Skin Care Product Category Ingredients
A concoction of different forms of substances blended together towards the purpose of making your skin healthy and young is what a skin care product is made of. With the thousands of ingredients in the market, it is no wonder that people get confused. The following is a list of the categories of ingredients that are commonly seen in labels and such, classified according to function.
Abrasives. Abrasives are basically scrubs that remove dead skin cells from the skin. They are considered to be cosmetics and includes polyurethane beads, finely ground corn meal, oatmeal, ground walnut husks, and silicon beads.
Adjusters. Adjusters are substances that are used to adjust the physical properties of the product, such as their pH or consistency of the product. This includes SD alcohol, carbamer 40, beeswax and paraffin.
Anti acne ingredients. Cosmeceuticals that have a fatal effect on acne and bacteria causing it are sulfur, tea tree oil, benzoyl peroxide, camphor, salicylic acid and sulfur.
Anti inflammatories. There are also cosmeceuticals that act on reducing inflammation in injured skin such as vitamins, aloe, chamomile, raspberry leaf, grape seed extract, and oatmeal mask that contain glucans.
Antioxidants. Antioxidants are cosmeceuticals used to preserve and treat skin. They act on free radicals by neutralizing them thus reversing their effect on the skin. Free radicals are brought about too much exposure to the sun. These include vitamins A, E, and D, including lipoic acid.
Alcohols. Alcohols are utilized as toners for oily skin types. SD alcohol acts as a thinning agent for skin products to help remove oil from the skin aside from having antiseptic abilities. Isopropyl alcohol tends to dry up skin and is comedogenic.
Dyes. Dyes only act to give color to the product, appealing to the consumer, to convince them to buy more.
Emollients. Emollients give the product a protective ability which prevents moisture from the skin to escape and skin from drying up. They are present in almost all skin care product, examples of which are silicon, mineral oil, shea butter, petrolatum, hyaluronic acid, and lanolin. Tocopherol, a derivative of vitamine E is used as an emollient and a antioxidant.
Emulsifiers. Most cleansers have emulsifiers like detergents and surfactants, sodium laurel sulfate or polysorbate 20. This makes a foaming action on the product which helps capture oil and remove it from the skin. Examples of emulsifiers are bar soaps and lotion cleansers.
Enzymes. Enzymes, another cosmeceutical, are extracted from plants like papaya, pineapple and pumpkin to act as exfoliants. They remove dead skin cells and other waste products on the skin.
Fragrance. Some products may emit an odor that is attractive to the consumers. This is the basis for mixing fragrances into them to make them more attractive to the customers.
Herbs. Some skin care products contain herbs to bring about various changes in skin condition. Green tea has a calming and antioxidant effect while chamomile has a soothing effect. Comfrey is for pain and swelling relief and faster wound healing. Rose gives off a natural fragrance, and acts as a humectant. Herbs, although natural, may also have adverse effects on the skin, especially with prescription medicines.
Humectants. Humectants are substances that attract water molecules to the skin. Examples include glycerine, urea, honey, NAPCA, propylene glycol, lactic acid, hyaluronic acid, amino acids and with hazel.
Occlusives. Cosmetics used to keep moisture in the skin. Examples are zinc oxide, titanium dioxide found in sunscreen and mineral oil and silicon.
Preservatives and stabilizers. Most skin care products contain preservatives and stabilizers to prolong their shelf life and prevent them from breeding unwanted microorganisms. They usually make use of those with no effect on skin function, such as parabens and polysorbate 80.
Skin lighteners. Skin care lighteners include licorice, mushroom extract, vitamin C, and raspberry. Hydroquinone also lightens skin but needs a prescription to get it.
Sunscreens. Sunscreens protect the skin from the ultraviolet rays from the sun. Sun blocks prevent the sun's rays from touching the skin such as zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, avobenzone, PABA, parsol, ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, and ethylhexyl salicylate.
To formulate a certain skin care product entails much work and research on blend and effect. This is as complex as can be to be able to also address the various complexities of the skin.
