The Surprising Ingredients Of Skin Care Products
The other side of this dangerous coin is for professionals who try to work with 100% organic toxic free products.  These are great because they do not contain the ingredients that we should all be more aware of putting in or on our bodies, however, they have never given any of my clients a "wow" factor with their skin.  There were no big visible changes happening and the results were only okay.  What clients want, and deserve, are products that do not contain harmful and irritating ingredients but that do contain strong and effective ingredients capable of creating real changes in the skin.  Fortunately with the general population becoming label readers and more ingredient saavy there are many "cross-breeds" of non-toxic, non-irritating, clinical/pharmaceutical grade skin care products.  Aestheticians should be aware of both the good and the bad ingredients in skin care products so they can effectively decide what is going to help their clients and what should be thrown out with the morning trash. There are four ingredients I feel should not be allowed in skin care products:1.  Sodium Lauryl Sulfate This is usually found in cleansers and is used as a surfactant (it makes bubbles).  This is highly irritating to the skin cells and causes a large amount of redness and inflammation in the skin.  It is also a leading ingredient in most heavy duty cleaners found in your garage and has been shown to raise nitrates in the body to an unhealthy level.
2. Â Propylene Glycol This is essentially anti-freeze and is a commonly used ingredient in skin care products. Â It is considered a severe skin irritant and also has a high level of neurotoxicity. Â I don"t know about you, but the idea of putting anti-freeze on my face just doesn"t sound like the sort of skin care I want to use!
3. Â Parabens Paraben preservatives have been used for a long time in many products and they are usually the long words at the end of the bottle that nobody can pronouce ending with the last four letters of "aben". Â I first became aware of the paraben issue while working with numerous breast cancer patients/clients. Â They are believed to mimic the estrogen our own bodies produce which creates an environment for estrogen dominant cancer to grow. Â Many breast cancer patients who have gone "paraben free" in their lifestyle have experienced a complete remmission from their cancer. Â Parabens have actually been found inside tumors they have removed from breast cancer patients. Â There is much debate over this topic but I believe it to be a guilty party to the significant rise in estrogen dominant cancers we have seen over the last two decades.
4.  Hydroquinone This ingredient has been prescribed and used in clinical skin care for many years.  It is used to even out the skin tone and to treat hyperpigmentation issues such as sun spots and melasma.  It is unfortunately also rated as the most toxic ingredient out of the four discussed here today.  It is essentially a bleaching cream, and yes, it does work.  It has also been banned for over the counter use in higher percentages and is primarily available by prescription, or as an ingredient in medical grade skin care lines which people can purchase and buy without a prescription.  Again, we have progressed beyond this in our skin care practices and we are now aware of so many other healthy and natural skin lighteners.  Practicioners who still use Hydroquinone (HQ) are simply outdated and do not know, or do not care about the danger they are putting their clients in who they recommend this to.
Obviously there are so many things to be careful of and that can be harmful to our skin and bodies beyond these four listed above.  I do think if you can find a skin care line without these ingredients then they are probably taking very careful measures to be safe.  As always, do your research and be a cautious consumer.  You don"t want to be stuck with a $200 bottle of face cream that is full of anti-freeze, parabens, and garage cleaners!  Find an educated, local professional to help you battle your way through the jungle of skin care in which we have become immersed. Talk to your friends, read reviews and never be afraid to ask for a complimentary consultation when trying to find an esthetician to help you find your own best skin!