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Post in Skincare Aware
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Chemical vs. Natural Skincare

Skincare is an extremely important part of our day to day lives, and the products we use and where they come from should be too.

 

Natural skincare is better for the environment, but isn’t always the 100% great for the skin. I’m fact, nature-based products are more likely to cause irritation in the skin then Chemical.

 

Chemical skincare is man-made and is formulated in a lab, tested for skin, and was designed specifically for the skin and our skins’ issues. However, due to it’s name, Chemical skincare is viewed in a negative light, despite to it’s benefit to the skin. In addition, Chemical skincare brands are more likely to test on animals than Natural.

 

So— both branches have positive and negative points that should be considered. And not all brands come with the negatives included with their perspective products. So what is better? Products better for your skin, or for the environment? What brands showcase environmentally friendly Chemical skincare? Recommend below. 

Re: Chemical vs. Natural Skincare

@abbyeve  "Chemical skincare" is all skincare. "Natural skincare" products contain chemicals. Everything is made of chemicals. Our own bodies are chemical producing factories. Natural skincare brands should stop claiming to be "chemical free" because that's impossible. Eh, I guess to reduce confusion, I'll call these 2 groups "natural skincare" and "non-natural skincare," even though some non-natural skincare brands use naturally derived ingredients. 

 

I doubt natural skincare is automatically better for the environment than all other types of skincare. Example: palm oil is a natural ingredient. Its use in many cosmetics (including skincare) and food is also a deforestation driver, unless it's obtained from a sustainable source—and I'm not sure how much is sourced sustainably, considering how lucrative the palm oil business is. 

 

I can't/won't draw a hard line between "products better for your skin" and "better for the environment," because there's plenty of overlap; they're not mutually exclusive. Some non-natural brands are doing or have already done things like switch to sustainable or recyclable packaging, reduce their CO2 emissions, source more sustainable ingredients, etc. A good way to help the environment is reduce your own consumption of products, whether or not they're "natural." The more skincare products you use, the more runoff and packaging waste you generate—and the more products a brand* sells, the less incentivized they may be to reduce packaging waste themselves, which is where reduction is most needed. 

 

The first non-natural, good for my skin, and environmentally friendly brand that comes to mind is The Inkey List. I can't use all their products (there's no brand whose entire line I can use), but the ones I can are effective and play nice with my particular skin. TIL has been updating their product packaging and, according to their 2022 mid-year impact report (available at their site), they're now officially beyond net zero and Leaping Bunny certified. 

 

And no, I don't work for The Inkey List. 😂 In fact, I strongly dislike some of their products for performance issues. But their The INKEY List Oat Makeup Removing Cleansing Balm 5 oz/ 150 mL , The INKEY List Salicylic Acid Cleanser 5 oz / 150 ml , The INKEY List SuperSolutions 10% Azelaic Serum 1 oz / 30 mL , The INKEY List SuperSolutions 10% Urea Moisturizer 1.7 oz / 50 mL , and The INKEY List Hemp Oil Moisturizer 1 oz/ 30 mL have all worked well for me, and I still use several of those products. 

 

 

*This doesn't apply to all brands, of course. 

Re: Chemical vs. Natural Skincare

Have you tried youth of the people ?  I believe we can balance it out…. Youth of the people care for the environment and their products are good. At the end of the day you need to make sure the products you use aren’t irritating your skin. 

Re: Chemical vs. Natural Skincare

I 100% agree. However, YTTP may be skin and environmentally friendly, but not wallet friendly 😂

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