If you were sent to live on a desert island and could only
bring one beauty product with you, what would it be? I would probably pick soap. But if I was allowed to bring two things, it
would be soap and a good moisturizer. Moisturizer
helps to prevent and heal dry, cracked skin, and provides a protective barrier. A good moisturizer will give your skin a
healthy glow and is one of the most important aspects of any good beauty regimen.
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| Image Source: iClipart |
The Problem
At the beginning of the year, I was actually using three
different moisturizers. For my face, I
was using Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisture with Sunscreen. For my body I used Aveeno Daily Moisturizing
Lotion. And as a new mom, I had begun to
notice a lot of little wrinkles developing around my eyes, so I decided I
needed a specialized cream designed exclusively for the eye area. The most affordable one I could find was L’oreal
Eye Defense – priced around $15 for just half an ounce!
One of the things I’ve learned this year is that all these
different types of moisturizers contain basically the same types of
ingredients, so paying up to (or above) $30 an ounce for a so-called specialized
moisturizer is really just a rip off.
Especially when you consider that some of the ingredients may not be
completely safe:
- Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisture with Sunscreen (SPF 15) has a rating of 6 (moderate hazard) in the EWG’s SkinDeep database.
o
It includes Polyparaben and Oxybenzone, both of
which are considered High Hazard ingredients, and have been linked to endocrine
disruption.
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It also contains the questionable ingredients
Octinoxate, Diazolydinyl Urea (a Formaldehyde Releaser), Triethanolamine,
Ethylparaben, Methylparaben, PEG-100 Stearate, and Dimethicone, all of which
have been rated as Moderate Hazard ingredients for various reasons, including
endocrine disruption, allergies, organ system toxicity, and ecotoxicology.
- Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion has a rating of 2 (low hazard), which is actually not too bad. Still, it could be better, because it does contain some Moderate Hazard ingredients: Benzyl Alcohol, Petrolatum, Distearyldimonium Chloride, and Dimethicone.
- And my $30 per ounce “affordable” eye cream, L’oreal Eye Defense, has a rating of 6 (moderate hazard), because it is chock full of parabens, which have been linked to endocrine disruption: Propylparaben, Butylparaben, Ethyl Paraben, and Methylparaben. It also contains Propylene Glycol, which is rated as a Moderate Hazard ingredient due to allergies, organ system toxicity, and enhanced skin absorption.
I decided to come up with a way to moisturize my face and body with as few ingredients as possible. Almost all moisturizers contain at least two
types of ingredients: humectants and
emollients (Gabriel 2008). Humectants
attract water into the skin and help it to “plump up”. Emollients help prevent water from leaving
the skin, and also help to maintain the skin barrier, heal cracked skin, etc.
Since humectants are by definition water attractant, and
emollients are typically oily, they don’t naturally mix together. Therefore, in order to create a lotion containing
both types of ingredients, emulsifiers are needed to blend the water loving and
oil loving ingredients, and stabilizers need to be added to keep the formula at
a uniform consistency.
Water is almost
always one of the first ingredients listed on any moisturizer. It helps provide the proper texture and also
acts as a penetration enhancer (Gabriel 2008).
Typically once water is added to any beauty product, it becomes
necessary to either refrigerate the product or add preservatives, otherwise the
water will breed harmful bacteria, viruses and fungi.
Unfortunately, most of the preservatives that
keep harmful microbes at bay (Making Cosmetics, Inc.) are classified as Moderate to High Hazard
ingredients in the EWG Skin Deep Database (see summary table below). While there are some Low Hazard natural preservatives available, their antimicrobial activity is not as effective as most of the more widely used, broad spectrum synthetic preservatives (Making Cosmetics, Inc.).
