Total Skin Care Blog .com

Your HonestGuide to

NaturalSkincare

Is there any subjectin the beauty industrytoday more confusingthan natural skincare?

Walk down an aisle in yourlocal drugstore and it seemsevery second product boastsa “natural” label or some typeof “natural” claim. Why is this?In a nutshell, because Canadahas no legal defi nition for whatconstitutes a “natural” ingredientor claim, beauty companies arefree to use the term as they like.And “natural” is a great marketingword today that increases sales.Legally, anyone can paste a“natural” sticker on a productregardless of what is inside.Understandably, this is causinggreat confusion at the beautycounter. Consumers and beautyadvisors alike have no idea whereto fi nd truly natural skincareproducts.

“NATURAL”CONFUSION

The honest truth of the matter is that we now livein an increasingly polluted world. And this pollutionis affecting our health and the condition of ourskin. Just look at the rates of adult acne and skinsensitivities these days. Scientists have proventhat over 60% of the products you apply to yourface and body get absorbed into the bloodstreamincluding moisturizers, sunscreens and anti-agingproducts. Because of this, many consumers arelooking for natural alternatives to synthetic formulas.They feel better applying natural ingredients to theirbodies. You’ll see from the statistics that follow thatthousands of consumers are making this changeleading to a growing segment in the Canadian beautyindustry. It’s expected to grow at 15 to 30 percentper year. That’s far faster than traditional skincare andbeauty segments.

This guide to natural skincare is meant to offerhonest, concise information that you can use in youreveryday lives. From defi ning “natural” to exploringproduct effi cacy, we hope it will help you makebetter-informed choices and clear up some of the“natural” confusion.

DaveDave Lackie . Editor . Cosmetics magazine

POTENTIALRISKS

The Natural ProductsAssociation in theUnited States, a72-year-old, not-for-profi t organizationcommitted to thenatural productsindustry has identifi edten ingredientsthat they believecould have long-term human healthrisks. These itemsinclude syntheticsilicone or petroleumcompounds. It’simportant to notethat Health Canadamonitors all skincareingredients includingthese ten andprohibits any thathave proven healthrisks. Still, the NPAbelieves that it is bestto avoid products thatcontain the following:

1. Parabens. These are synthetic preservatives thatare potential endocrine disrupters that can affect ourhormone levels.

2. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. Think of these as harshcleansing agents that can potentially damage the lipidlayer of your skin and cause irritation. By stripping theskin’s natural oil levels which act as a fi rst-line barrier,viruses can more easily enter into the body.

3. Petrolatum/Mineral Oil/Paraffi n. These arenon-renewable byproducts of crude oil that containpotentially dangerous impurities.

4. Chemical Sunscreens (Oxybenzone). Thesesynthetic sunscreens get absorbed into the skin andcan potentially disrupt hormone balances. They arealso suspected to cause some free-radical production.

5. Glycols. Think of these petroleum-derivedsyntheticchemicals as magnets. They are thought to be able todraw other chemicals into the bloodstream.

6. Phthalates. Some scientists believe thesesynthetic fragrance compounds to be potential toxins.

7. Ethoxylated ingredients like SodiumMyreth Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate,PEGs or PPGs. Ingredients that are made in part withpetrochemical ethylene oxide can result in 1,4 Dioxane,a trace contaminant that is classifi ed as a possiblecarcinogen. Ethoxylated ingredients are the accidentalbyproducts of the ethoxylation process so they arenever listed on an ingredient label.

8. Ethanolamines like MEA/DEA/TEA. Theseare foam and viscosity-boosting ingredients that caninteract with other ingredients to form nitrosamines, aknown carcinogen.

9. Synthetic Polymers (PVP/Acrylates).These synthetic stabilizers may contain residual PAHs(plycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), thought to be themost widespread organic pollutant.

10. Formaldehyde Donors (DMDM Hydrantoin/Diazolidinyl Urea/Methylisothiazolinone).These are preservatives that degrade over timepotentially releasing formaldehyde, a known carcinogen.

