Although the answer to the question proposed by the title of this article should be quite clear, to most it is still doubtful that natural products can provide us with the same effect as the ones that come from the science laboratories of large cosmetics producers. However, the one thing that we tend to overlook due to the flashiness of the commercials and the shiny packaging is the fine print that tells us the list of ingredients that we apply onto our skin, and in some cases, those tend to do us more harm than good. So in order to better understand why switching to natural skincare products is essential not only for your skin but the overall health of your body, here are some well-grounded explanations.
The key is knowing what you apply to your skin
Don’t believe everything you see or read. Most of the tests performed by the large corporations are on a limited amount of participants, which if you pause a commercial you can read in fine print at the bottom of your screen. Instead go to the toilet, get your products out and start reading the listed ingredients on some of your favorite products. If the following culprits are found on the ingredient list, it would be advisable to remove that particular product from your daily routine.
Parabens – found in a large number of cosmetic products, these widely used preservatives possess estrogen-mimicking properties that are associated with increased risk of breast cancer.
Synthetic colors – take a look at your product label and if you notice FD&C or D&C, that means that your skin care product contains artificial colors. F — representing food and D&C representing drug and cosmetics. These substances are derived from petroleum or coal tar sources and the European Classification and Labeling considers it a human carcinogen so they have been banned by the EU.
Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) / Sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) – found in 90% of cosmetic and home cleaning products these substances are known to cause skin, lung, and eye irritation, and when combined with other chemicals can even be cancerogenous.
These are just some of the ingredients that you should avoid in commercial skin products. The list also includes triclosan, formaldehyde, toluene and numerous others, usually in trace amounts.
Heal your skin don’t hurt it
Your skincare products should help your skin stay healthy and not harm it in any way, shape or form. By choosing sensitive skincare products that are of natural origin and contain nourishing and protective ingredients you are helping your skin and not damaging it. This is essential, in nature, there are numerous ingredients that can be quite beneficial for your skin without the need of adding any artificial chemicals. For example, coconut oil possesses numerous beneficial properties for your skin, from strengthening underlying epidermal tissue and removing dead skin cells to protecting us from sunburns. Not to mention additional antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and antioxidant properties.
(Here is a link to an in-depth article about the many benefits of coconut oil for those of you who want to learn more.)
Along with coconut oil, you have such ingredients as tea tree oil, apple cider vinegar, and raw honey, all of which can do wonders for your skin without harming it in any way. So if you want to protect your skin and keep it youthful and glowing for the years to come you should look for skin care products containing some of these great natural ingredients, just make sure none of the above listed dangerous chemicals make it onto the ingredient list.
Be conscious of your environment
This is a hidden benefit of switching to natural skin care products. Not only are you protecting your skin from the toxic chemical you are doing the same for your environment. Just think, everything you put on your skin gets washed away with water and can end up in our rivers and oceans, not to mention in the spoil. So instead of enriching the environment with toxic and non-degradable chemicals, with natural products. You are simply returning what you have taken, and thus preserving the environment and not damaging it.
So there you have it, natural cosmetics do not only keep your skin healthy and beautiful it also protects your environment. The calculations are quite simple, you wouldn’t willingly choose ingredients that are potentially cancerogenic, would you? So why would then you choose to apply products to your skin which are filled with exactly those type of ingredients? Think about it.