Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Why Is There Mineral Oil In Moisturizers?

By Peter Albertonach

You probably use a moisturizer right now. Is there mineral oil in it? Is mineral oil in moisturizers good, or is it bad?

Mineral oil is derived from crude oil, in other words it's a petrochemical product. It is a by product of the process of producing petroleum products. It is used in many skin care products and anti aging products, cosmetics and much more. Mainly because it is extremely cheap. You may also know it as white oil.

You may be surprised in fact to learn that around, or over 50% of the ingredients of many skin care products are actually petrochemical products.

The Cosmetic Safety Database finds that there are 454 different moisturizers that contain mineral oil, and there are of course many other cosmetics and skin care products as well, so there is an extremely high chance that there is a moisturizer or other product that you use now that has mineral oil in it.

And anyone with a baby will know mineral oil as baby oil because baby oil is 100% mineral oil, just with a fragrance added as mineral oil doesn't smell that sweet.

According to the Cosmetics Safety Database mineral oil is linked to cancer, allergies and immunotoxicity, is linked to toxicity in other biological systems in the body and irritation of the skin, eyes or lungs, though of course all these are debatable and not conclusively proven.

And there's more too, mineral oil has also been linked to skin problems including acne. The reason why it's suspected that mineral oil is bad for the skin is that it forms a thin film on the surface of the skin and this clogs the pores of the skin. So acne can be increased and this can also lead to a reduction in the ability of the skin to release toxins.

And there are some who have also linked the use of mineral oil on the skin with premature aging.

The dangers of mineral oil in cosmetics and skin care products are, however, subject to debate like all these things, and the cosmetics industry and big skin care companies maintain that it is perfectly safe and works well.

So for anyone worried about mineral oil in moisturizes what should they do? Well the bottom line is that if the moisturizer works for them thats a good place to start. There are highly priced skin care products that do very little, so if youre happy with your skin care products thats good.

I suspect that many women continue using their skin care products even though they do very little because they have come to expect very little and so arent being disappointed. And if you're paying a lot I personally believe that you ought to be seeing good results that both you and others notice.

And if you're really worried about that mineral oil you could try using some skin care products that don't contain mineral oil. There are excellent natural skin care products that don't contain any mineral oil, and you ought to see how they work for you.

There is one small niche skincare products manufacturer who makes the best natural skin care products and they make products with no mineral oil. And they offer a full money back guarantee on their products so you really can try the products with no risk to you at all.

So if for any reason you dont feel they are working you can return them for a refund, and very few do, or they wouldnt have the guarantee.

But if you're one of the ones who is really concerned about mineral oil in moisturizers then I'll have to tell you that the jury is out on that one. There is no conclusive proof that it is harmless, and no conclusive proof that it is safe, though many believe that it doesn't work very well and isn't safe.

Visit my website to find out more about the best natural skin care products. - 14130

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