WHAT ISNATURAL?

According toHealth Canada, thegovernmental departmentthat monitors all skincareand beauty products inCanada, there is no legaldefinition for “natural”skincare products inCanada.

As long as a company does notknowingly deceive the publicwith it’s labellng, there is nolegal guideline that the companymust follow to use the term.Beauty companies must includea detailed list of ingredientson each product packagelisting ingredients from largestpercentage to least. And it mustprovide testing results to provethat it is safe for Canadians. IfHealth Canada spots any knowndangerous ingredients, it willrefuse to allow the products to besold in this country.

A New Defi nition for“ Natural”Total Skin Care Blog, working withNatural Products Association,

led the initiative to defi ne the word natural.The defi nition is two-fold: ingredients thatcome from purposeful, renewable and plentifulsources found in nature such as fl ora, fauna andminerals. And, the products must be made withminimal processing that does not use syntheticor harsh chemicals or otherwise dilute the purityof the ingredients.

When Is Non-Natural Acceptable?Non-natural ingredients are only acceptablewhen there is no viable natural alternativeingredient available and only when there areabsolutely no suspected potential human healthrisks.

Natural Versus OrganicOrganic ingredients are a big trend these days.The term “organic” really does apply to growingplants and fl owers without any pesticides – avery benefi cial process, especially for food. Inpersonal care products, it is important to notethat a product that is 70 percent organic canstill contain 30 percent artifi cial ingredientsthat are potentially harmful. Many scientistsbelieve it is more benefi cial to use 100 percentnatural ingredients that pose no potential healthrisk to consumers and do not contain harmfulbyproducts than a product that contains someorganic ingredients. It’s best to read bothorganic and natural labels very carefully andask questions about how these products areprocessed.

THENATURALSKINCAREMARKET

Just how big is thenatural personal caremarket today?

That’s a tough question toanswer. Since the categoryis so new, there is little dataavailable. Market Research fi rmKline Group estimates the totalsales of natural products tobe approximately 3 percentof the market. Based on thatnumber, the current Canadianmarket for natural productswould be about $120 million.That total is expected to doublein the next fi ve yearsmoving from niche category tomainstream. While still a smallcategory now, natural beautycompanies are posting annualgains of anywhere from 14 to30 percent, far ahead of theindustry average. And retailersare making more space fornatural products in store.

Packaged Facts, a market researcher publisher in theUnited States agrees with this analysis. Accordingto its most recent study, sales of natural and organicpersonal care products in the United States grewfrom $2 billion in 2001 to $6.1 billion in 2006.The fi rm predicts that sales will top $10.2 billion by2012. The company’s retail analysts believe thereare two factors driving these sales: the fi rst is publicconcern over environmental crises, fair trade practicesand the fear of possible cancer-causing chemicals.The second is an aging baby boomer population thatis looking to prolong health.

“Overall retail sales of natural cosmetics and toiletriesin Canada account for a smaller share of overallmarket sales, although demand is growing, especiallyamong younger consumers,” says EuromonitorInternational’s Lauren Beth. “Demand is likely to growfurther as Canadians become more aware of theimpact of the chemical compounds used in variousconsumer products on their health and environment.New regulations that require manufacturers to list allthe ingredients in the products on product labels willlikely further boost consumer confi dence and providemore information regarding the content of productswith natural claims.”

Setting the Natural Standard

1Any natural personalcare product mustcontain at least95% truly naturalingredients.

2 There can be noingredients with anypotential suspectedhuman health risks withinan allowable 5%.

3 You can not use anyprocesses that signifi cantlyor adversely alter thepurity/effect of the naturalingredients.

“ Natural Products AssociationCertifi ed” seal

This seal is the new certification sealcontrolled by the Natural ProductAssociation in the United States.Companies that comply with theabove guidelines will have permissionto use this seal on packaging. Expectto see the first seals appear onproducts this fall from Weleda, TrilogyFragrances, Farmaesthetics, Badger,

Aubrey Organics and Burt’s Beeswith more to follow. It is designed to

help consumers quickly identify honestlynatural products.

