Holistic Health

The Truth About Ingredients in Skin Care Products

Would you willingly put a product which contains toxic ingredients onto your face or body or into your bath? Of course you would not, but sadly this is precisely what millions of people do every day of their lives. Food, skin care, make up and toiletries which all of us use daily contain a cocktail of toxins which may cause damage to our bodies. The evidence is there in abundance but nothing very much is done about it. Our feeling is that every one of us as individuals can take the initiative and change our daily habits. Going back to Nature could not be easier and at The Victorian Garden you do not need to compromise on quality or efficacy. The entire beauty industry is based on many myths which the discerning shopper can easily spot if armed with the correct facts. Here are some common myths and facts which we hope will be helpful to you:

• The main lubricant in most creams and lotions is liquid paraffin, propylene glycol or mineral oil. These are by products from petrol refinery and are dumped in huge quantities in the cosmetic industry. They are cheap and stable and so don't go off easily. They can clog pores and prevent the skin from breathing. Your skin becomes addicted to these ingredients and literally peels if you stop using a product which contains them. Often when changing from a mineral oil based skin care product to a natural one, the skin does a mini de-tox which can mean peeling, itching & a break out of spots.
• Although we are “manic organic”  in our philosophies, we recognize that proper, efficient preservation of products is necessary to comply with Health & Safety rules internationally and to make sure that products remain stable and safe for use  – an unstable product which has spoiled may not be immediately noticed by the user, but could certainly cause health problems if absorbed via the skin into the bloodstream.   We believe in being realistic about a safe preservative system.   Of course we use many wonderful natural and organic ingredients which offer some degree of preservation properties, but these are generally considered by experts to lack the power to maintain stability in a product and prevent contamination.  It is well known that some so called “natural preservatives” such as Grapefruit Seed Extract are bound with synthetic preservatives.  No-one can be sure what GSE from various manufacturers is bound with but what is known is that GSE alone cannot preserve any skincare product effectively for more than a few days.  Our decision on ingredients is always based on intensive research done and are upon results of clinical trials and studies done by respected bodies around the world. Synthetic preservatives may be effective but can be carcinogenic, hormone disrupting and neurotoxic.  ( Click here for Full Information on our Natural Preservative System ). Many products which claim to be natural and organic sometimes contain questionable ingredients.  The best way to identify these is to check for yourself: Start to read labels and that way you do not have to take a sales person's word for it.
• Organic herbs, essential oils and cold pressed vegetable oils retain their nutrients and active ingredients to a higher degree. The extracts are so complex that often it is not possible to identify all the constituents. Our long experience in this field has shown that these extracts give superior results when compared to their non organic counterparts - quite apart from the pesticide free aspect! Pesticides have only been around for about 50 years and frankly are so toxic that if some of them came onto the market today they would be banned. They are proven carcinogens (cancer forming) substances and pollute our bodies as well as our environment. They can cause birth defects, damage the immune system and mess up the reproductive system, Hence our obsession with using only organic herbs, flowers and cold pressed vegetable oils – all from plants which have not been sprayed with pesticides but have been grown to organic protocol.
• Carefully formulated natural and organic skin, body and bath care products are wonderful to use and the botanical extracts and essential oils act on all the senses. They bring harmony and health beyond just the skin as they are absorbed into our bloodstream and their properties work within our bodies

CARCINOGENS IN SKIN CARE PRODUCTS Guide to Reading the Label

The following list of chemicals is a guide to enable you to check products that you wish to buy so that you may make the decision to boycott them. Remember that many sales people DO NOT KNOW about these ingredients and will simply repeat their training, so it is up to you to check the product ingredients yourself – only then can you make an informed decision on what to avoid and what to buy.

