Be a Smart Skincare Consumer
- Helen Zhao
- Dec 8, 2017
- 9 min read
Today I’m going to blog about something very different from what I usually do. I’m going to talk about how to evaluate a skincare product on the market.
What makes you prefer certain skincare product to others? (ie: cleanser, toner, mask, serum, cream, and facial oil)
Simple: Brand names, advertising and testimony from consumers.
You bought these products and tried them out at home, and you see some ‘visible results’, however overtime they are faded. In the end, you are no longer happy with the ‘results’, and then start to look for new solution again.
Here comes a good question: how often do you read the ingredient labels before purchasing skincare products that are so tempting to you?
‘NONE’ is the common response. If you don’t read the full ingredient list, how do you know what exactly you are putting on your face? Furthermore, how do you even trust the product you are using is effective or even safe?
Most beauty product consumers are not educated on skincare ingredients, including myself in the past. About a month ago, I started to question the Kiehl’s skincare products I was using after seeing pimples popping up around my chin. There hasn’t been any change in my daily activities: the food I ate, the tea I drank, exercise I had been doing in the gym, or my bedtime or sleep hours. On the top of that, I’m a non smoke and don’t drink alcohol. Therefore I decided to dig into my skincare products and find out the root cause.
Just like you, I thought Kiehl’s was an awesome brand and its products must be effective as they claimed to use natural ingredients to change your skin for the better. I used Kiehl’s skincare for about five months starting this June. Late is never than never, and I’ve made up my mind to investigate.
In order to have some basic knowledge on skincare topic, I googled some articles on skincare ingredients, and came across “10 Toxic Beauty Ingredients to Avoid”. This article provides base knowledge in skincare ingredients for beginners.
Then I looked at Kiehl’s skincare ingredient labels, this brand is really the opposite of what most people think. It indeed changes your skin for the worse. The company uses industrial chemicals and those derived from petroleum in their product, such as propylene glycol and mineral oil. They also used paraben byproducts such as Methylparaben and Butylparaben, as well as silicon-based chemicals such as Dimethicone Crosspolymer and Cyclopentasiloxane. Let’s take a look at three of their best sellers here.
1) Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate
Propylene Glycol in this product is a real problem. Propylene Glycol is a byproduct of petroleum, and what it does is to create a sill on your skin and draws moister from your lower dermal. This makes your surface skin appear to be smooth and moisturized, however over time it dries out your lower dermal and eventually exacerbate the fine lines and wrinkles. When you remove propylene glycol from your face, the chemical will also remove the moister and fat that your skin requires staying healthy. This ingredient really “awesome” to use directly in something labeled anti-aging. Furthermore, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cetyl PEG, Dimethicone Crosspolymer are all byproduct of silicon. They are nothing but fillers, making your skin appear to be radiant and soft when leaving it on. When washing it off, you skin goes back to how it was.
(To review product, please click on the photo)
(Video Link- click on photo)
2) Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution
We talked about Propylene Glycol in the previous product and we are clear about what this chemical does to our skin. Take a look at the Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution, where you can see ‘glycol’ content twice: Propylene Glycol and Polybutylene Glycol. Meanwhile, another genius ingredient they throw in there is called Alcohol Denatured. This chemical dries up your skin in no time, and your skin requires more moisturizer to stay hydrated, and this vicious cycle never stops. Furthermore, alcohol denatured can also lead to birth defect. Ladies, be aware!
Not only Alcohol Denatured is found in this product, but also it’s blended in their Midnight Recovery Eye Concentrate. Why would they use chemical like this especially skin around the eyes are so delicate and thin?
(To review this product, click on this photo)
(Video Link- click on photo)
3) Midnight Recovery Concentrate
On the product package, It reads “98% of botanical ingredients”. What a tempting product. After I searched this product on Cons DNA website, I had a second thought on this product. Midnight Recovery Concentrate contains Geraniol and Citral. They are both naturally occurred scent ingredient however they can cause skin irritation or allergy. Linalool, Citronellol and Limonene are all second degree scent ingredients found in this product, and these ingredients also raise concern and restricted in cosmetic use.
(To view this product, click on the photo)
(Photo Credit: Link is embedded in this photo)
In conclusion, Kiehl’s marketing is really good. On their ingredient page, they advertise lavender, squalane, calendula, caffeine,vitamin C etc. Be a smart consumer and don’t be fooled by their market gimmick. Always read the full ingredient list and understanding how they affect your skin before purchasing any skincare.
(Photo Credit: Link is embedded in this photo)
I was trying to save the world and educate the general public, so I posted my honest comments for some Kiehl’s products on their website, however the company refused to make them live. After multiple attempts, one of my comments (Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate) is finally approved.
(To read my review, please click on this photo)
To find out more Kiehl's product review, check out Jady Yu's YouTube video, Kiehl's Skincare | Crap Products & Toxic Ingredients!
I am a health and beauty conscious person, and I had a real long journey on anti-aging. In the first 23 year of my life, I’ve never used any skincare products including cleanser and toner. My skin used to be really beautiful and nearly flawless, and it feels like baby skin. Lots of people mistook me as either being 15 or 18 years old at very most, however I was already in my early 20 at the time. When I first saw a line on my forehead, I went to CHANNEL and started to use their skincare products. That’s when I noticed my skin start to change. After moving to Calgary after graduating from UVic in 2012, I kept using CHANNEL for a while, and then I completed ditched this brand as it lost its power in the dry weather in Alberta. After that I tried out other brand (ie: Biotherm, Estee Lauder) for a very short period of time. Then I used Neutrogena for about 2 years. The result was very disappointed. My face changed dramatically in 2015 alone. I felt being less attractive than the younger me, and I felt really sad every time I saw my old photos. I didn’t know what caused it.
