Beauty, Skincare

Skincare 101: How to Be Ingredient Savvy

By Renata Block, MMS, PA-C

Implementing a skincare routine is a must for having healthy-looking skin. There are so many different skincare products out there that it can be tough to find the perfect combination for your skin type & can be discouraging when the product you purchased doesn’t work for you.

Have you ever used “Natural” products for your skin? How about “Organic” or “Clean” products?
If not, you need to recheck the beauty products you have as they can damage your skin. Instead of making your skin look young & healthy, it will do the opposite and make it look damaging & dull.

As a Dermatology PA-C, I can see up to 120 patients a week, and I admit a lot of people are requesting these types of products to treat their skin conditions. These products are requested so much as they help not only one specific skin type but also many.

Nonetheless, I feel most people do not know what these definitions actually mean!
Let me break it down for you.

How To Be Ingredient Savvy?

Natural Products can be a chemical or compound produced by living material AKA plant, animal, mineral, microbe based. Natural products can be very useful in promoting healthy skin and more environmentally friendly.
A great example of natural ingredients is a mineral-based SPF such as Zinc Oxide. Zinc oxide is used to treat a variety of skin conditions, including eczema & acne.
Another example would be essential oils. Not all essential oils are great for your skin as some have added chemicals to them, but the ones that have natural ingredients make your skin look healthy & glow.

Organic is anything free of harsh chemicals. Still, the percentage can vary based on the packaging definition!
100% organic vs. organic vs. made with organic ingredients are THREE completely different definitions of organic.
For example, something “organic” only has 95% organic materials, whereas something “made with organic ingredients” has 70%.
Examples of some harsh chemicals might be pesticides, Paraben, Sulfates, or fertilizers.

Clean is the “new” go-to product. Pretty much it means anything chemical, natural, organic that is deemed safe to use based on studies.
“Clean” can be natural or human-made. Clean products are void of “toxic” ingredients.
Now, the definition of toxic is anything proven to be harmful to the body or skin.
For example, Oxybenzone, a chemical used in sunscreen, has been found to cause hormonal disruption and coral bleaching in laboratory settings.

I hope that helps you understand the difference between these terms and why it is essential to know them. Implementing these types of clean beauty products to your skincare routine is a must & your skin will not regret it one bit. They are what’s best for your skin & remember; the more chemicals in a product, chances are, its not good for your skin. An excellent tip for any future skincare purchases would be reading the ingredients’ back label to check if it has any natural ingredients.

Knowledge is power when it comes to skincare, and you should always be asking the important question – What’s on your face?
MUAH!