experiments where skin protectors are tested. Avoid products with sodium lauryl sulfate unless time of contact with the skin is very short. Even skin cleansers should rather be without it.

Mineral oil: petroleum derived hydrocarbons; used as inexpensive base in some products (less today that in the past). Is moderately comedogenic. Mineral oil may also interfere with normal perspiration and other skin functions.

Synthetic Colors: Whether synthetic colors are completely safe or mildly damaging in the long run is unknown. Since they serve no useful purpose, they are best avoided (except perhaps when avoiding them means foregoing an otherwise great product). They are labeled as FD&C or D&C, followed by a color and a number, e.g. FD&C Red No. 6 or D&C Green No. 6.

Synthetic Fragrances: There are over 200 synthetic fragrances used in cosmetics. There is no way to know which particular ones are in your product, since on the label it will simply say "Fragrance." Safety of most synthetic fragrances is an open question. Best to avoid them since they provide no skin benefits. True, it is good to have a nice smelling cream. However, apart from the questionable safety, fragrance may mask spoilage of your product, an effect you would want to avoid.

Ethanolamines (Monoethanolamine aka MEA, Diethanolamine aka DEA, Triethanolamine aka TEA): common pH stabilizers; when exposed to oxygen/air form nitrosoamines, which may be irritating and/or toxic. The amount of nitrosoamines formed during typical use of skin care products with ethanolamines is unclear.

Parabens (e.g. Methyl, Ethyl, Propyl and Butyl Paraben): Used as preservatives; inhibit microbial growth and extend shelf life of products. Methyl paraben may degrade releasing methanol, a potentially toxic chemical. However, the amounts of methanol that might be released from methyl paraben in skin care products are too small for any known systemic effects. Most people don't have an obvious skin reaction to parabens. However, more research is needed to determine whether they are truly nontoxic or may cause low level skin damage in the long term.

Nanoparticles: Nanoparticles are ultra fine particles that possess certain special properties due to their exceedingly small size. This may include the ability to accumulate in the body, possibly even via topical use, and the ability to trigger potentially harmful chemical reactions. As a result, some experts raise concerns about the use of nanoparticles is skin care and cosmetics. Currently, nanoparticles (such as titanium dioxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles) are most commonly used in sunscreens.