With literally thousands of cosmetics being offered on the market, each boasting and promising the best results available, consumers truly have a difficult task in choosing a product that actually is beneficial to their skin. Sometimes just finding a product that is not detrimental to the skin is next to impossible. So what is the best way of finding this needle in the hay stack of products available?

Using common sense and sensibility?

The large hay stack of products can be easily whittled down to what will actually be beneficial to your skin by using your common sense. Think about this; are not all cosmetic products basically a mixture of various ingredients? When we think about the complexity of these formulations it becomes puzzling. Did ancient people need such complicated mixtures to make their skin supple? Of course not! They simply applied something natural to their skin which was completely safe; such as olive or kukui nut oil. People using their common sense already knew that olive oil is edible, it must therefore be good for topical applications. No harmful side effects, no allergies, no super-sensitivities.

How to rate ingredients?

Using this same principle we can individually rate the ingredients of a certain cosmetic. Say we choose a certain ingredient from the ingredients list, and apply a liberal amount of it on our skin. For example the ingredient “propylene glycol.” It is found in 90% of all cosmetic products. What would happen? Would there be any side affects from this chemical? Would we have an allergy to it? Better yet, could we apply the “what is good to eat is good for the skin” principle to this ingredient? Can you imagine eating “propylene glycol”? No way you might say! Propylene Glycol is known to cause serious health conditions, including liver and heart damage and damage to the central nervous system if ingested.

Do little amounts matter?

But some may argue, “products only have a fraction of a percentage of these poisonous ingredients, so the product as a whole must not be so harmful.” However consider this; if I offered you a glass of water with only a small amount of arsenic in it, would you drink it? Of course not! Therefore, why would you put a cosmetic on your body if it contained poison?

If you care about your appearance and your health, then you will be just as selective about what you put in your body as what you put on your skin.

Using this simple skin care tip will help you make a wise product choice.