Natural vs Chemical Skin Care

[acester]

OK sorry if this has already been done before but I need to know things

I really want to figuire out whether to go fully natural skin care or to stick with the Clinique I'm using.

Can you guys recomend natural/chemical products or give me reasons for choosing natural or chemical

thnx

alice

 

[shadow]

In the natural world there are constant chemical reactions. Oxydation, fermentation...

Chemical is not opposed to natural.

Skincare with "natural products" is not better. Natural products can give you allergy, irritation, some natural herbs can poison you, others are drugs, others are useless. Check also the % of "natural product" in the formula. Is it enough to do the job?

 

[satin chic]

Bump.

I've been trying to cut down on products with a lot of synthetic ingredients and use more natural products because I'm a little worried about exposing my skin to harsh ingedrients such as preservatives etc.
Do you think this is a good idea or completely nonsense?

 

[golightlyfan]

i actually think using products with less synthetic ingredients and more natural ones is the most amazing thing i've ever done for my skin. i switched in august to all korres facial care products. i currently use their white tea cleanser, their olive stones scrub once a week, their chlorophyll mask, and their rose hip brightener, and my skin has never been healthier. the only problem with korres is that i have to order it off the internet, usually from beautyexclusive.com, but it's cheap compared to most other products when you consider how long it lasts. i first ordered in august and just had to reorder a week ago.
for make up i go with origins as well.

 

[joie]

It really depends on your skin. Some people can't tolerate "natural" skincare but some can. You've got to do what works best for your skin. There's no point going natural if your face is a mess because of it!

I find that the less junk I put on my face, the better. I cleanse with Natural Instinct (natural/organic australian brand) cream cleanser in the mornings and the oil cleansing method at night, and I moisturise with jojoba oil and my skin is looking really good. Prior to this I was using many products with AHAs to try to clear up my skin and although it worked very well, it plateaued after some time and I wasn't keen on using acids on my face forever, not to mention it's really high-maintenance and I couldn't be bothered.

If you don't carry those "chemical-free", pure, natural etc principles into what else you put on your body, what clothes you wear and what you eat and drink (and so on), then you might think going natural with just your skincare to be redundant. Personally I would find it very difficult to carry on a wholly "natural" lifestyle so I do what I can insofar as it works for me.

 

[cosmogrl5]

I've been trying to cut down on products with a lot of synthetic ingredients and use more natural products because I'm a little worried about exposing my skin to harsh ingedrients such as preservatives etc.
Do you think this is a good idea or completely nonsense?

It makes sense to me. I have removed as many harsh chemicals and unnatural things from my life as possible. For my skin, I use Burt's Bees products on my face and have had much success with them. For my body, I use handmade soaps that I buy at the farmer's market. I feel like I am doing something special for myself by doing these things, and that feels good.

 

[ailimeanna]

i sort of use natural skin care. not all of it but some. i'm very happy with the korres watercress moisturiser (and it's soooo cheap if you order it from greece!), and origins liquid crystal, and i love aveda products (well, shampoos, conditioners, hand- and foot cream)as well. how natural it all is i'm not sure about, but those work for me.

 

[modern jap]

Many of the products that you girls are using have many harmful chemicals, for example, parabens. Many people do not know what this is, but its approved by our government so many name-brand skin care products- even the best and most expensive that make themselves seem exclusive- load their ointments and washes with these harmful chemicals.

If you don't believe me, google it or look at the back of your face wash products ingredients.

What I have found, by research and experiment, is that when it comes to your skin, less is more. The less you use, and the more natural the product, the better and clearer your skin will be.

I use very simple products daily- and i cannot imagine that anyone would need something more. I wash my face with all natural JASON products. The price is no more than the name-brand neutrogena or anything else you would buy and use.

Then I apply the cucumber daily moisturizer by "say yes to carrots".

