Why are mainstream moisturizers for oily skin ineffective, (and bad for your skin)?

If you have oily skin you know all about the difficulty of finding a good moisturizer for oily skin. We’ll explain why today and give you some options for oily skin moisturizers (that aren’t really moisturizers at all) that will work not only to moisturize your skin but also to improve your overall skin health.

There is a problem that is shared between many different moisturizers for oily skin. The problem arises because of the ingredients used in many of these oily skin products and oily skin treatments.

Most mainstream skin care products including moisturizers contain chemical ingredients which have often been developed in a laboratory. They also contain petrochemical ingredients which come from crude oil.

The result is that many of these ingredients found in so many skin care products including moisturizers for oily skin can be damaging to your health and for this reason organizations like the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics have been set up to combat the proliferation of dangerous and chemical ingredients in so many personal products such as skin care products and cosmetics.

However it’s not just the risk to your health from the use of chemical ingredients that is a concern. The other problem is that many of them do not work successfully, particularly for people with oily skin. Let us explain.

Here’s an example of a petrochemical ingredient found in many oily skin creams and oily skin cleansers that is not good for your skin. Mineral oil. If you look on the label of so many mainstream skin care products will see mineral oil listed there as an ingredient. It may not necessarily say mineral oil because mineral oil goes by a whole range of different names including petrolatum, liquid petroleum, petroleum jelly, paraffin wax, liquid paraffin, white oil, baby oil and a whole range of other names.

Mineral oil comes from crude oil and is actually a byproduct of the process of distilling crude oil. Mineral oil is exceedingly cheap and this is the major reason why it is found in so many skin care products and other personal and beauty products. Mineral oil is also commonly found in moisturizers.

If you search at the Cosmetic Safety Database you will find that mineral oil is linked to cancer, allergies and irritation to the skin, eyes and lungs amongst other things. Search out a Material Safety Data Sheet on mineral oil and you will see a range of hazard warnings for health.

Mineral oil, often in conjunction with other petrochemical products, is included in products such as moisturizers for dry skin as well is moisturizers for oily skin because it is so cheap. However mineral oil does not have any moisturizing properties of it’s own. Rather the intention is that the mineral oil will prevent moisture loss from the skin, and that principle is a good one, though mineral oil is not a good way to achieve it.

The way mineral oil is supposed to prevent moisture loss from the skin is by taking the skin with a thin layer of oil. As mineral oil does not readily penetrate the skin it remains on the surface of the skin, thereby helping to stop moisture loss.

However some mineral oil can be absorbed and once absorbed it can interfere with the absorption of vitamins into your system potentially creating vitamin deficiency problems.

Not only that but because mineral oil forms a thin film of oil on your skin it can clog the pores of your skin potentially leading to acne and other skin problems. If you have oily skin the last thing you need to do is to coat your skin with a film of mineral oil. And as well it inhibits the ability of your skin to eliminate toxins through the pores.

Examine the label of the oily skin moisturizers that you may use now to see if mineral oil, under its own name or a related name, appears there.

If mineral oil is not the best oily skin moisturizer then how do you find a good moisturizer if you have oily skin? The answer is not in moisturizing the skin but in creating better skin health that allows the skin to stay moisturized itself.

There are excellent natural skin care products which are very effective at moisturizing the skin but which do not use any chemical or petrochemical ingredients. The company that makes these products does not even make a moisturizer because all of the ingredients that produce a moisturizing effect are found in all their products.

There are many well-known natural ingredients which are known to be excellent at moisturizing the skin. Ingredients such as Shea butter, Babassu oil, avocado extract and the extracts of seaweed and sheeps wool all combine to actively moisturize the skin as well as promote better skin health, which itself in turn creates better skin moisture levels.

However it is rare to find skin care products that use these ingredients because they are much more expensive than ingredients such as mineral oil which costs almost nothing. However one company does produce extremely high quality natural skin care products which relies on these ingredients as well as many others to produce some of the best skin care products the world has known.

These products would be extremely expensive except for one thing. The company that makes them doesn’t advertise on television and so it is not necessary to factor a huge marketing budget into the price of the products and for this reason these excellent natural skin care products are extremely cost competitive with the big name brands of oily skin moisturizers that you see on the shelves. Read the rest of this entry

Why would the best anti aging moisturizer not be a moisturizer at all?

Are you looking for the best anti aging moisturizer? If so there’s a few things you need to know about anti aging products and in particular moisturizers.