Preservative
|
Skin Deep Rating
|
Hazard Level
|
Methylparaben
|
4, Limited
|
Moderate
|
Ethylparaben
|
4, Limited
|
Moderate
|
Propylparaben
|
10, Limited
|
High
|
Butylparaben
|
7, Limited
|
High
|
Imidazolidinyl Urea
|
6, Limited
|
Moderate
|
Diazolidinyl Urea
|
6, Limited
|
Moderate
|
Methylchloroisothiazolinone
|
5, Limited
|
Moderate
|
Methylisothiazolinone
|
5, Limited
|
Moderate
|
Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate
|
4-6, Limited
|
Moderate
|
Methyldibromo Glutaronitrile
|
7, Limited
|
High
|
Sodium Benzoate
|
3, Fair
|
Moderate
|
Chloracetamide
|
8, Limited
|
High
|
EDTA
|
2, Fair
|
Low
|
Phenoxyethanol
|
4, Limited
|
Moderate
|
Triclosan
|
7, Fair
|
High
|
DMDM-Hydantoin
|
7, Limited
|
High
|
Quaternium-15
|
8, Limited
|
High
|
Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE)
|
3, Limited
|
Moderate
|
Rosemary Extract
|
0, Limited
|
Low
|
Tea Tree Oil
|
0, Limited
|
Low
|
Neem Seed Oil
|
0, Limited
|
Low
|
Thyme Oil
|
0, Limited
|
Low
|
Vitamin E (Tocopherol)
|
1, Fair
|
Low
|
Vitamin C (Asorbic Acid)
|
0, Fair
|
Low
|
It's not that it's impossible to find a safe, effective, commercially prepared moisturizing lotion. There are plenty listed in Skin Deep. The problem is that most of them are a little pricey, and I feel like it's more cost effective just to purchase the raw ingredients myself.
I could try making lotion at home and keep it in
the fridge, but that requires an extra level of time and research that I'm not willing to invest at this time. I’m already making my own hairspray, sunscreen, bodywash and
laundry detergent. I can’t stay in the
kitchen all day whipping up cosmetics and household products. :)
Instead, I use just two
ingredients that don’t need to be preserved because I don’t emulsify them. It’s a simple, two-step process.
The Solution
Step One – Glycerin
Glycerin is one of the most widely used cosmetic
ingredients, and is a very effective humectant, which again, means that it
attracts water into the skin. It is
rated 0 (Low Hazard) by Skin Deep. I
purchased a bottle of NOW Brand Vegetable Glycerin from Whole Foods ($8.99 for
16 oz). There are a couple of different
processes for making vegetable glycerin, and when purchasing, it’s best to get
the kind that is not a byproduct of biodiesel manufacturing. Vegetable Glycerin is very thick and syrupy,
and needs to be diluted with water to achieve the desired effect. Some people are allergic to it, so be careful
and avoid it if you think you may be allergic.
Right after I get out of the shower, while my skin is still
damp, I take a small amount of glycerin and mix it at least an equal part of water
in the palm of my hand. I begin by
applying it on my face and neck, and then move on to the rest of the body, all
the way down to the tips of my toes. The
beauty of mixing it with water immediately before applying is because my skin’s
needs vary based on the weather, time of the month, body part, etc., and I can
make it more diluted when my skin is oily or less diluted when my skin is dry and
needs extra moisture. As I apply the
glycerin, I can literally feel my skin getting more plump as it soaks up the
moisture. The past couple of weeks, it
has been extremely hot and humid, so there have been a few days when I just
applied a light dilution of glycerin and left it at that. But on most days, I feel like I also need an
emollient to hold in the moisture.
Step Two – Plant Oil
All oils are emollients, but some are more emollient than
others, and they all have slightly different properties. The two oils most widely used in cosmetics
are mineral oil and petrolatum. Skin
Deep has mineral oil rated as 1-3 (Low-Moderate Hazard), depending on
usage. From what I can tell based on the
database results, it looks like there is only a concern with toxicity if
mineral oil is used in aerosol form.
Petrolatum (also known as petroleum jelly), is rated 4 (Moderate
Hazard), due to concerns that it can be contaminated with PAHS (a possible
carcinogen and endocrine disruptor) and association with organ system toxicity. So, based on the Skin Deep assessment, I
would venture to say that mineral oil is usually pretty safe to use, but
petroleum jelly, not so much.
Mineral oil is also very inexpensive, which makes it a
tempting option for someone like me who is looking to save money. There are some who claim that mineral oil
forms a thick occlusive film over the skin, trapping in dirt and grime and
causing blocked pores (Gabriel 2008, Petty 2011), but there are other people
who say that this simply isn’t true, and that mineral oil doesn’t block pores
any more than plant oils do (Begoun 2009).
Quite frankly, I haven’t been able to find enough evidence to support
either position.
Dimethicone is a silicone ingredient that is also widely used as an emollient ingredient in cosmetics. It is a very lightweight moisturizer with a nice, non-greasy feel. I’ve found that it is even used in many “green” and “natural” branded cosmetics, but Skin Deep has it rated at 3 (Moderate Hazard) due to concerns with organ system toxicity and ecotoxicity. It’s not the worst ingredient I found in my beauty cabinet this year, and I really used to enjoy that “non-greasy” feeling of the dimethicone-based moisturizers I was using, but I think it’s better to avoid it if possible.
