𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐋𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐎𝐟 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫-𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐒𝐨 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐧
The general idea behind skincare is to help reduce the signs of aging while balancing your skin's PH to optimum health. To start, proper skincare is much more than just what you apply to your skin. It is also very important to instill good habits and routines into your daily life such as a well balanced diet, being active or exercising regularly, getting adequate sleep, reducing stress, limiting sun exposure, using clean skincare products, staying hydrated and keeping your skin clean.
There are many variables to keep in mind when deciding on a proper skincare routine. At times it is ideal to consult with a holistic skincare professional to understand your skin type and how to choose what is right for you. Our objective of this article is to share insights on different types of ingredients used in water based skincare products and specific reasons they can be an issue. Most water based formulations on the market require many ingredients just for texture that are questionable and in this article we are going to focus on preservatives and emulsifiers. The only reason they are used is to give products a creamy aesthetically pleasing look & feel we have all come accustomed to. There are so many other types of ingredients we can speak about but that is for another time.
If you have ever read the long list of ingredients on the back of your skincare packaging, on average 30% of them are only there to serve the purpose of how the formula’s texture looks and feels with no real benefit. To find out more about questionable ingredients and what their purposes are please checkout these useful sources Incide Coder &/or Environmental Working Group.
Emulsifiers themselves typically would not cause skin problems on their own. Issues arise when the emulsifier makes it possible for other skin irritants to penetrate deep into the skin. Using emulsifiers daily disrupt the skin's microbiota by penetrating through the skin's protective barrier while disrupting the skin's ability to hold onto moisture and other essential nutrients. They can also speed up the aging process particularly in people who have sensitive skin. In reality, emulsifiers should only be used sparingly in products where you actually want to remove oil or moisture from your skin, such as in cleansers.
To give you deeper insight, emulsifier properties are determined by a positive, neutral or negative charge. For example negative charged emulsifiers lead to disrupting the skin barrier, while positive emulsifiers can bind to keratin in the outer layer of the skin causing irritation. Neutral charged emulsifiers are less irritating, but can still lead to the loss of moisture in the skin. If too much is used over time your skin can lead to not being strong enough to be protected from environmental factors because nutrients that are needed for a healthy skin barrier become reduced and your skin becomes intolerant to ingredients that are there to help.
I am including some sources below with quite a bit of information. At the same time do your own research to find out about the ingredients in your own skincare products.
Here are some safe emulsifiers to name a few; Polyglyceral Oleate, Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate, Cetearyl Glucoside, Glyceryl Stearate & natural waxes such as Candelilla. *(There are others that are naturally derived and considered safe, so do some research or message us if you have any questions on ingredients not listed here. I am also including sources below that list ingredients both good & bad.
Another type of ingredient to be careful with is preservatives both synthetic and natural. Even the gentlest type can imbalance the skin's microbiota on some level. This is because preservatives not only target the bad bacteria that make creams, serums and moisturizers go rancid, but they also attack good bacteria that inhabit the skin. Just like emulsifiers, using preservatives on your skin daily can imbalance the skin’s PH and in the long term possibly assist in leading to skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, inflammation, skin allergies, general dryness and other skin issues.
A few types of preservatives that are considered very safe are Leucidal Fermented Radish Root, Salicylic Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Vitamin C, natural antioxidants (depends on different variables, types of antioxidants and use) & CBG. *(Sodium Benzoate & Citric Acid are also considered safe unless you have sensitive skin or allergies). Keep in mind with water-based formulations the shelf life should never exceed 12-18 months maximum.
Most skincare brands use these selling points to convince you that they are the bee's knees:
- Look & texture - to seem more aesthetically pleasing, brands make products filled with extra ingredients only to give it a creamy look & feel while your skin does not need or want them.
- Short term results - If you stop using their products, skin issues will re-arise shortly after not applying.
- Maximalism - Intended for you to use as often as possible while only providing you with short term benefits, so you need to keep buying and using as often as possible.
On the other hand our focus is to be a “truly clean” better-for-you skincare brand with these focuses:
- Active ingredients only - no fillers or any BS.
- Results driven - You will remain with noticeable positive affects by rebuilding your skin’s protective barrier, so your skin will learn how to maintain a well-balanced ecosystem on its own when not using products daily.
- Minimalism - long term benefits and each purchase will last you much longer than other products.
At Planted To Earth Vegan Skincare we are pushing the envelope while educating you to understand the foundations for proper skincare. To develop our products we search all over the world to find the highest quality ultra pure results driven, plant-based organic ingredients to formulate all of our products WITHOUT the use of additives, emulsifiers, texturizers, scent modifiers, synthetics or any extras.
Just as you shake an ALL NATURAL beverage before drinking it, we are using the same mentality like with one of our shake before use face serums. We are on a mission to provide healthy formulated products while becoming a number one source to educate the skin professional & consumer to have truly healthy skin from the inside out.
Sources:
https://www.byrdie.com/toxic-beauty-ingredients-4782646
https://www.geniesupply.com/blog/2021/10/25/formulate-with-natural-emulsifiers
https://www.safecosmetics.org/chemicals/
https://wendypolisi.com/skincare-ingredients-to-avoid/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7407418/
https://www.esmiskin.com/blogs/esmi-skin-central/preservatives-in-skincare-what-you-need-to-know