There are a range of ingredients used in many mainstream skin care products such as moisturizers which are designed to moisturize but which in fact do not do so very successfully and may be harmful to your skin and your health. We’ll give you some examples today and explain why these ingredients are used and what alternatives you have to find the best anti aging face moisturizer, (and why it’s not actually a moisturizer at all).

Mainstream skin care products such as face moisturizers contain many petrochemical ingredients. This is nothing new,  and has been known about for a long time, and it’s easy to see if these ingredients are in skin care products that you may have now simply by looking at the label.

For example several of the petrochemical ingredients that are commonly found in many anti aging products are mineral oil and Propylene Glycol. Mineral oil, for example, is a byproduct of the distillation of crude oil. It is found in many products including baby oil. It is extremely cheap and in fact it is cheaper to buy mineral oil then it is to dispose of it.

Mineral oil is used in many products including anti aging facial moisturizers. It is intended to act as a moisturizer however it does not moisturize. What it does is to coat the skin in a very thin film of oil that is designed to prevent moisture loss. The principal is that if the skin has a layer of oil over it then moisture in the skin is unable to penetrate the oil and evaporate.

Mineral oil has no moisturizing properties of it’s own. And sadly mineral oil has been linked to a range of health problems including been described in Material Safety Data Sheets as a carcinogen. It is also described as being an irritant to the eyes, skin and respiratory tract.

Another ingredient that you may see on the label of any anti aging products you now use is Propylene Glycol. This too is a form of oil and is also intended to prevent moisture loss from the skin rather than moisturize itself.

The Cosmetic Safety Database links Propylene Glycol to cancer, developmental and reproductive toxicity, allergies and immunotoxicity and irritation to the skin, eyes and lungs. It also suggests concerns about neurotoxicity.

The best anti aging moisturizers do not use ingredients designed to prevent moisture loss but rather use ingredients intended to act in the skin to increase the ability of the skin to produce and retain moisture. There are many well-known naturally occurring plant ingredients which do this very successfully. For example many natural oils such as Avocado Oil, Shea Butter and Babassu Oil, all naturally occurring oils from fruits and nuts, have excellent moisturizing properties. And it’s not just natural oils that work to moisturize the skin. There are other natural ingredients which will also work exceptionally well to increase moisture levels in the skin rather than just preventing moisture loss.

For example there is one ingredient, used only in the very best anti aging moisturizers, which works extremely successfully at promoting improvements in skin health by increasing levels of skin collagen and elastin. This ingredient is called Cynergy TK and is extracted from the wool of sheep. By promoting overall skin health Cynergy TK improves skin moisture levels. It does this because healthier skin is better moisturized skin because it retains its ability to hold skin moisture better. Cynergy TK, because of its ability to increase skin collagen and elastin, improves overall skin health and this leads to increased skin elasticity which in turn leads to a reduced incidence of wrinkles.

Cynergy TK is only found, however, in a very restricted range of natural skin care products. These do not contain petrochemical ingredients. However they work far better to moisturize your skin as part of an overall anti aging routine. However if you’re looking for the best anti aging moisturizer we have to tell you that the company that makes these excellent natural skin care products does not make a moisturizer. The reason for this is simple.

All these ingredients mentioned above are a part of every product in their skin care range. All their products moisturize extremely effectively and for this reason there is no need for them to make a dedicated moisturizer. The best anti aging face moisturizer is not a moisturizer at all but is any of the natural skin care products products made by Xtend Life who make the worlds best anti aging products in general.

The reason that Cynergy TK is only found in such a small range of products is that it is extremely expensive. Mainstream skin care products use ingredients such as mineral oil because it costs almost nothing. Most of the budget from the big brand name skin care companies is spent on marketing, most of it on expensive television advertising. However Xtend life who do use Cynergy TK choose to spend their budget on product quality rather than marketing and so you’ll never see a TV advertisement for their products. The this reason chances are you’ve never heard of Xtend Life, but you need to.

Although they use the most expensive ingredients it is possible to buy their products are competitively priced because they choose not to spend on television advertising.

So if you’re looking for the best anti aging moisturizer we hope you’ve learned more about the sorts of ingredients you ought to look for on the label of your current skin care line and avoid. They do not work particularly effectively and have serious health concerns. There are excellent alternative products which are much less mainstream but much more effective, and completely safe to use. Read the rest of this entry