Top Skin Creams in Regards to Safety & Effectiveness
By: Valerie Rosenbaum
Submitted: 2009-10-14 06:06:18 | Word Count: 513
Did you ever think about looking for the top skin cream in terms of safety?
Not many people think about the safety of cosmetics, but they should. Some of the ingredients commonly used by cosmetic companies are toxic chemicals and that’s bad.
[ advertisement ]
Anything that you apply to the skin’s surface can be absorbed through the pores and enter the bloodstream, as long as the molecules are small enough in size. Scientists have found that some of those chemicals build up in the body’s tissues and organs, over time.
The Environmental Working Group coined the phrase “body burden”. They believe, as do a growing number of scientists, that a high body burden is a risk factor for degenerative diseases and age related cancers.
We know that genetics plays a role in many diseases, but genetic differences do not explain why a person’s risk of cancer increases as they age. The explanation is cellular mutations. Exposure to even tiny traces of cancer causing agents can bring about those cellular mutations.
So, the top skin cream in terms of safety is one that does not contain known, probable or possible carcinogens.
Some of the common ingredients to avoid include:
Ethylene oxide—used to make harsh ingredients milder, causes the formation of cancer causing Dioxane
Parabens—common artificial preservatives that have been found in breast cancer tumors. Although it is still unclear if they are carcinogens, the safest choice is to avoid them.
Toluene—found in creams for eczema and other conditions, reasonably expected to be a human carcinogen
Oxybenzone, benzophenone—derivatives of cancer causing benzene, shown to cause mutations in cellular DNA when exposed to sunlight. Ironically, they are used as sunscreens.
This is only a short list. If it is really a top skin cream, it will not contain any of these. But, there are thousands of others that have been banned by the European Union and other countries, because of their questionable safety profile. By contrast, only a dozen or so have been banned by the US.
The easiest way for the average consumer to choose a cosmetic product is to stick with the “all natural” products and buy only from manufacturers that adhere to the stricter standards set by the European Union. Now, let’s look for a moment at what’s effective.
A top skin cream should contain moisturizing ingredients. That may seem obvious, but most of the lotions and creams on the market do not contain anything that is actually moisturizing. The most common base creams are petrolatum and mineral oil.
The average body lotion is mostly mineral oil, with a little added fragrance. Mineral oil and petrolatum cannot be absorbed into the skin’s layers. Thus, they do not provide moisture.
Moisturizing creams include ingredients like coenzyme Q10, grape seed, the protein keratin, glycerin and kelp extracts. Those ingredients have been shown in clinical studies to increase the skin’s moisture content by a high percentage and delay or reverse the signs of aging. If it is really a top skin cream, it will contain them.
Author Resource:-
Valerie Rosenbaum has spent the last several years researching natural skin care products in an effort to find the best skin care products available on the market today. For more information visit http://www.defendyourskin.com
