Clean Hydration

Have dry skin that feels like a rhinoceros’s hide?  Especially this time of year with chunky sweaters, cozy fires and temperature changes, our skin takes a beating.  Do we just run to the local grocery store for lotion and moisturizer?  What about all the options that glare at us on those shelves?  Are they what’s best for us?  In looking at common ingredients in moisturizers, are there also ones we should avoid?  Too, are labels misleading?  While not all lotions and moisturizers have exactly the same ingredients, many have common ground.  Let’s take a look at what is good, beneficial and helpful for our skin to help not only combat dryness but also to help in the fight against fine lines and wrinkles – and choosing ones that are safe and clean at the same time.

SHEA BUTTER – pronounced shay, this is a deliciously super-hydrating ingredient found in many ultra-lotions.  It is a fat extracted from the nut of an African Shea tree, located in the sub-Saharan desert. It is commonly found in personal care products as well as in food.  For our purposes, let’s look at its properties for skin health.  Shea butter boosts skin’s moisture.  “It contains several types of fatty acids – including lineoleic, oleic, palmitic and stearic acids – that improve the skin’s natural barrier, Shea butter also protects skin from damage from the environment like pollutants” (Skin Science, What Is Shea Butter?  5 Skin Benefits Worth Knowing, aveeno.com). 

Shea also has anti-inflammatory properties that can soothe inflamed skin.  Many skin conditions like rosacea, psoriasis, and sunburns benefit from Shea butter.  Another key quality of Shea is its ability to heal cuts and scrapes.  “Cuts, abrasions and other wounds heal faster with Shea butter, as the vitamins and phytonutrients are absorbed into the subcutaneous portion of the skin and help the healing process along” (Shea Butter – Healing and Moisturizing Miracle by Stephen Scott, Terroir Seeds, underwoodgardens.com).  With all these amazing benefits for our skin, look for Shea butter in our moisturizers and lotions.

COCONUT OIL – There are three types of coconut oil – unrefined, virgin and extra virgin.  Unrefined is made by “pressing the edible flesh of the coconut and generally does not contain added chemicals, and is best for skin care” (How to Use Coconut Oil on Your Face Overnight by Corey Whelan for Healthline March 16, 2020).  According to India Times “virgin coconut oil preserves the virtues of the coconut milk and does not let it get harmed by the heating processes that regular coconut oil undergoes” (What is Virgin Coconut Oil and How is it Different from the Regular One? timesofindia.indiatimes.com October 9, 2020).  Virgin and unrefined are the same thing – hence the name “unrefined” and the difference between virgin and extra virgin?  NOTHING.  “There actually isn’t a USDA recognized grade of extra virgin coconut oil.  Just virgin coconut oil” (Virgin VS Extra Virgin Coconut Oil: What’s The Difference? centrafoods.com).

Virgin coconut has many uses and benefits, not only for our skin but for our overall health as well.  It helps keep our thyroids functioning properly as well as the endocrine systems and it increases the body’s metabolic rate (helping in weight loss), helps reduce inflammation and “Medium Chain Fatty Acid (MCFA) of coconut oil does not need the pancreatic enzymes to be broken down, so taking coconut oil eases the strain on the pancreas” (timesofindia.com).  It is also incredible for our skin, is abundant in vitamin E and can be used as a cleanser and moisturizer.  Word of caution: do not use around eye area as it can build up on the eyeball that requires medical attention to have it professionally scraped off.

HYALURONIC ACID – According to Healthline.com, this gooey substance has many surprising health benefits.  Hyaluronic acid (HA) is produced by our bodies with the largest amounts found in skin, connective tissue and eyes.  “Its main function is to retain water to keep your tissues well lubricated and moist.”  It can be taken in supplement form, but this acid is also found in many topical serums, moisturizers, makeup and even eye drops.  With these known benefits, using hyaluronic acid containing products will help your skin look well-hydrated and more youthful.  Since we are exposed all the time to ultraviolet radiation from the sun, tobacco smoke and pollution, as well as the aging process, the natural occurring HA in our skin decreases over time, thereby reducing its ability to retain moisture.  Using products containing HA will help keep our skin healthy and well- hydrated which in turn can reduce fine lines and wrinkles.  A win-win in my book.

ALOE VERA – You have probably used aloe Vera to ease a sunburn, but did you know it has many other beneficial properties for your skin?  You can use it straight from the plant – cut off a leaf, open it up and apply directly to your skin, or you can buy pure aloe Vera in gel form (it’s best to have it as a sole ingredient, and organic if possible).  Aloe Vera helps retain moisture in your skin as a protective layer without leaving it feeling greasy.  It absorbs quickly making it ideal for oily skin as well.  Just like Shea butter, aloe Vera also aids in wound care and healing.  “Aloe Vera gel can not only increase the amount of collagen in wounds but also change the composition of collagen, increase collagen cross-linking and thereby promote wound healing.  Scientific studies have shown that the gel can increase the flexibility and reduce the fragility of the skin since 99% of the gel is water” (The Effect of Aloe Vera Clinical Trials on Prevention and Healing of Skin Wounds: A Systematic Review; Iranian Journal of Medical Sciences, January 2019; ncbi.nlm.nih.gov).

These are just a few beneficial, safe clean ingredients to look for when choosing a moisturizer.  But are there others that we should look out for that could be potentially harmful for our skin and overall health??  Yes, and space limits us, but using resources like Environmental Working Group (EWG) – a third-party rating group that evaluates ingredients found in products and scores them according to being potentially harmful (and why).  Ingredients like PEGs, fragrance, EDTA, parabens, sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium luareth sulfate (SLS and SLES) to name a few, are considered potentially harmful to our health and are best to be avoided.  Checking labels on products may take some time, but looking for beneficial ingredients as well as the potentially harmful ones can help us make wise choices. 

When I started this journey, I did not know how to look, where to turn and what to buy. It was rather daunting.  But, God says to ask for wisdom, and He gives generously without finding fault (James 1:5).  My family has some underlying health issues and I wanted to do as much as I could to reduce our toxic load.  I prayed for wisdom, asked for insight and that God would lead me to the right resources, companies and products.  It did take time, but I believe that we are in a healthier place because of God’s leading in this journey.

So, while labels can be misleading and even hard to read or understand, it is important to identify the ingredients in the products we buy.  Our local grocery store could have great products at great prices, or we might need to find another source.  With the colder weather, it might be quite cozy shopping online for that moisturizer that can tame the rhinoceros’s skin and help your skin be safe, clean and gorgeous.