For more information, visit www.TheNaturalSeal.org.

DO NATURAL SKINCAREPRODUCTS ACTUALLY

WORK?

Do natural skincare products really work?

Besides the obvious question about potentiallyharmful ingredients, the biggest questionregarding natural skincare products is do theyreally work? As recent as fi ve years ago, many naturalskincare creams had the consistency of glue and smelledeven worse. And the effi cacy in many cases didn’t matchtraditional beauty brands. But scientists such as CelesteLutario, who specialize in natural formulas at Burt’s Bees aremaking great strides in both performance and texture. Shewas most recently the research and development managerfor Chanel skincare and she’s brought that expertise to thenatural skincare category with great results.“The fi rst thing my girlfriends ask is do natural skincareproducts work?” laughs Celeste. “And that’s the bigmisconception out there right now: If it’s natural, it doesn’twork as well or isn’t as aesthetically pleasing. I can tell youwe’ve been pretty successful at getting parity with massbrands on the market recently. In fact, we just did a testyesterday where we looked at all our categories againstnatural, pseudo-natural and mass market brands. And themajority of our products hit parity with popular mass marketbrands. There were only two exceptions: One is in haircarebecause there are some ingredients that we call quaternarycompounds or ‘quats’ (conditioning agents of haircare)and those aren’t made completely naturally yet. If a quat isnot used in a hair product, the hair has the consistency ofstraw or a bird’s nest. There is no natural alternative for that

“Researchers have proven that approximately 60% of skincareproducts get absorbed into the body.”

ingredient so we have tomake our product slightlysynthetic. The second oneis suncare. Because titaniumand zinc are the only naturalsuncare ingredients, whenyou use them you getsome whiteness to theproduct which affects theaesthetics. So those arereally the only two productswe haven’t hit parity forbenefi t and aesthetics tomass market syntheticbrands. We get the samequality.”

How naturalingredients interactwith the skin“ We haven’t testedthis completely yet,but we know that theskin accepts naturalingredients betterthan synthetic ones,”explains Celeste.

“Think of it this way: the way a plant survives is by carefullybalancing all the minerals, vitamins and antioxidants that it contains.So when you use a plant in a natural skincare product, thoseingredients stay balanced. Your own skin recognizes this balanceand will accept it much more readily than a synthetic version. Theway the synthetic cosmetic industry does it is they mimic one ofthose pieces found in the plant. They’ll look and say ‘Oh, thoseAHAs get rid of wrinkles. Let’s fi nd out that chemical makeup,mimic it, concentrate it and use it in a product.’ The issue withthis method is the body wants to stay balanced. As soon as youput that concentrated material on your skin, the body feels it isout of balance so it almost feels it is hurt. It will immediately startproducing other chemicals that it normally won’t to compensate forthat concentration. That’s why when AHAs fi rst came out, you sawa lot of redness. When you apply synthetic AHAs on the skin, it’salmost like a little burn. The body feels it’s being burned and hurtso it starts sending all these healing chemicals to that area. So thenit heals the skin. Then most people repeat this process every day.And the skin never feels it is in balance. Over time, you may actuallybe hurting your skin.”

Evaluating Potential Long-Term Health Risks

Properly identifying ingredients with potential long-termhealth risks is an ongoing process. Researchers aroundthe world in laboratories and universities are constantly testingingredients and how they react in the body. The top natural skincarebrands are constantly monitoring medical journals and toxicologyreports that publish the results to make sure they are using the safestpossible natural ingredients. (Health Canada also monitors thesejournals and studies.) Europe is far more stringent than other regionswhen it comes to ingredients with potential long-term health risks,so any change in European regulation is carefully analyzed. You’llnotice that the best brand will adjust their formulas as soon as anyingredient in a product shows any kind of possible harm.

