Combating Dry, Aging Skin: What Effect Does Mineral Oil, Alcohol Have And More

The best way to understand how to combat the visible signs of aging is to first understand what contributes to the aging process. Our skin goes through change after the age of 18 years old. It can be compared to an apple that has fallen from the tree. The apple no longer has protection from the damaging effects of the sun. At most it will probably last about 4 days before it begins to decay. If the same apple was kept in a cool, dark place it would last several months.

The skin is composed of elastin and collagen which gives it strength and elasticity. Between the ages of twenty and eighty the production of these substances slow down sixty five percent and the thickness of the skin decrease every ten years by six percent. As the thickness of the skin decreases, its ability to retain moisture decreases which causes the skin to age more rapidly.

The skin can be preserved in a healthy manner, just like an apple. Unfortunately, most of the products on the market today are unhealthy and contribute to premature aging and skin disease. The sun and harmful skin care ingredients are not the only causes for concern. Hormone imbalance plays a large role. High testosterone levels cause acne and oily skin and estrogen deficiency causes dry skin. Contributers to thinning skin are low estrogen, low testosterone and very high or very low cortisol.

Here is a list of common ingredients found in most skin care products today:

Petroleum jelly - (petrolatum),another petroleum derivative, forms an even heavier film on the surfaceof your skin. Like mineral oil, petrolatum blocks the skin's naturalbreathing and excretion functions.

Paraffin wax - a hard, white material refined from petroleum by using various solvents.

Ceresin - another petroleum product; it's considered a higher-grade of paraffin.

Toluene - commercially derived from petrochemicals. It can be found as a solvent in cosmetics, nail polish remover, and dyes. You will also find it as a binding agent in gasoline.

Beeswax - a sticky sealant. It attracts pollutants, dirt, and bacteria and glues them onto the skin asit seals the pores.

Acetone - used to make plastic, fibers, drugs, and other chemicals. It is also used to dissolve other substances.

Solvent alcohol - in the form of propyl, isopropyl (petroleum derivatives) or SD alcohol (specially denaturedethyl alcohol). These alcohols are very drying to the skin.

Lanolin - An oily excretion of sheep is used as a lubricating ingredient in skin formulas. Extracted from the wool, lanolin has been indicated as a cause of allergic skin reactions in sensitive people. Sheep are bathed twice a year, their wool boiled down and the lanolin skimmed off the top. Imagine not washing your hair for 2 months, scooping off the oily substance and sticking it in your jar of moisturizer.

Collagen - although needed by the skin, it can not be absorbed into the skin. It is an animal product that is sometimes added to cosmetics as a moisturizing agent. Collagen molecules are too large to penetrate the skin and can therefore clog pores, and, in some cases, cause allergic reactions. To benefit from collagen, it has to be injected into the skin.

Artificial colors - These chemicals are known to cause allergic reactions in some people. Chemical fragrances have been known to create allergic skin reactions and photosensitivity in some people. We hear this phrase all the time "animal by-products" but who really knows what they are and where they come from? It is a nasty little secret that the cosmetics companies don't want you to know.

The uneaten remains of slaughtered cows are put into giant grinders at rendering plants. Diseased animals and roadkill are also thrown in. The mix is steam heated until all the fat rises to the top, which is then scooped away, refined and used in cosmetics, soaps, lubricants, candles, waxes and mineral oil.

There are few products on the market which are truly good for the skin. A product that would be considered healthy and an effective anti-aging system would be one that allows the skin to exfoliate toxins and absorb nutrients needed by the skin. It would not contain anything that would clogging of the skin. There are several products on the market which claim to use healthy, plant based ingredients vital to skin health, but these products are in a base of unhealthy skin clogging ingredients, which clog pores and prevent the skin from using these ingredients.

There are two product lines available today that stand above all the rest. They are very effective at slowing the aging process because they allow the skin to be revitalized nutritionally. One is a line of skin treatment products produced by Dr. Perricone. Although effective, this line is highly priced. Another skin treatment line is manufactured by Arbonne International. This companies motto is pure, safe and beneficial. All ingredients are tested for purity and safety. Testimonies are ongoing as to the safety and effectiveness of their anti-aging skin treatment line.