Daily moisturizing is vital for healthy skin and it can help reduces the chances of skin problems. But the question is does your Moisturizer is safe? Check out How Moisturizers Help and what are 5 essentials ingredients to look for moisturizer before you buy.

Body moisturizers are one of the most common skin care purchases in the world, and those in the market for one are confronted with an abundance of choices ranging from the large bottles sold in most pharmacies and grocery stores that look like they will last you a lifetime (and happen to be on sale) to the smaller, more expensive options sold exclusively in beauty supply stores and online. But do you really need one? moisturizersBefore starting Castle Baths, when I wanted a moisturizer, I would go to the nearest store and choose one based solely on whether I liked the scent it claimed to have and how creamy it looked. Incidents like last year’s exposure of bath & body giant (and parent company of the popular Neutrogena skin care line) Johnson & Johnson for using formaldehyde in its baby shampoo formulation make me glad I took the time to learn about natural alternatives. Otherwise, I probably would have stopped moisturizing altogether for fear of what could be lurking in that “creamy” looking lotion.

…last year’s exposure of Johnson & Johnson for using formaldehyde in baby shampoo make me glad I took the time to learn about natural alternatives.

Had I stopped moisturizing, my already chronically dry and sensitive skin would have been super-vulnerable to changes in the weather – the icy dry air of winter and the sweltering heat and UV rays of summer. Like it or not, everyone needs a moisturizer, but there are alternatives to relying on the honesty of companies that use synthetic ingredients and chemicals.

How Moisturizers Help

According to The Green Beauty Guide by Julie Gabriel, moisturizers “form a film on your skin that reinforces the barrier ability of the epidermis, helping to prevent transepidermal water loss.” In plain English, this means that moisturizers not only infuse your skin with moisture, but also act as your own personal sci-fi-inspired force field to help your skin retain the moisture it produces on its own from natural sources such as sebum oil.

moisturizers not only infuse your skin with moisture, but also act as your own personal sci-fi-inspired force field to help your skin retain moisture

Production of water and natural sebum oil in the skin originates in the deeper layers and moves upwards to hydrate the outer layer (epidermis), eventually being lost to evaporation. Even without sweating the average person loses up to one pint of water through his or her skin’s pores every day! Water is one of the main ingredients responsible for keeping your skin pliable and wrinkle-free, so the more of it you are able to retain via your moisturizer, the better. 5 ingredients to look for in your moisturizer

How Moisturizers Work

There are five main types of ingredients you should look for when shopping for a new moisturizer: emollients, humectants, emulsifiers, penetration enhancers, and active ingredients.

1. Emolients

Emollients are what make up the “force field” component of your moisturizer and help prevent the loss of your skin’s existing water and sebum oil. Petroleum jelly is one of the most common emollients used in moisturizers that rely on synthetic ingredients, and will form a plastic-like barrier on your skin’s surface that locks in bacteria, dead skin cells and sweat along with moisture. As its name suggests, it’s also derived from petroleum, the same as gasoline. Some good natural emollients you can look for as alternatives to petroleum jelly include olive oil, jojoba oil, coconut oil, and shea butter.

2. Humectants

Humectants are what actually infuse your skin with additional moisture, as opposed to merely preserving your skin’s existing moisture. Humectants achieve this by helping to increase the flow of water from your skin’s deeper layers to the outer layer (epidermis) and/or drawing water from your surrounding environment (ex: the steam in your bathroom after showering) into your skin through your pores. Natural glycerin is an ideal natural humectant ingredient to look for when shopping for a moisturizer.

3. Emulsifiers

Emulsifiers are what mixes your moisturizer’s water and oil content together along with all of its other ingredients to create a smooth, creamy, even texture. Some moisturizers use alcohols as emulsifiers, which can be drying to the skin and thus, defeat the purpose of moisturizing. Natural alternative emulsifiers include vegetable-based e-wax (the natural wax extracted from the skin of vegetables) or bee’s wax.

4. Penetration Enhancers

Penetration enhancers help your skin absorb your moisturizer’s other ingredients. Moisturizers that rely on synthetic ingredients will sometimes use penetration enhancers that work by breaking apart the natural protective barrier that exists within your skin’s epidermis, leaving your skin exposed to the elements and bacterial infections, and once again defeating the purpose of moisturizing. Cold pressed rice bran oil and linoleic and oleic acids are ideal natural penetration enhancers. Some moisturizers are formulated to linger on the outer layer of the skin and thus, will not include penetration enhancers.

5. Active Ingredients

moisturizer ingredientsActive ingredients include, quite simply, everything that isn’t one of the aforementioned ingredients or a preservative. For example, green tea extract is rich in antioxidants, which help combat free radical damage from the sun’s UV rays and prevent premature aging.

…there’s a lot more to picking a moisturizer than liking its scent or thinking it looks creamy

I found out the hard way that there’s a lot more to picking a moisturizer than liking its scent or thinking it looks creamy. I can’t even begin to list all the lotions, face creams, and perfumes I threw out once I found out what was in them. Now, I use CB products exclusively, not because I’m trying to be a model for my business but because I can be 100% certain of exactly what it is I’m rubbing into my skin every day when I use my moisturizer, and that feeling of safety is something money can’t buy.