What does healthy and effective skincare mean to you? Are you looking for a quick fix, a temporary glow, or a long-term regimen to bring out the very best in your skin?

The 1900s had an explosion of skincare for women. In 1950, popular brands launched and marketed themselves to women world-wide.  We’ve come such a long way – from looking for a simple moisturizing product, we now want to find products to moisturize, protect, exfoliate, lift, and make us look 20 years younger.  Somewhere between ancient times and modern times, the skincare industry got comfortable in a grey area, where putting harmful chemicals on one of our most vulnerable organs became… the norm.  

It’s time for change.  Herb Market Botanicals’ formulas contain only unrefined, natural ingredients, which make for effective products, packed full of nutrients, free of synthetics, preservatives, fillers, or bulking agents. We have a very strong belief that these toxic ingredients should never be consumed, let alone used on our precious skin. 

The approach we use is simple; use fewer ingredients, with higher concentrations, to provide optimal delivery of nutrients. Our products promote skin vitality, help rebalance troubled areas, and address the early signs of skin cell deterioration.

“Somewhere between ancient times and modern times, the skincare industry got comfortable in a grey area, where putting harmful chemicals on one of our most vulnerable organs became… the norm.”

Today, many people are extra cautious about what they eat, but their skincare products are still filled with chemicals, mineral oils, and other harmful substances that shouldn’t be used on our skin. These toxins are essentially absorbed and overtime, can build-up to dangerous levels, leading to a disruption of hormones, and ultimately various health conditions. Why is this ignored?  Perhaps we’ve been effectively marketed to believe that this is safe and healthy for our skin.

“Claiming a product is ‘natural’ does not imply every single ingredient is safe and completely natural.”

The skincare industry today is oversaturated and shockingly unregulated, making it impossible to trust various claims that companies make. For example, claiming a product is ‘natural’ does not imply every single ingredient is safe and completely natural. This leads to extremely misleading claims and work to fool you into believing such misinformation. The only way to be sure about quality ingredients, is to read the ingredient label of every product. Familiarize yourself with the names of harmful substances and prefixes, and look at the fine print.

ALWAYS READ THE LABELS!

It’s so important to ALWAYS read ingredient labels. Many skincare products on the market claim to be natural or contain natural ingredients, but, when you read the ingredient list, those ingredients are usually listed towards the end of the list.  This means they make up extremely low percentages in the total formulations.

When you see water in products, especially as the first ingredient, it’s a clear indication a product is heavily diluted and contains preservatives.  There are many natural, effective preservatives, and though truly natural products will indefinitely have a shorter shelf life, you can be rest assured that the ingredients are safe and truly ‘clean’.

TOXINS, TOXINS AND MORE TOXINS…

How to determine if your product contains harmful ingredients?  Look for prefixes like ethyl, propyl, butyl, methyl, or isopropyl in the list of ingredients. If you see any of these, steer away. In addition, below are a list of some popular, harmful ingredients to be aware about.

HARMFUL INGREDIENT LIST: 

• Aluminum – Found in many deodorants, aluminum is unequivocally a neurotoxin. Known as a skin irritant and an endocrine disruptor.
• BHA or BHT – Synthetic antioxidants used to extend shelf life for a product. Used most commonly as a preservative in many moisturizing agents. Known as a potential carcinogen.
• Parabens – Estrogen-mimicking preservatives, used in skincare to prevent mold and bacterial growth. These parabens have been identified within various biopsies and breast tumours, which have been linked to cancer formation. The estrogen-mimicking properties lead to many different health conditions, like kidney and liver damage, early breast development in youth, decreased fertility in both men and women, and disruptions to the endocrine system.
• Parfum or fragrance – This usually means synthetically derived. The word ‘fragrance’ is considered as the trade secret, which means companies are not required to disclose every ingredient. Often, these terms mean a complex list of hundreds of chemicals branched under one term. These chemicals have been scientifically proven to cause migraines, allergies, endocrine imbalances, reproductive issues, and can trigger asthma and other respiratory conditions. Usually, toxicity testing is not conducted, in such an unregulated industry.
• PEGs – PEGs (polyethylene glycols) are petroleum-based chemicals, widely used as thickening agents and softeners for cream bases. Studies have concluded PEGs are carcinogenic chemicals, which can cause irritation to damaged skin and whole-body toxicity. PEGs act as a ‘penetration enhancer,’ meaning increasing the skins ability to absorb the product, including the carcinogenic ingredients. Made from the same chemical used in anti-freeze.
• Silicones – Commonly used in facial moisturizers to soften and smooth, while helping products to glide and slide more easily. They coat the skin like a plastic film, clogging pores and allowing buildup of debris and bacteria to sit and slow cellular regeneration and increase breakouts. Often found under the suffixes of cones, cools, silanes, and siloxanes.
• Sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) & Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) – Cheap chemical additives used as detergents, surfactants, and penetration enhancers. Known to be a neurotoxin, endocrine disruptor and skin irritant.

Though there are many harmful ingredients in which we have not listed, we hope that the above is an indication of just how toxic the beauty and skincare industry is. These chemicals penetrate deep and actually age your skin quicker. That’s right, your super-expensive ‘anti-aging’ serum is laced with chemicals that overtime, help speed up the formation of fine lines, wrinkles, age spots, and other various skin conditions.

“These chemicals penetrate deep and actually age your skin quicker.”

THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE

Our skin is a reflection of what’s going on inside. After all, it’s our largest organ. By taking steps towards a natural lifestyle, you will appreciate long-lasting results which will radiate from the inside out. 

We hope this post provides a sense of awareness and educates you on the harmful ingredients, so you can better decipher if a product is truly natural or not. We believe it is a human right to know what we put on, and into our bodies. As consumers, we have rights – the right to look, read, ask, and ultimately, choose.  Choice, is a key word when it comes to skincare.  We can choose to purchase an expensive, celebrity-endorsed, magically packaged product, or we can choose to educate ourselves, to change directions, to treat our skin the same we would our precious babies – with honesty and care.