Preservatives In Skincare: Are They Safe?
Are preservatives found in skincare and cosmetic products safe for our health? Preservatives sometimes get a bad reputation in the skincare and cosmetics world. Still, they’re essential for keeping our products safe for ongoing use – we need to know which ones to look out for and what to avoid on the ingredient lists of the products we use daily.
What are preservatives used for?
Preservatives are added to formulas to prevent and reduce harmful bacteria and mold from growing in the product. They also increase the shelf life of the products, as they help formulas remain stable in different conditions such as heat or light exposure – when they otherwise might go ‘off’ and develop bacteria within them. Preservatives are often necessary for us to use products safely without irritating or even bacterial or fungal infections on the skin.
Which preservatives should I avoid?
So we’ve established that we need preservatives to have safe products - however, some ingredients are not as safe as others and should be avoided to protect from other nasty health consequences.
Over the years, some preservatives have been discovered to have harmful effects on the human body - particularly parabens and formaldehyde-releasing ingredients. If possible, these ingredients should be avoided in your entire skincare and beauty routine.
Parabens, a common preservative, should be avoided as they can penetrate the skin’s surface and be absorbed into the body, potentially causing adverse health effects over time. Similarly, formaldehyde-related ingredients can also lead to ongoing negative health concerns.1 The good news? Once these ingredients are eliminated from your beauty routine, your body will do a good job clearing away any remaining traces in your system! So it’s never too late to make the switch to safer products.
SumaNurica Ingredients
At SumaNurica, we only use safe, non-irritating preservatives to deliver the best possible result for your skin’s health without the nasty ingredients. We pride ourselves on developing world-class, near-skin-like active formulations for all skin types and believe in only using the most necessary (and safe) ingredients for maximum results.
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