When you put something on your face, you want to feel confident that it’s not going to cause harm and give you skin problems. However, harsh chemicals in cosmetics are causing a huge rise in skin allergies, as highlighted last year by the BBC programme Watchdog.

Other problems with cosmetics have been exposed too – tiny plastic microbeads are added to facial and body scrubs, toothpastes, and shower gels instead of natural alternatives. These microbeads are ending up in the seas and getting into the food chain through fish, so not only are they going on our skin, we’re eating them too.  To be fair after the Independent on Sunday highlighted this problem they have had assurances from leading companies including Unilever, Proctor & Gamble, Boots, Marks & Spencer, Johnson & Johnson, L’Oréal, Estée Lauder, Reckitt Benckiser, Clarins, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Superdrug, that they will phase them out.

Dr Ian White, a leading dermatologist at St Thomas’ Hospital, London, was reported as saying that more and more of us are suffering from skin allergies, including eczema, and that two chemicals used in cosmetics and toiletries as preservatives are being linked to increased numbers of people suffering from eczema.  The chemicals are  methychloroisothiazolinone and methylisothiazolinone (often referred to as MI).

The  answer is to go for genuinely natural skin care products, and that means reading labels very carefully or going to shops and websites who only sell certified natural skin care. To add to the problem many toiletries are labelled ‘organic’ when only 5 to 20 per cent of their ingredients are actually organic.  We recommend going to LoveLula who only sell truly natural cosmetics and make up.  Try Love Lula.

Kim Allan, director of Botanical Brands, a company that stocks only natural and organic skin care products, says, ‘The inclusion of plastic microbeads in skin care products is of real concern, not only to the environment but to our health as well.  Increased consumer awareness for the negatives surrounding the use of plastic microbeads is therefore extremely important.’

She recommends that people need to be educated in the health benefits of using natural ingredients as alternatives, such as ground apricot kernels or the natural exfoliating action of clays or honey.   ‘As well as being natural, safe and environmentally friendly, natural exfoliators are good for the skin and the health of our body too,’  Kim continues. ‘Our customers can be reassured that Botanical Brands only stocks natural and organic skin care products that do not contain plastic microbeads.’
For information about The Good Scrub Guide visit www.fauna-flora.org and to find out more about Botanical Brands Limited go to www.botanicalbrands.com.
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