Sunday, June 12, 2011

Sulfates, Silicones, & Dry Skin

Hello all! I am sure by now you have read about the Do's and Don'ts of Sulfates and Silicones with your hair. But those of you who have dry skin like myself might benefit from cutting sulfates and silicones from your skincare products. After my dry, damaged hair (before the big chop) improved after cutting out Sulfates and Silicones, I decided to try to see if those ingredients could be causing problems with my SUPER dry skin that is prone to Keratosis Pilaris (also known as KP, which are flesh toned bumps that usually appear on the upper arms or legs).

Well ever since I stopped using sulfates in anything that touches my skin, my once dry, flaking skin has improved drastically! I stopped using sulfates and silicones on my face, and my once acne prone skin is clear for the first time in my life! I get the occasional pimple, but it's still much better than before. I really believe that silicones have the ability to clog your pores, and break you out if you're sensitive. I didn't stop using silicones in my body lotion until 2 weeks ago, and ever since then my KP has cleared up for the most part. I also scrub my upper arms and legs twice a week, and that combo helps to keep to keep the KP at bay. The only thing I won't change is having a sulfate-free dish soap, I feel that something sulfate-free won't clean well enough. So for now I just leave a cone-free lotion by the sink and apply some after I do the dishes.

Here are the products I use:

-Dove Beauty Bar for my body. Since it's very hard to find a sulfate free body wash, I went back to the classic Dove Beauty bar!

-EcoTools Mango Body Butter ($7 @ Ulta). This is cheapest body butter I could find that doesn't have mineral oil or cones!
-Nuetrogena Redness Soothing Cream Cleanser. I'm not really sure if it helps with redness, but it gradually cleared up my pregnancy pimples in about 4 weeks. And the ingredients are are of pretty decent quality!


-Yes to Carrots SPF 15 Moisturizer. This is the cheapest face moisturizer I could5 find WITH sunscreen it in, that doesn't contain mineral oil or cones.


-Ponds Face Wipes (I LOVE these. These are great in a pinch to remove makeup when you're tired and just want to get to bed!). They are the only ones I can find without all the bad stuff in them!


Tips:

-Silicones may be okay to use in makeup, if that means that you'll be washing it off before going to bed, I think that it's probably the products with silicones that your skin absorbs more, like moisturizers which are more problematic. But I still use a mineral face powder. I'll update you on the one I use soon!

-Washing your face TOO much can strip it of oils. Many people like to use the Oil Cleasning Method, which uses oil to clean your face (oil is the only thing that can dissolve oil), while leaving your skin's precious oils behind. It broke me out a little, but many people have success with it. It's one of those things that isn't for everybody, so the only way to know is to try it out. I currently use the Water Cleansing Method, which is where I just splash my face with water, blot dry, and add moisturizer. I only use traditional cleansers or cleaning wipes if I have make-up on to remove.

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