In the post Skincare Product Ingredients Labels Decoding your Bottle Part 1
I explained about the various ingredients you should look for in your skincare product line and what they are intended to do. Here I will continue to explain those ingredients, so you can make an informed choice and hopefully, without wasting money on products that simply can't preform what they claim.
Ingredient Grades
It is possible for skincare formulations to feature the same collection of ingredients in similar concentrations but still offer different results. This is because of differences in ingredient grades. All ingredients fall into one of 5 grades. In descending order, these are pharmaceutical grade, food, cosmetic, reagent and technical. IN skincare products cosmetic-grade is most commonly utilized. In fact, it is this grade that is commonly utilized in skincare products found at drug and department stores. While there is certainly nothing wrong with cosmetic grade ingredients, they are less refined than higher grade ingredients and thereby contain impurities.
The FDA allows up to 30% impurities in cosmetic-grade ingredients.
Many skincare products utilize ingredients of the highest quality -- pharmaceutical grade, which are required to be 99.9% pure.
Translating Ingredient Lists
Despite the fact that the FDA does not approve skincare products, they provide some protection for consumers via the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act. This law requires manufacturers to follow specific criteria when developing product labels, including listing product ingredients in the order of concentration. Additionally, all ingredients must be listed by their INCI name, that is, the International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients. The INCI outlines the appropriate scientific term for each ingredient. For example, it takes a simple ingredient like shea butter and requires it be listed as Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter). While this may seem to make labels more difficult to read, it ensures that labels read consistently across languages and cultures.
Step #1
Look at the ingredient list, is the first item (the base ingredient is always listed first) water or purified water? Or is it a therapeutic healing agent, such as medical grade aloe vera? Higher consideration should be given to the latter.
Step #2
Do you see any active ingredients listed in the ingredient list? Also, is there more than one active ingredient included in the formulation? The higher on the list the active ingredient falls, the more concentrated it is in the formulation. Many active ingredients work well in small concentrations while others, like aloe, must be included in high concentrations to be effective. It's therefore, important to research active ingredients in a formulation to understand how they're best utilized while determining the potential for side effects. Some active ingredients may be irritating in higher concentrations until the skin has adapted to their presence.
Step #3
Do you see any harsh chemicals listed, such as acetone, camphor, fennel, menthol, rubbing alcohol, or phenol? Ingredients such as these are considered irritants. Exposure to irritants may cause a variety of conditions that are difficult to treat, including redness, dry patches, breakouts, rashes, flakiness, and sensitivity.
Today there are countless products claiming to improve condition of your skin while containing irritating ingredients. The use of these products may cause the skin to swell temporarily, ultimately leading to wrinkles and premature aging. Repeated use can even suppress the skin's immune and healing response by breaking down inter-cellular chambers. these products don't provide benefits, instead they do damage.
Step #4
Does the product contain pharmaceutical-grade ingredients? As mentioned, if they do it will usually be highlighted on the package.
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