Skin Irritants - very irritating

There are several ingredeints in skin care products that may irritate our skin and cause dryness, redness, itchiness and/or inflammation.

Keep an eye out for the following synthetic nasties which are known skin irritants:

Sodium Lauryl Suplphate - used to froth many products such as shampoos, shower gels, toothpastes, etc. It is a known irritant and only used in products that are immediately washed off the skin. Can damage the protective outer layer of the skin and is absorbed deeply within the skin tissue. Has a very drying effect on the skin.

Petrolatum Products such as mineral oils and petroleum jelly - these cover the skin in a layer like glad wrap, so the skin can't breath or function properly. This often casues the skin to then dry and crack.

Fragrances - 50-200 ingredients in a single fragrance, the second biggest group of skin allergens

Chemical Preservatives - parabens are one of the primary causes of contact dermatitis

These are all well known skin irritants yet are still allowed to be used as ingredients in products that are readily avaliable, are cheap and are used on our bodies several times a day.

Look at your ingredient lists of your everyday products and avoid these, for the health of your skin. Choose a more natural body product and your skin and body will thank you.

Visit the fantastic Skin Deep website and find out more about any ingredient in your body care products and assess yourself how safe it really is.

Ever heard of Parabens?

The word Parabens isn't used in everyday conversation, but they are used in almost 99% of cosmetics and beauty products. And they are not good. Look for methyl, ethyl and propyl parabens in the ingredients list of your products, and avoid them like the plague!

Parabens are chemical preservatives, used to prevent products from spoiling so they can effectively stay on the shelf for a very long time.

But once they are on our body via a moisturiser, lipstick, sunscreen or whatever, parabens are absorbed into your bloodstream and major organs, where their preservative action continues! Some research has actually found residues of these chemicals in cancerous tumours! Yuk!! They also disrupt the delicate hormone balance in our body's as they mimic oestrogen, and can cause skin irritations.

Enough of that scary stuff.

Luckily there are alternatives. Natural beauty products work just as well if not better and you know that you aren't risking your health unnessecarily. Look out for natural preservatives like tea tree oil, grapefruit seed extract or Vitamin E.

At Red Rata we only sell products that contain natural preservatives. So keep an eye out for those nasty lurking parabens and choose natural alternatives instead to keep you healthy.