 

Direct Carcinogens

• Benzyl Acetate
• Butyl Benzylphthalate
• Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA)
• Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT)
• “Coal Tar Dyes”(and akes) D ^C Red 2,23,4,8,9,10,17,19 & 33. Green 5, Orange 17, FD & C Blue 1,2 & 4, Green 3, Red 4 & 40, Yellow 5 & 6
• Crystalline Silica
• Diamonophenol
• Dfiethanolamine (DEA)
• Dioctyl Adipate
• Disperse Blue 1, Disperse Yellow 3
• Fluoride
• Formaldehyde
• Glutaral
• Hydroquinone
• Methylene Chloride
• Methylisothiazolinon and Methylchloroisothiazolinone
• Nitrophenylenediamine
• p-Phenylenediamine (following oxidation)
• Phenyl-p-phenylenediamine
• Saccharin
• Talc

CONTAMINANTS

• (These are hidden carcinogens contaminating other chemicals such as dioxane, a highly potent carcinogen)
• 1,4 Dioxane found in: Ethoxylated Alcohols, including Pegs, Oleths, Polysorbates, Nonoxynol
• Arsenic and Lead found in: Coal Tar Dyes, Polyvinyl Acetate, PEGs (polyethylene glycols)
• DDT & related Pesticides found in: Lanolin, Quaterniums
• Diethanolamine (DEA) fund in: DEA Cocaminde/Lauraminde condensates, Quaterniums
• Ethylene Oxide found in: Ethoxylated Alcohols incuding PEGs, Oleths, Polysorbates, Nonoxynol
• Formaldehyde found in: Polyoxymethylene Urea

NITROSAMINE PRECURSORS:

Nitrosamines are highly carcinogenic. Nitrosamine precursors interact with other chemicals in the product to form nitrosamines.

• Bromonitrodioxane
• 2-Bromo-2-nitropropane-1,2-diol
• Diethanolamine (DEA)
• DEA-Cocamide, Lauramide & Oleamide condensates
• DEA-MEA/Acetame
• DEA- Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
• Metheneamine
• Mopholine
• Padimate-O
• Pyroglutamic Acid
• Triethanolamine (TEA)
• TEA-Soldium Lauryl Sulfate

FORMALDEHYDE PRECURSORS:

Formaldehyde is highly toxic, neurotoxic, genotoxic & carcinogenic. Formaldehyde precursors reacts with other chemicals in the product to release formaldehyde (used to preserve dead bodies).

• 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,2-diol
• Diazolidinyl Urea
• DMDM-Hydantoin
• Imidazolidinyl Urea
• Metheneamine
• Quaternium-15
• Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate

ENDOCRINE (HORMONAL) DISRUPTORS:

Parabens: (methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl also known as hydroxy ethyl benxoates). ( 3 university studies recently have shown that parabens absorb into the bloodstream and disrupt the hormonal system. They may also be associated with breast cancer).

• Benzophenone-3
• Butyl Benzyl Phthalate
• Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA)
• Butylmethoxydibenzoylmethane (B-MDM)
• Dibutyl Phthalate
• Homosalate (HMS)
• Methyl-benzylidene Camphor (4-MBC)
• Octyl-dimethyl-PABA (OD-PABA)
• Octyl-methoxycinnamate (OMC)
• Resorcinol

For more in-depth information please refer to “The Safe Shopper's Bible” / Epstein & Steinman

“What's in Your Cosmetics?” / Aubrey Hamton “Drop Dead Gorgeous”

 

Our products are made with love and care by our team of experienced bio chemists well versed in the art of creating Natural and Organic skincare products to international standards.   We are registered with the *CTFA of South Africa (Cosmetic Toiletries and Fragrance Association and The Allied Health Professions Council of South Africa, Our products are approved by Beauty Without Cruelty.
*Note: The Cosmetic, Toiletry & Fragrance Association of South Africa is the industry's voice committed to maintaining the high quality and safety of cosmetic products. The CTFA guides members on the Self-regulatory Codes of Practice & Standards to ensure that the South African cosmetic industry flourishes.

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