I use that all day. And I never wear foundation- liquid or powder- because, guess what? if you're wearing it, then everyone knows you have it on- and most girls do it wrong and it looks like you caked makeup on your face.

so instead, I use a natural concealer for problem spots by burts bee, and I put on a light bronzer, some mascara, and lip gloss. most of us aren't celebrities, and aren't going to social events all day where we are paid to look good, instead we are at work and home, so what is the sense of loading your face with make-up? and like i said, less is more.

 

[The_Ida]

^You're right. We're not all new to this. And btw...if you can't apply foundation without everyone notice you wearing it, then you're not doing it right. modern jap We have some very informative threads on the subject, feel free to have a look

 

[Serenity*Now]

^ karma to both of you!

 

[Acid]

to all the people using products with 'natural plant based ingredients' promising great results from active plant ingredients, it is important to remember that chemicals found in plants are generally not recognized by the human body and do not offer anything other than soothing benefits to the skin.

today i used a tazarotene cream

 

[modern jap]

i do admit i did not read the entire blog or many posts, i guess it's just hard for me to comprehend why so many people know so much about the harmful chemicals and effects like you said, but girls still continue to use them.

for girls that don't know, i understand as to why they would use them, but if you are educated on the subject, then you are someone who wouldn't question why there are such high cancer rates in our nation, etc, and probably wouldn't use the products.

since you are all aware and want flawless skin, why do you choose to use products that only harm the inside of your body, which in the long run won't have a positive effect on your skin?

 

[The_Ida]

i do admit i did not read the entire blog or many posts, i guess it's just hard for me to comprehend why so many people know so much about the harmful chemicals and effects like you said, but girls still continue to use them.

for girls that don't know, i understand as to why they would use them, but if you are educated on the subject, then you are someone who wouldn't question why there are such high cancer rates in our nation, etc, and probably wouldn't use the products.

since you are all aware and want flawless skin, why do you choose to use products that only harm the inside of your body, which in the long run won't have a positive effect on your skin?

Studies done on parabenes and the likes aren't conclusive, so...yeah. Nobody knows what they do except that it has something to do with hormones and not cancer. Whatever. I don't buy organic food, and that is way more harmful than any cream I could slap on my face. The detergent I was my clothes with, the coating on my furniture and tv and stereo is much more harmful than anything I can put on my skin. But I can't avoid these things. So using parabene-free skin care doesn't matter in the long run. Get it?

 

[michyed]

^Exactly. And, modern jap, if you think slapping skincare with almost negligible concentration of parabens on your face is gonna "give you cancer," then you're better off never eating blueberries, carrots and plenty of other vegetables ever again in your life. In that case you're SWALLOWING parabens.... You have to understand the whole anti-paraben campaign is, like The_Ida said, inconclusive. It's also escalated to an extreme by organic skincare brands that want to make money too.

 

[modern jap]

Well its more than just fruits and vegetables that you have to be worried about actually... I just think of my body as a temple, and I only have one, so I try to feed it the best gas possible. And the simple things that I can actually control- skincare products, food, etc, I like to use the most natural.

Also, from the beginning, I meant none of this in a harsh way, but I guess you have to keep in mind that this is coming from someone who has a Chiropractor as a mother, has never been vaccinated, and never taken an antibiotic. On top of that am studying alternative medicine.

This link below is more of an insight of what I believe, also Dr. Mercola articles, he has great insight to many things on this topic.
http://www.mintandberry.com/pages/Why-Use-Organic?.html

 

[eeyore]

i do admit i did not read the entire blog or many posts, i guess it's just hard for me to comprehend why so many people know so much about the harmful chemicals and effects like you said, but girls still continue to use them.

for girls that don't know, i understand as to why they would use them, but if you are educated on the subject, then you are someone who wouldn't question why there are such high cancer rates in our nation, etc, and probably wouldn't use the products.

since you are all aware and want flawless skin, why do you choose to use products that only harm the inside of your body, which in the long run won't have a positive effect on your skin?

i saw your blog, and noticed that you use both nail polish and lip gloss. don't both of them have potentially harmful chemicals? i don't understand how wearing those types of products is fine, but wearing foundation is somehow unnatural. the other thing is to keep in mind is that for a lot of us, as we get older, our skin simply isn't as radiant and perfect as it was in our youth, and a bit of foundation can go a long way. i do agree that cancer is increasing due to all the harmful chemicals we consume and use in our daily lives. still, that doesn't stop me from eating salami, which i know has nitrates.

