Water In Skincare: TRUST OR TRASH?

A very common ingredient in commercial skincare products is water. Humans require water, so what could possibly be wrong with it being a main ingredient in your skincare product? In fact, many commercial skincare products, even the natural ones, list water as the first ingredient. So who cares if your product is mostly water?

Water may be the perfect liquid for your insides, but your outsides feel differently. It might just be where all destructive effects truly begin.

Don’t get me wrong; hydrating the skin is a good thing. However, most of the water in your skincare (lotion, cream, balm) evaporates before the skin absorbs it. As water evaporates, it takes with it many of the skin’s natural oils. This actually makes your skin lose moisture and contributes to dryness.

If water is listed first on your product: I say TRASH it!  Here’s why!

If water is the first ingredient on the label, it is likely that 75–95 percent of what’s in your product is simply water. Please notice… most water that is added to skincare is tap water.  Polluted tap water.  Not filtered or purified.  Also note: “herbal infusion” is a fancy term to disguise the word “water”.  Furthermore, if the product contains any oils (and most natural products do), an emulsifier is necessary to make the water and oil mix and not separate. Most common emulsifiers in skincare include cetyl alcohol and sorbitan oleate, stearyl alcohol, stearic acid and triethanolamine.

Sodium laureth sulfate (SLS) is a common emulsifier used in products that foam (shampoo, detergents, bubble bath, etc.) as well as in toothpaste.  SLS promotes the formation of a group of carcinogenic compounds called nitrosamines. SLS also damages the epidermis and causes skin irritation. Children who soak in a tub of bubble bath, for instance, are especially vulnerable to urinary infections caused by SLS.

If an emulsifier is present, preservatives are always included to keep the product from spoiling, and parabens are the most common preservative. Parabens promote the production of estrogen and are increasingly linked to early puberty in girls. Naturally occurring parabens are found in some foods that are metabolized in the body (by the liver), lessening their estrogen-production effects.

One of the most common preservatives is the group of synthetic parabens. Unfortunately, synthetic parabens cannot be metabolized like naturally occurring ones. They increase estrogen production, disrupt hormone functions, and cause DNA damage.

Parabens are directly linked to breast cancer and cause negative reproductive effects in both females and males. Because of the vast array of cosmetics women use, it is estimated that women absorb about 50mg of synthetic parabens every day. And here’s a dose of irony: parabens in skincare products promote skin aging.

Here are some examples of personal skincare products, which consist primarily of water:

• Mascara
• Mouthwash
• Nail polishes (some)
• Self-tanning lotion
• Shampoo
• Shaving foam or lotion
• Toothpaste
• Bath foam
• Conditioner
• Creams, moisturizers
• Foundation
• Hair gel
• Hair spray
• Liquid eyeliner Make-up remover

Not every product included here will list water as the first or second ingredient, but the majority of commercial products will. Many expensive anti-aging serums are 70 percent water, and shampoos can be as much as 90 percent.

So, if water, emulsifier, and preservatives are part of the product, that means that the rest of the ingredients are the active ingredients—the reason you bought the product in the first place. For most commercial products, if you take out the water, emulsifier, and fillers, the active ingredients will only be between 2 to 25 percent! Clearly, what you are buying is filler, not active ingredients.

The chemicals in Big Cosmo products (fragrance, emulsifiers, alcohol) also dry the skin.  As a result, the skin overproduces sebum to compensate- and you may end up with very oily skin.  When you remove the chemicals and put oil on the skin, your skin no longer needs to compensate and can decongest and function normally.  If the skin couldn’t decongest while under the “chemical influence,” acne may have been the result.  Ditch the chemicals, normalize and decongest the skin and acne may resolve on its own.

Primal Life Organics does not “water down” our skincare.  Our concentrated mixture adds nutrients, moisture and and protection against aging and the elements.   Because we do not add water- our products come in tiny bottles- but you only need a VERY small amount.  All of our facial skincare products are designed to last 2 months, but many get then to last up to 3 months used twice a day.