High-tech skincare brands are pushingthe limits of anti-aging technologytoday by formulating products thatpenetrate deeper into the skin andactually work to manipulate skin cellsand even DNA.Nanotechnology is a prime example. Scientistsare now experimenting with how to change strandsof DNA to slow the aging process and even reverseit. And while this science offers great potential results,it also ignores the intelligence of the body’s ownsystems. Can this manipulation cause potential long-term damage? “My theory is that this can cause harmbecause of the way it is manipulating the body,” saysMs. Lutrario. “When you start to get into very detailedtechnology where you get into the blood streamand you’re manipulating on how the body reacts tosomething, the potential for something to go wrongis much higher. The cosmetics industry over the nextten years is going to have very significant scientificbreakthroughs. They want to manipulate the body sothat it doesn’t age. When you start dealing with that,in my opinion, you always have dormant cells that havethe potential to go haywire. And when you start messingwith these things, the potential is greater. I’m not sayingit is going to happen. But the potential is there.”

Natural skincarecompanies lookat skincare froma very differentperspective.

They want to make the skinhealthier so it looks better.These natural chemistsfocus on the lower layers ofthe skin where the cells arebeing produced and askthemselves how can theymake everything healthy?They want to do everythingthey can to make thecells fully moisturized andensure they have the properchemical makeup. So, 28days later when those cellsmake it to the skin’s surface,they create this beautifulradiance. “If you keepeverything moisturized andnourished, the wrinkles willgo away.” Wrinkles comefrom unhealthy cells.

HIGH-TECHVERSUSNATURALSKINCARE

WHAT GOESON, GOES IN

Skin cells take aboutsix weeks to progressfrom the lower layers ofthe skin to the surface.And skincare chemistswant to keep those cellsas nourished, hydratedand healthy as possiblethroughout their life.This results in beautifullyradiant skin.

The most damaging factors for skin aresun damage and free radicals that candestroy the cells. So you’ll notice thatnatural skincare products will containantioxidants, essential oils with theproper balance of vitamins, minerals andamino acids. Chemists will choose thebest essential oils for a specifi c purpose.Remember, approximately 60% of what isapplied to the skin gets absorbed into thelower layers of the skin.

THEGREATER

GOOD

Is it time to take a closerlook at the companiesbehind your favourite lipgloss or foundation?

In this new era of environmentalismand social responsibility, how abeauty company produces a productis becoming as important as whatit produces. Is a beautiful lipstickworth the price if its manufacturingcauses your water to be pollutedor garbage dumps to be filledunnecessarily?

There’s a new generation of skincarecompany that believes it’s equally importantto respect nature, our communities andhuman rights as it is to manufacture bodylotions and lip balms. This philosophyis called “The Greater Good” and it isbased on two simple and profound beliefs:Natural products work in harmony withour bodies to promote balance and well-being; and we should respect, preserveand improve the precious resource of ourenvironment. These companies believe thatif you take care of the environment and ourcommunities and produce products thatrespect nature, the profi ts will follow. It’s aforward-thinking business model.

“Consumers are becoming more savvyand educated thanks to the web,” saysAlan Middleton, a professor of marketingat the Schulich School of Business. “They

are becoming more demanding of thecompanies they do business with andwon’t permit activities that pollute orotherwise damage the environment.” Hesays the younger generation in particularis concerned that they are left to clean upthe mess left by earlier generations. Theywant a healthy environment to leave theirchildren.

So what can you do? Begin by askingquestions. Visit websites and read annualreports. Many cosmetic companies have1-800 consumer hotlines you can call withquestions. If you want to see changes toyour favourite brands, write the presidentand ask him or her to make changes. Andmost of all, be discerning about whatcompanies you do decide to support. Yourdollars have great infl uence.

SAVINGTHE BEES

What would happenif the world’s beepopulation suddenlydisappeared?How would farmers pollinatefruits and vegetables withoutthem? It’s a question thatscientists around the worldare asking with the mysteriousdisappearance of a significantpercentage of the world’s beepopulation recently.

