If you read my “Welcome” post, I mentioned that skincare would be one of the topics I would cover in this blog. The skin genetic Gods were kind to me for most of my adolescent life but when I hit 30, my skin began to do some crazy things that plague me to this day. To say that I have extremely sensitive skin is putting it mildly. In my teens and 20’s, like any other beauty product addict, I bought and tried most of the make up and skincare products that came out. Back then, the use of harmful ingredients such as sulfates, parabens and propylene glycol or PG (to name a few) in beauty/skincare products was not really widely discussed. Read this blog post by Sarah Frasca for a list of ingredients to avoid; I use this as my guide when reading product ingredients.
The many dermatologists I saw never actually attributed my skin condition to any of these ingredients BUT ever since my epiphany after doing the research myself, my skin has been so much better. I’ve changed my skincare products almost entirely to be free of sulfates, paraben and PG, or 95 to 100% all natural. My husband always says “there’s no money in the cure”. I’m not saying dermatologists maliciously kept this vital information from me but it always seems like pulling teeth when trying to get information from them. With one dermatologist/allergist I saw, I actually had to suggest the condition I may have based on research I’ve done and he agreed! (I should’ve sent him a bill). Anyway, the most common diagnosis I’ve been given from most of the dermatologists/allergists I’ve seen is atopic dermatitis. I basically have these dry patches on my face and my extremities. When I have a bad flare up, they are very pronounced, red and itchy. But ever since I stopped using products with sulfates, parabens, and PG, the flare ups have all but gone away.
The brands I use today are Burt’s Bees, Korres, Neutrogena Natural product line, Aveeno for haircare (natural line), Love and Toast, Alba, Nature’s Gate, etc. which I get mostly from Target, Sprouts or Whole Foods. They are not cheap so I wait for sales and stock up. I’ll talk more about each brand/product on future posts. Don’t get me wrong – I’m still using some make up products that are nowhere near all natural; the choices are just too limited in this arena. What makes me feel better about using the less than natural makeup products, is that I use the Korres all natural face and eye primers. I feel like I’m at least creating somewhat of a barrier (probably not but it gives me a sense of comfort) from the non-natural makeup products I use. It’s really the skincare products that affect my skin the most like face wash, moisturizer, shower gels, lotions and hair care products.
This is one of those topics that I’m hoping my daughters can refer back to later in life, when God forbid, they inherit my icky skin condition. I’m thinking other people could benefit from this info as well. Like I said, I’ll post more on each brand/product in future posts. What do you think of all natural products?
Dear Boo and Lulu 
I think it’s great that you’re using more natural skin care products, especially since it is a such a positive difference for your skin. I like using the Jane Iredale makeup line. Have you tried it?
@alia…thank you..I haven’t tried Jane Iredale products yet but I’ve heard good things..I’m definitely going to give it a try…thanks again!
Good luck! I hope you find something that works for you!
Your doing pretty good. None of those brands work for me though, actually I try to stay away from brands and stick to things I can mix or get. Ive been using tea tree oil cleansing pads, raw black soap and extra virgin olive oil.
@vinegarandwater…thank you! Wow…I admire anyone who makes the effort to find/create solutions on their own…I’m hoping the off-the-shelf products will work for me for a long time but you never know…thanks again for visiting my blog.
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[…] share some of the natural products I’ve been loving lately; as seen in my older posts (here and here), I try to use beauty or skincare products without the bad stuff (parabens, sulfates, […]