More and more people are looking at food labels and are concerned about making informed choices about the food they eat. It's all well and good to look at what we eat, but we mustn't forget to pay attention to what we put on our bodies... The skin, the largest organ in our body, absorbs the various substances we apply to it. The choice of our cosmetic products should therefore not be neglected!
The key to success lies in analyzing the ingredients in your favorite cosmetic products. The nomenclature on cosmetic product labels won't make your task easy! Here are some tips to help you see things more clearly and make good choices.
Analyze your products
Before purchasing a product, check out the list of toxic ingredients to avoid and search by ingredient on Skin Deep . Carry this cheat sheet with you, it might help. Why avoid toxic products in your cosmetics? The answer is here.
Beware of false advertising
Marketing in the beauty industry is very aggressive. Brands claiming to be natural and organic aren't necessarily the best choice. Many companies that advertise themselves as being natural or organic hide harmful ingredients in their products. In addition to misleading marketing, they charge high prices for products that aren't necessarily of high quality. It's therefore important to take the time to examine and analyze their ingredients as well.
And what about the big, well-known brands?
Big cosmetic brands often charge a lot for a product, but they don't necessarily offer quality. They often contain water as the main ingredient and esterified oils (e.g., Caprylic Capric Triglyceride) or those from the petroleum industry. Esterified oils originate from chemically modified vegetable oils combined with alcohol. They offer a texture comparable to vegetable oils, without the properties or active ingredients. To learn more about this, check out this comprehensive article .
Synthetic active ingredients, such as synthetic vitamin A (retinyl palmitate on the label), are considered high risk on Skin Deep , but are added to cosmetics as antioxidants. They also definitely contain fragrance, a highly toxic ingredient that should be avoided whenever possible.
By replacing high-quality ingredients with synthetic ones, skin care companies save a lot on production costs, but they don't offer the best to their customers.
So here are some points to help you quickly analyze your product:
1- What is the main ingredient? Water, aloe, or hydrosols? A product containing aloe or hydrosols is more hydrating and active, depending on the properties of the hydrosols used, than a product containing only water. Especially when you consider that a moisturizer is largely made up (between 70% and 85%) of an aqueous phase (water, aloe, or hydrosol).
2- Is the product based on vegetable oils, esterified oils, or mineral oils? Mineral oils (e.g., petrolatum) come from the petroleum industry, and esterified oils, as mentioned above, are modified vegetable oils. To learn more about the effects and impacts of using mineral oils, see this article .
3- Are the oils penetrating and of good quality? For example, jojoba, argan, avocado, or apricot kernel oil are highly prized for their excellent properties (essential fatty acids, vitamins, antioxidants, etc.) and the fact that they are very well absorbed by the skin. Olive, sunflower, and coconut oils are often used in cosmetics and have great properties, but leave an unattractive oily finish and are not necessarily compatible with delicate facial skin.
4- Ideally, choose products made from organic vegetable oils . The methods used to produce organic oils are stricter and produce higher-quality oils. Consult this article to learn the difference between organic and industrial oils.
5- Does the product contain one or more active ingredients? Is it of natural or synthetic origin? This last point is more or less obvious to the consumer, but by reading the label you will be able to read flower oil, flower extract , leaf extract . These ingredients are plant extracts, so they are natural. The most frequently used anti-wrinkle ingredients (effective and non-toxic) will be mentioned under ubiquinone, sodium hyaluronate, peptides, etc.
6- Does the product contain toxic ingredients like PEGs, parabens, or fragrance? Watch this short interview with biologist Lise Parent to learn more about these toxic ingredients.
Here is an example of the list of ingredients of a product that claims to be natural:
Aqua/Water/Eau, Lippia Citriodora Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Glycerin, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Isononyl Isononanoate, Dimethicone, Glyceryl Stearate, Peg-100 Stearate (3) , Sorbitan Stearate, Squalane, Cetyl Alcohol, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Mangifera Indica (Mango) Fruit Extract, Fagus Sylvatica Bud Extract, Betula Alba Leaf Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Extract, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Hypericum Perforatum Extract, Nasturtium Officinale Extract, Olea Europaea (Olive) Leaf Extract, Trifolium Pratense (Clover) Flower Extract, Silybum Marianum Fruit Extract, Retinyl Palmitate (9) , Tocopherol, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Stearic Acid, Carbomer, Polysorbate 60 (3) , Myristyl Myristate (3) , Myristyl Laurate, Carnosine, Bisabolol, Tromethamine, Lecithin, Butylene Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Disodium Edta, Ilex Paraguariensis Leaf Extract, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Peel Oil, Ferula Galbanilua (Galbanum) Resin Oil, Santalum Album (Sandalwood) Oil, Hexyl Acetate, Citrus Nobilis (Mandarin Orange) Peel Oil, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Ethyl Acetate, Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Oil, Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Oil, 3-Hexenol, Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) Root Oil, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Oil, Geranyl Acetate, Allyl Caproate, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Fruit Extract, Cananga Odorata Flower Oil, Amyl Cinnamal (7) , Linalool (5) , Linalyl Acetate, Beta-Ionone, Geraniol, Citronellol, Gamma-Undecalactone, Benzyl Acetate, Cis-3-Hexenyl Acetate, Styrax Benzoin Resin Extract, Phenoxyethanol (4) , Potassium Sorbate, Citral (7) , Limonene (6) .
* Items in bold are followed by their Skin Deep rating, which determines the ingredient's level of health and environmental hazard. See the following article for more information on Skin Deep.
Our analysis:
- The main ingredient is water… How much would you pay for this product?
- It contains vegetable oils (safflower and sunflower) which are not necessarily fine oils to be favored in a facial product.
- The oils are not listed as organic
- The product contains several ingredients that have been assessed at medium to high hazard levels according to Skin Deep
Here is an example of an anti-aging cosmetic from a major international brand:
AQUA / WATER• GLYCERIN• ALCOHOL DENAT (4) • DIMETHICONE (3) • BUTYLENE GLYCOL• DIPROPYLENE GLYCOL• SILICA• PAEONIA SUFFRUTICOSA EXTRACT / PAEONIA• SUFFRUTICOSA ROOT EXTRACT• CARBOMER• ZINC PCA (3) • METHYLSILANOL/SILICATE CROSSPOLYMER• SODIUM HYALURONATE• SODIUM HYDROXIDE (3) • AMMONIUM POLYACRYLDIMETHYLTAURAMIDE / AMMONIUM POLYACRYLOYLDIMETHYL TAURATE• DISODIUM EDTA• PROPYLENE GLYCOL (3) • HYDROXYPROPYL TETRAHYDROPYRANTRIOL• CAPRYLOYL SALICYLIC ACID• CI 77891 / TITANIUM DIOXIDE• MICA• LINALOOL (5) • GERANIOL (7) • EUGENOL (7) • COUMARIN (7) • LIMONENE (6) • CITRAL • CITRONELLOL (5) • BENZYL ALCOHOL (5) • PERFUME / FRAGRANCE (8)
Our analysis:
- It contains a large amount of toxic products, including perfume.
- The main ingredient is water.
- This product contains only 7 non-synthetic ingredients.
A product that contains quality ingredients and requires special preparation will be a little more expensive than one filled with cheap ingredients...but not necessarily! Perhaps you're paying for the brand? Also, buying directly from the producer rather than from a brand distributor will allow you to get a better quality-price ratio.
To practice, why not analyze Pravi products?
Catherine Bastien
Co-founder – Pravi natural cosmetics