What's in your skin care? Part 1

You look on the back of your skin care products and there is a list of ingredients you cannot pronounce.  The ingredients below came from a cleanser picked up from a Target in North Dallas.  I am not going to name this product because I would never recommend it to anyone since it has very few good ingredients.  I don't care that this company spends a fortune on marketing convincing people they are the best product on the market...in my honest opinion this is one of the worst products out there!!

The ingredients are not listed in the order on the product.

Acrylates Copolymer – Film former.  A thickener, absorbs skin secretions and reduces shine. 

BHT (Butylated Hydroxytolene) – Preservative and anti-oxidant in products, can cause allergic reactions. (a controversial ingredient).

Citric Acid – Astringent and anti-oxidant properties, adjusts the pH of product to prevent it from being too alkaline, low sensitizing potential.

Cocamide MEA – Fatty acid of coconut oil, used as a thickening/binding agent, foam booster when used with other cleaning agents.  (a controversial ingredient due to the manufacturing process)

Disodium EDTA – Preservative

Glycol Distearate – Surfactant made from glycerin and stearic acid.

Laureth-10 – Surfactant, emulsifying agent.

Lauric Acid – Found in coconut oil and laurel oil, anti-microbial properties, mild irritant, but not a sensitizer, can be comedogenic.

Methylchloroisothiazolinone – Preservative used to replace formaldehyde, sensitizing potential. (throw your hands up in the air and run away from this ingredient screaming)

Methylisothiazolinone – Powerful preservative, commonly used with methylchloroisothiazolinone.  Sensitizer and irritant when used in “leave in” products.  (throw your hands up in the air and run away from this ingredient screaming)

Niacinamide – Derived from Vitamin B3, increases ceramide and free fatty acid levels in skin, prevents moisture loss in skin, suppresses melanin from reaching the skins surface, some anti-oxidant and inflammatory properties.  (Good stuff!)

PEG 200 – Hydrogenated Glyceryl Palmate – Polymer with cleansing, emulsifying, and solvent action.

PEG-100 – Polyethylene Glycol, blended into a formulation to obtain a desired humectancy.

PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate – Polythylene glycol ethers of glyceryl cocoate (coconut oil).  Self-emulsifying emollient suitable for water based formulas.

Pentadecalactone – Synthetic cosmetic fragrance, strong irritant potential.  (throw your hands up in the air and run away from this ingredient screaming)

Polyquarternium-10 – Antistatic ingredient, film former, conditioning agent.

Sodium Lauroamphoacetate – Surfactant, conditioning/cleaning agent, film booster.

Sodium Myristoyl Sarcosinate – mild conditioning/cleaning agent, enhances penetration of other ingredients into the skin.

Sodium Trideceth Sulfate – Surfactant, cleansing agent, used as an emulsifier.

Sodium Laureth Sulfate – Derived from coconut oil, surfactant and emulsifier, gentle cleansing agent. Not the same as Sodium Lauryl Sulfate.

Tocopheryl Acetate – Vitamin E, antioxidant and skin conditioner.  (Good stuff!)

If you don’t see your ingredients listed here, they might be compiled in another future article, so keep checking back.  Feel free to send me an email listing the ingredients in your skin care products!

Part of this article was originally published by me on www.examiner.com on February 28, 2011.