HOW TO READ THE LABEL

Let's be honest!! We live INSTA- Lifestyle where the hype is enough to make us buy things. It’s overwhelming to see everyday new skincare evolution claiming the same thing again and again. The most expensive products aren’t necessarily the best. “Miracle products” that sound too good to be true usually are.I believe it's really our responsibility as consumers to educate ourselves about what we want to put on our skin, and what we want to exclude.

A lot of cosmetic products appear interesting and appealing, but that doesn’t mean all of them are as efficient and safe as you might think. Many products contain ingredients you may prefer to avoid, ingredients that can be sensitising and irritating, or ingredients that can even be harmful.

I usually look at the first five to 10, to be on the safe side. We got to agree it’s not going to be 100% perfect and most products don’t tick off all these boxes. If you find ones that do, great! But sometimes you have to make a judgement call. The way ingredients got combined by formulating chemist can matter too.

1. Ingredients are listed from highest to lowest concentration:

If a product shouts a particular ingredient but it is listed near the end of the list, then not much of that ingredient is present. So focus on the first 5 ingredient in the list which determines the true performance of the product. The first ingredient is usually water or aloe and often 70-80% of the product which is perfectly fine. The next four ingredient typically have 3-5% concentrations.

2. KNOW about Oil products:

"Well, oils are super hot, I’ve been using coconut oil from 10 years as a body lotion everyday, that’s different topic to cover some other day. Remember oil oxidise quickly (depends at different rates and type of oil) So if possible opt for cold-pressed oils which lasts longer.

3. Know Your Irritants

If you know you are allergic to a specific ingredient, it helps reading the list before buying. The following ingredients tend to be most irritating. This is by no means an exhaustive list:

I. Detergents – Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine II. Preservatives – Benzyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol and Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate. III. Fragrance – ‘Parfum’ the term can signify artificial fragrance which is a bad irritant.

4. Know When To Dispose Of Products

Look for the numbers 6M, 12M, 24M, and so on. The M stands for months. Use those numbers as a guide for when to replace your product.

5. KNOW your Cruelty free products:

Bunny on the label to indicate the product is cruelty-free. Cruelty free products are much gentler and less harsh and great choice for people with chronic skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis.

6. And last don't be fooled by marketing tricks.

For example: "Dermatologist tested' doesn't equal 'dermatologist endorsed.'

Label reading is not a mystery, but it does take some time to learn how to read a skincare label.I hope this has given you some pointers. Stay tuned for ingredients details!

#readthelabel24 #decodingskincareingredients #skincaresecrets