In November 2015, I decided to invest in my skincare so I could get better result and got my attractive look back. I had a very long list of products from many brands I’ve tried since then, and it includes L’Oreal, LANCOME, KORA Organic, Kiehl’s, Dermalactives, Forever Flawless, and OCEANE. I splurged a lot on these products that promised results without knowing what goes into the jar.
In short, these products fall under 3 categories: L’Oreal Paris, “Organic” Group, and Luxury Group.
Products from L’Oreal, LANCOME, and Kiehl’s are all under L’Oreal Paris. The company introduces lots of chemical based skincare products, according to their ingredient labels. Many would say Kiehl’s is a different brand, and most likely they are tricked by Kiehl’s “natural ingredient” marketing gimmick. Read the ingredient label first then tell me what you saw J Do your research on these ingredients and understand how they affect your skin. Lots of L’Oreal and LANCOME skincare products contain Alcohol and Alcohol Denatured. They dry up your skin real quick, making your skin crave more moisturizer so you will shop more with your hard earned money.
(Photo Credit: Link and website are embedded in this photo)
The founder of Kora Organics Miranda Kerr promises to deliver finest organic ingredients in her products. She’s honest about it, however she neglects that 2% of chemical dumped in her products by her chemist team. In her Noni Glow Facial Oil, it has Geraniol and Citral. Even though they are from organic farming, however these ingredients do raise concern in allergy and skin irritation. Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate (preservative), Limonene (scent) and Linalool (scent) can also be found in its Purifying Moisturizer. These ingredients are raised concern for allergy and irritation and have user restriction posted by Environmental Working Group (EWG). Certain countries have banned these ingredients in their cosmetic products.
To sum up, I have a mixed feeling about you, Kora Organics.
(Photo Credit: Link and website are embedded in this photo)
Ok, move on to the Luxury group. This group contains Dermalactives, OCEANE, and Forever flawless. The facial peel is pretty OK to use based on its ingredients (even though I wasn’t a big fan of preservative, but ok). Initially I liked its purifying night cream, however there are 2 ingredients are pretty controversial. First ingredient is Retinyl Palmitate, a form of Vitamin A. Studies shows that it increased the tumours in animal with topical application of Retinyl Palmitate, however studies have not done with human. The second element is Triethanolamine (TEA), a PH adjustor. The concern for this chemical is that it potentially causes skin dimities, and it can also lead to respiratory and lung infection. OCEANE is said to use mother of pearl and stem cells technique to turn back the clock. It’s true except for 2 concerns. Retinyl Palmitate is widely found if almost all its anti-aging products. On the top of that, I also found benzyl alcohol, a preservative and a solvent that could also dry up the skin. Lastly, its use of fragrance really concerns me, as the company can dump any chemicals that create scent under this ‘fragrance’ category without listing the name of these ingredients. This is more scary than what we can think of. Alright, let’s look at Forever Flawless, a similar line to OCEANE. The only difference is this brand utilizes fine diamond instead of mother of pearl. My biggest fear with its ingredients is fragrance and artificial color, as they can both lead to skin cancer. Triethanolamine (TEA) can be found in pretty much each of its products beside the gold skincare collection. In conclusion, I don’t know how I feel about these high-end skincare anymore. If you don’t feel safe with the ingredients they use, why bother buying them anymore?
(Photo Credits: click on each photo to view their websites)
Most people use skincare in hope of prevention or turning back the clock. However, not many people are satisfied with the result from the products they use. Why? The secret lies in the chemical contents and the percentage of active ingredients in the skincare. Do you know prolong using product contain certain chemical such as Propylene Glycol and isopropyl alcohol speed up aging process stead of anti-aging. That’s to say, we all need to become more educated in skincare products. Remember, 40% of what you put on your skin goes into your bloodstream.
In short, two elements determine a skincare product's effectiveness. A. Active Ingredients (non-chemical contents), B. Percentage of Active Ingredients.
You may say: “If you analyze ingredients, you can always find something bad in pretty much everything”. Well, not necessary. There are clean skincare products out in this world, except they don’t waste money and time advertising their products. If you know how to read skincare ingredients already, check out OZ Naturals’ cold press skincare. https://www.oznaturals.com/ Their skincare is clean. Except use of Retinol/ Retinyl Palmitate, which is not my favourite ingredient, others are OK to use. You can also find them on Amazon for $20 - $30 range. OZ Naturals is only one of many hidden in the word. Remember, good products are never advertised because the companies found no need to do so: Their products speak for themselves, thus they already have plenty of customers to generate enough income for them.
(Click on the photo to view the website)
As for as personal anti-aging strategy, I stopped using half of the products I used to adore. I cut down to only one serum and one cream for day and night. I wash my face with 2% milk and tone my skin afterwards using the same ‘product’. On the top of that, I steam my face every night and use some DIY homemade facial masks using apple, turmeric, cucumbers, and egg white. I’m still exploring healthier and more effective ways to take care of my skin. I will introduce these masks in my next blog.
Of course it’s hard to impossible to filter out all the bad ingredients in skincare, but we can try our best to protect ourselves with the knowledge we have!
Reference
(You can click on each link to view relevant information)