I’m on a mission.
Did you know that there is a lot of dodgy stuff in our expensive cosmetics??
Apparently – apparently – there are no laws governing what ingredients cosmetic companies may or may not put into skincare products. That’s kinda scary when you consider that creams and lotions are designed to be absorbed into the skin, the largest organ of the body and our first defence against the outside world.
I discovered this after searching for a more natural approach to treating Little Man’s baby eczema. I’ve never bothered to read ingredients on my own skin products, but when it came to treating my boy’s skin, suddenly I wanted to know what Isopropyl Palmitate, Hydroxyethylcellulose and Propylparaben actually were. And that last one looks suspiciously like the word ‘paraben’ that shows up all over the place in baby products that advertise that they are ‘paraben free‘. Uh-oh, I’m not liking the look of this…
I found some scary results after a little more digging. And I mean just a little. Why have I never noticed this before? Now I know that all research is funded by someone, and I don’t really believe that any research these days is truly objective, so, while I’m taking this pretty seriously, I am also trying to be balanced about this and not go off the deep end.
I’ve always assumed that creams and lotions that supposedly help my skin (moisturise, de-wrinkle, cleanse, etc.) would naturally be good for me… but it seems not. Here’s a few Dangerous Cosmetic and Skin Care Ingredients. And a safety guide to cosmetics and skin care products.
It turns out Isopropyl Palmitate is not so scary after all. It’s an alcohol derived from coconut, and it softens the skin.
Hydroxyethylcellulose – also, not too bad. It’s used as a thickening/gelling agent to give a cream a good consistency.
Propylparaben I was right to worry about: It seems that this preservative has been found to be carcinogenic (cancer causing), to disrupt the endocrine (hormone) system, and to possibly affect immuno responses/allergic reactions. This was discovered in a large number of studies funded by various different bodies.
These are just three ingredients in a very ‘gentle’ and much-recommended dry skin cream. The more heavy duty treatments have even more scary-sounding ingredients.
So my mission is to make my own all-natural, preservative-free, weird-ingredient-free skin cream to use on my skin and Little Man’s.
Has anyone else tried this? I would love to hear about your experiences and get any advice!
These are a few websites I’ve used so far to guide me in my ingredients shopping:
Hippyshopper – Make Your Own Natural Moisturising Creams
Bright Hub – Recipe for Natural Homemade Hand Cream
A few ingredients have arrived in the post already, and I shall update you on my progress. Eek! Wish me luck!
OhSweetWhatever 
Stop making creams and get back to baking brownies woman!…
Agreed 🙂
And if you have too many brownies, my address is…
Never mind, I just printed the recipe.
If I fail miserably (Vee knows what my cooking skills are like), then I’ll put in (***beg***) for an order.
Cool!!! It’s such an easy recipe, you can’t fail. Well, not miserably, anyway!! Sometimes baking flops are the best because instead of proudly sharing them you get to eat the tasty (if unsightly) result yourself 🙂
Good luck, let me know how you get on…
Hey Sheila, have a look at Pure Thoughts, it’s a website selling only natural skincare which I use on my skin. I found that all those horrible parabens and SLS ingredients didn’t do my sensitive skin any favours and now I only use soap (yes, Soap) on my skin along with the moisturiser and scrub they have. All their products are free from all that junk you described and it’s safe for baby’s skin too. You might pay a bit more but they smell fantastic and you’re always left moisturised – I hardly use moisturiser because the soap is enough sometimes. Hope that helps!
Thank you! I’ve just had a quick look at their website and their products look amazing. Thanks for the heads up… It’s a shame these products aren’t better known.
Without the preservatives, the home made creams can go off quite quickly so you need to make small amounts frequently. This is what I’ve heard, not tried personally…..where do I get time to make my own, but I wish I did. Maybe I’ll look at Pure thoughts when I’ve finished here.
Yes, I will have to make small amounts. Although I have found a recipe that is simple beeswax and olive oil – apparently it has a good long shelf life (and shouldn’t be kept in the fridge like some others because the beeswax gets too hard).
Pure Thoughts only produces small jars of things and they have an expiry date on them so it’s good to know you’re only using what you need and it won’t go off in that time. The face scrubs and masques come in powdered form and you have to add a drop of water to activate it. A bit of work but good results. The creams are divine too…I should be paid for their PR work here! 🙂
That’s good to know. And yes, you should be paid for their PR! You clearly love their stuff. That’s always the best advert 🙂