 

[rayoflight]

Maybe a bit OT I'm not sure if cancer is caused by using cosmetics with chemical ingredients. Men also get cancer and their rates also go up (ok, they get less breast cancer and since the anatomy is different, they don't get ovarian and uterine cancers), but it's not like they use foundation or 10+ skin care products on a daily basis. I think 8 out of 10 men I know don't even have a separate shampoo, all they own is soap/shower gel, some shaving stuff and maybe after shave. And hair gel. But the rates in both sexes are pretty much the same. If cancer is caused by topically applied chemicals (there is no valid research to back it up either), then women would have 10x more cancer rates. Men have significantly higher skin cancer rates, shouldn't women have higher skin cancer rates, after all they put toxic stuff on their skin daily and in large amounts.
http://www.cancer.org/downloads/STT/CancerFacts&Figures2002TM.pdf
There is also no proof that plant substances are better for human bodies, in fact they are still recognized as foreign biological matter by human immune system. Plants and humans come from very different kingdoms, they aren't exactly comparable, even our hemoglobin is different from plant "hemoglobin" (chlorophyll), we have iron ion, plants have magnesium ion in the core. So just because something grows out of earth doesn't mean it's automatically good for us.

 

[michyed]

^Exactly. I believe there are other things to worry about that are far more detrimental to our health.
I don't buy into the avoid-all-product-unless-they're-natural hype either. You wouldn't slap poison ivy all over your skin just because it's "natural." Plenty of "natural" ingredients used in skincare are highly comedogenic and allergenic. Plus, skincare brands that claim to be organic almost never meet up to their claims anyway. They get to set their own standards of organic. I think we should start a new thread about this sort of stuff...

Back on topic, today I used:

Mario Badescu Acne Facial Cleanser
Mario Badescu Azulene Calming Mask
Mario Badescu Glycolic Acid Toner
Mario Badescu Olive Eye Cream
Mario Badescu Hydrating Moisturizer with Biocare & Hyaluronic Acid

 

[modern jap]

sorry to continue the discussion in this post, just want to answer eeoyre...

i just wanted to tell you that i was more talking about the people who wear a lot of make-up on a daily basis. if you look @ my vids i really don't use make-up everyday, and i also talk about liking zoya more than opi and essie because of the fact that it's all natural. and im definitely not perfectly 100% organic, i just try to do the best that i can. i guess the process of doing it more and more takes a while, because you have to illuminate things you're used to doing from your life, like sometimes i use opi and essie, or mac lipgloss because i like the color that much, just like you feel about salami lol.

anyway from the beginning of this i wasn't trying to say i do everything the right way or the natural way all the time, also just trying to share some info to girls that are unaware, like many of us drive cars everyday even though we know it pollutes the earth... but driving is necessary so we don't question it, sometimes wearing angel lipstick by mac is necessary too

 

[The_Ida]

anyway from the beginning of this i wasn't trying to say i do everything the right way or the natural way all the time, also just trying to share some info to girls that are unaware, like many of us drive cars everyday even though we know it pollutes the earth... but driving is necessary so we don't question it, sometimes wearing angel lipstick by mac is necessary too

Then what is the point of lecturing us? Parabenes are derived from fruits and veggies, you eat them every single day just like the rest of us.

I don't buy this. Glycerine, for example, is the best moisturizing agent out there. Salicylic acid is the best stuff for acne, and you produce in a lab. I've done it myself in chem class, not too difficult or expensive. There are a lot of cheap and effective synthetic chemicals that harm your skin wayyyyy less than anything you can get from a plant (most active ingredients derived from plants are allergens, meaning they can cause allergies that you have to live with for the rest of your life).