How to Spot Authentic Natural Skin Care Products

With global warming and possible harmful effects of chemicals to our environment, a lot of companies have started to adapt eco-friendly programs and processes. Even manufacturers of cosmetics and skin care products are carefully integrating similar programs and even natural or organic ingredients into their merchandise. But what really are natural skin care products and how do we distinguish them?
 
Our skin is the largest organ in our body. This is one of the most versatile parts of our body given the fact that it is a two-way membrane and it basically uses hair follicles and sebaceous glands to absorb and eliminate toxins from our body. Therefore it is very important to be aware of the substances that we might be exposing ourselves in through the lotions and creams that we apply on our skin. We also need to be extra careful especially with products that are formulated for facial application. Nowadays, most people actually prefer purchasing natural skin care products.
 
When buying a particular product, you must take a little time to read through the ingredients, especially those that claiming to be natural skin care products online having natural ingredients. Legally, these products must have labels with the ingredients specified in descending order of their quantity in the product. Usually the top third ingredients usually contain 90-95%; the middle third with 5-8% and the bottom third compose 1-3% of total mixture.
 
Consumers must also take extra care when reading through the ingredients list of natural skin care products and make sure that it does not classify a chemical substance derived from a natural source as natural. This should not be considered as natural since the chemical would still be extracted from the natural source and eventually processed - losing all its natural components.
 
There are also natural alternatives to chemical substances that are usually needed in natural skin care products like emollients and humectants. Emollients serve as the barrier that helps prevent dryness and protects the skin. Synthetic emollients usually coats your skin and at times not allowing your air to pass through your skin that eventually causing irritation. The natural alternatives are plant oils, shea, cocoa and jojoba butter. The most popular humectants used are collagen, keratin and elastin. However since they mainly come from animals, their classification as natural is actually arguable due to the source. The real natural alternative would be glycerin, lecithin and even panthenol or commonly known as pro-vitamin B5.
 
Just like food, natural skin care products also use preservatives to prolong its life. However there are natural preservatives that you need to look out for when preferring natural products for skin and the most commonly used are tea tree essential oil, thyme essential oil, grapefruit seed extract and D-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate (Vitamin E). Another option would be to store your natural products in low room temperature like your refrigerator.
 
Skin care products now exploit the natural putting an entirely different perspective contrary to the word's actual meaning. Thus it is extremely important that consumers know the real connotation of the word and how it really affect the total performance of the product. So keep these pointers in mind and use them the next time you shop for your natural skin care products.