It’s called Colony CollapseDisorder (CCD) and it’s becomea great threat to the world’s food

population: Approximately 70 percent of fruitsand vegetables are pollinated by bees.

There are more than 20,000 different speciesof bees and an estimated thousand more thathave yet to be identified by scientists. A recentbee symposium in Toronto hosted by manyof the world’s top bee experts establishedthis problem is more than a North Americanphenomenon. Bee colonies are disappearingacross Europe and Asia as well. And it is notjust domesticated bees, but wild bees thatare dying. These researchers claim pesticides,loss of habitat, disease and pollution are primecontributors to this sudden decline. The bees’fragile systems can’t handle the sheer volumeof chemicals and pollution in the air.

Stress  Stress is a trigger for most skinconditions. Address the cause of yourstress.

  Breathing, meditation, exercise,relaxation techniques and rest all assist inreducing stress.

Clothes  Wear clothes that ensure you don’t gettoo hot or too cold.

  Cotton or natural fibers allow your skinto breathe.

  Choose clothes that are loose withoutrestrictions or rough-textured, scratchysurfaces.

Cleanliness  Good daily hygiene is critical. If yousweat a lot or wear a lot of makeup ensurethat you clean your skin before bed.

  Clean with gentle, natural soap in tepidwater and dry thoroughly afterwards.

  Prevent skin irritations by using non-abrasive products, including sharp bladesfor shaving.

Sunlight  15 - 30 minutes of sunlight a daybenefits most skin conditions.

  Avoid staying in direct sunlight in latemorning and early afternoon.

  Use full spectrum lights in your homeand place of work.

Nutrition  Water is needed to help the body flushout toxins. Drink at least 8 glasses a day.

  Be conscious of your reaction to foodand work with your Naturopathic Doctorto determine if allergies are part of theproblem.

  Whole grains, fruits and vegetablesprovide the skin with needed nutrients.

  Avoid caffeine, alcohol and nicotineas they can constrict blood vessels thatnourish skin. This increases the appearanceof deep wrinkles, aging and decreases theability for skin to heal.

Natural Skin Care

  Use cosmetics sparingly and allow yourskin time to breathe naturally.

  Go at least 5 days without cosmetics andnotice the difference it makes to your skin.

  Avoid skin products with alcohol or acidbecause they dry the skin.

  Many cosmetics have creams, fillers andsubstances that block the pores and sweatglands decreasing natural detoxification.

  Use natural products. Chemicaldeodorants, antiperspirants and cleaningproducts often destroy the naturalprotective bacteria on the skin.

  Match your skin care products toyour skin type and use natural oils, herbalcreams or ointments.

  Topical or prescription creams oftensuppress the signs of skin concerns andprevent the body from detoxifying throughthe skin.

SPECIFIC SKIN CARE TECHNIQUES

GENTLE MASSAGE causes localstimulation of the nervous system, reducesmuscle tension, improves lymphatic andblood circulation, aids in healing, controlspain and reduces swelling. Avoid scratchingor rubbing as this can disrupt the naturalhealing process of the skin.

DRY SKIN BRUSHING loosens up deadlayers of skin, opens pores and helps toretain the natural oils of the skin. Thefriction action tones the skin, improvescirculation, helps elimination of waste

materials and prevents premature aging ofthe skin. Avoid brushing open, inflamed oroozing areas of skin.

HOT AND COLD CONTRAST creates apump-like action that aids in healing bystimulating the circulation of white bloodcells to an area. This technique is great fortreating acute infections, increasing muscletone and strength, and healing varicoseveins. Start with an application of hot waterand end with cold. Apply the hot twice aslong as the cold and repeat 3 - 5 times.

CASTOR OIL PACKS applied topically tounbroken skin increases local circulation,promotes removal of toxins and stimulateshealing of underlying tissues and organs. Itis absorbed into the lymph circulation andcan improve digestion, relieve constipation,stimulate detoxification of organs, enhanceimmune function, reduce swelling anddecrease menstrual irregularities.

THE NATURALSTANDARD

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