For now, I’ve decided to use natural plant oils. As long as you aren't allergic to them, they are safe to use. The oils below each have a rating of 0, Low Hazard in the Skin Deep database. Also, many plant oils contain antioxidants and vitamins that benefit the skin. Here are my personal favorites:
Sweet Almond Oil
Sweet Almond Oil is my favorite all-around emollient
moisturizer. It’s fairly inexpensive
(about $9-$10 for a 16 oz. bottle) and available on the “healthy living” isle
of my regular grocery store, HEB. Sweet Almond Oil is nourishing enough to soften skin all over the body,
but still lightweight enough that it can be used on the face. It is also high in Vitamin E, an antioxidant
which has been shown to protect against UV damage (Miles 2006)
Coconut Oil
I love the smell of coconut oil (although there are
unscented varieties available). It’s
pretty inexpensive (about $9-$10) for a 28 oz. container, and is sold on the
baking aisle at the grocery store.
Coconut oil is extremely emollient.
I’ve found that it causes breakouts when I use it on my face and back,
but it works wonders for extremely dry skin and rough areas like knees, elbows,
and heels. I love using it during the
winter to stave off dry flaky skin. Coconut oil is full of fatty acids which plump up
the skin (Nakhla 2011, Petty 2011)
Argan Oil
There seems to be a lot of buzz about argan oil lately. Cosmetics companies are pitching it as an
ancient Moroccan secret with miraculous anti-aging properties. It does contain a large amount of tocopherols
and other antioxidants which benefit the skin (Petty 2011). However, other than that, the evidence that
argan oil is a miraculous fountain of youth is a bit underwhelming. That being said, I still wanted to try
it, and I have to say, it was one of my favorites.
I found that it has a very nice
lightweight texture, doesn't seem to cause breakouts, and gives the skin
a warm glow. Argan oil extraction is a labor intensive process, much of which
must be done by hand. The good thing about
this is that it creates jobs and is an important source of income for Moroccan
women. The downside is that argan oil is
very rare and expensive. If you decide
to try it, I recommend buying 100% pure argan oil in bulk for a good price. I do not recommend paying top dollar for a
commercially prepared moisturizer that contains a token amount of argan oil and
the false promise of eternal youth.
Some other good moisturizing plant oils include olive oil,
grapeseed oil and jojoba oil. I tried
all of these, but they weren’t my favorites for various reasons. The olive oil seemed to be too heavy for the
face, and while I love the smell of olive oil on my hands when I’m kneading
pizza dough, I don’t necessarily want my entire body to smell like that on a
regular basis. Grapeseed oil is very
lightweight, but I felt like it was a little bit too lightweight for my skin.
Jojoba oil was okay – the results were kind of similar to sweet almond oil, actually, but
too expensive in my opinion.
After applying glycerin, I wash my hands, and apply a layer
of whatever plant oil I happen to be using that day. A little goes a long way. I have to say, at first, it takes some time
to get used to the feeling of the oil after using lightweight silicone based
moisturizers for such a long time. Now
that I have gotten used to it, though, I love the way it gives my skin a
healthy glow that lasts all day long.
References
Begoun, Paula. (2009). The Original Beauty Bible: Unparalleled Information for Beautiful and Younger Skin at Any Age. Renton, WA: Beginning Press.
Gabriel, Julie. (2008).
The Green Beauty Guide: Your Essential Resource to Organic and
Natural Skin Care, Hair Care, Makeup, and
Fragrances. Deerfield Beach,
Florida: Health Communications, Inc.
Making Cosmetics, Inc. How to
Use Preservatives in Cosmetics.
Renton, WA. http://www.makingcosmetics.com/articles/01-how-to-use-preservatives-in- cosmetics.pdf,
last accessed October 3, 2014.
Miles, S. (2006). Topical antioxidants. Alive: Canada's Natural Health &
Wellness Magazine, (287), 146-147.
Nakhla, Tony. (2011). The skin commandments: 10 rules to healthy, beautiful skin. St. Louis, MO: Reedy Press.
Petty, L. (2011). BOTANICAL BALMS: Plant
oils for beautiful skin. Alive: Canada's Natural Health & Wellness Magazine, (343), 35-38.
