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Not all beauty products are created equally. While there are many made with a blend of nourishing and hydrating ingredients, there are others made with lesser ingredients that may strip your skin of its oils and leave it coarse and dry. As we get older, it becomes increasingly important to use skincare products made with the right ingredients, because using the wrong products can quickly deteriorate your skin, leaving you with signs of aging that are hard to erase.
Next time you’re shopping for your next facial cleanser, pay careful attention to the ingredient list. Make sure to avoid all of the items on this list – at all costs.
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Mineral Oil
Most of the time, oils in skincare products are beneficial to hydrating the skin and helping it retain that moisture. However, mineral oils take this a step too far. They can make the skin too moist, which can eventually cause certain cellular processes to work less efficiently and lead to drier skin that is less equipped to protect itself from damage. Mineral oils may also be listed as paraffin oil, liquid paraffin, paraffinum liquidum, liquid petroleum, petroleum oil, petrolatum, petrolatum liquid or white oil on ingredient lists.
Synthetic Fragrances
Scented skincare products can be refreshing to the senses, but they can also be detrimental to the skin. Fragrances are more often than not achieved through chemicals that can also leave you with unwanted side effects. These synthetic scents can aggravate, damage or sensitize the skin over time. You might not see these effects right away, but frequently using products with synthetic fragrances can harm your skin over time and make it more susceptible to signs of aging.
Alcohol
Most alcohols used in skincare are ingredients you don’t want to use. They often dry out the skin, which in turn destroys the surface and strips away the natural oils your body needs to protect your skin. Pay careful attention to any alcohol used in beauty products, because some may be okay to use. Don’t use anything listed as SD alcohol or isotopic alcohol, but cetyl alcohols are okay to use. These are fatty acids that don’t cause dryness.
Parabens
Parabens act as preservatives that allow cosmetics to survive for several months, but they have some unwanted results for the skin. They can disrupt hormones within the body, leading to skin irritation. Plus some experts believe that parabens can elevate cellular damage caused by UV rays, which may severely harm your skin in the long run.
