All of us, surely, are aware that the world around us is full of harmful substances. Different kinds of polluting chemicals, thanks to the likes of pesticides, fuel exhausts and harmful toxins in myriad food and drinks products, can do us and the planet harm. And, trying to avoid these chemicals by purchasing and using organically-sourced products that don’t contain them, can do our health a great deal of good – as well as the planet we all call home. And, don’t doubt it; that goes too for the products we apply directly to our skin and face.
They’re good for you…
The idea that you’d willingly expose your skin to harmful organisms to enhance your outward appearance seems a paradox, but it’s what a good number of people do daily. Owing to some of the ingredients in non-organic skin care products, those who apply them to their skin could well be spreading on to the latter traces of harmful ‘heavy metals’ like mercury, as well as emulsifiers and parabens; perhaps even the flame retardant chemical that’s propylene glycol. Among the unseen damage these substances can do to your body, they’re known to be endocrine disruptors (the endocrine system being critically responsible for the generation, distribution and management of hormones throughout the body) – which, frankly, is bad enough in itself.
Conversely, using organic skin care products ensures you won’t expose yourself to such toxins willingly and, even better, will do your skin a great deal of good. Research suggests that the ingredients in many such products may help with anti-ageing efforts1 and another points to the fact they work to prevent the effects of hyperpigmentation (a condition that sees patches of skin darken) and inflammation of the skin2.
… and good for the environment
Surely nobody would really want to use a skin care product that might not just harm their body but the world around them? Too often, however, that’s what’s happening. Traditional products like lotions and make-up contain a vast array of potentially harmful chemicals that not only get washed away down sinks and drains (especially those of hair products, for instance) and end up in the water supply, but spread into the wider environment via wastewater. Indeed, research suggest that the chemical climbazole, often used as an anti-dandruff additive, may be toxic to fish and could kill algae owing to comprising a specific fungicide3.
Similarly, microbeads – ingredients in a high number of beauty and non-organic skin care products that are included to aid exfoliation – are in fact made of plastic, which ensures they don’t decompose as other ingredients might. And that means they can end up in the waterways and oceans of the planet, get ingested by fish and other marine life and the harmful toxins they contain find their way into other animals and, ultimately, our bodies4.
To that end then, you can be guaranteed that a vegan and/ or organic skin care treatment or product won’t just be much better for your body, but for the environment (and, thus, in turn for your body as well!). Free of all the harmful toxins and organisms in non-organic products, these alternatives are surely a much better, more sensible and more caring choice – for you, everyone else and the world at large.
Natural skin care products
The following naturally-derived and fully organic products are all – among many more – available through us at The Finchley Clinic:
Aeterna Gold Collagen Crème Serum – a cream boasting a lovely texture which can easily be applied after cleansing or even under your normal moisturiser, containing the all-important collagen protein and other vitamins and botanicals such as aloe vera.
Medcare (Ozonated Olive Oil) – can be used for any kind of skin condition in order to reoxygenate tissue topically, and is great for facial application; also used for by customers to treat thrush and skin fungus.
NADH Skin Serum – an organic product created specifically to help repair damaged skin cells and energise those that are ageing.
References:
1. Bowe W. P. and Pugliese S. ‘Cosmetic benefits of natural ingredients’. J Drugs Dermatol. Sep 2014. 13 (9): 1021-5.
2. Fowler J. F. Jr., Woolery-Lloyd H., Waldorf H. and Saini R. ‘Innovations in natural ingredients and their use in skin care’. J Drugs Dermatol. Jun 2010. 9 (6 Suppl): 72-81.
3. Richter E., Wick A., Ternes T. A. and Coors A. ‘Ecotoxicity of climbazole, a fungicide contained in antidandruff shampoo’. Environ Toxicol Chem. Dec 2013. 32 (12): 2816-25.
4. ‘Scientific Evidence Supports a Ban on Microbeads’. Society for Conservation Biology. https://conbio.org/images/content_policy/03.24.15_Microbead_Brief_Statement.pdf.