I have stood in the lotion aisles at drugstores several times and read each and every brand's bottle of lotion for several key ingredients and to my disbelief every brand of lotion (including products marketed towards babies!), except for one, contained one or more of the ingredients that I avoid. (If you missed my last post, "You Are What You Wear", pointed out common, harmful ingredients that I avoid). While I mainly keep an eye out for mineral oil, parabens, petrolatum, and propylene glycol there are a host of other chemicals in our everyday products that should be avoided. By educating yourself on these you'll be able to choose healthier and safer alternatives. The dirty dozen does a great job at compiling a dozen, red-flagged ingredients and informing readers on their "Function", "Present In", and "Health Concerns".
Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion passed my quick test because the ingredient list is free of mineral oil, parabens, petrolatum, and propylene glycol. Due to this I started using Cetaphil a few years ago and have never looked back. Cetaphil applies smoothly, dries quickly, and leaves my skin feeling hydrated. However, if you search for Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion on Good Guide the health rating is medium which equates to slow down and proceed with caution; similar to the green, yellow, and red lights on a stoplight. This shocked me because I've slathered half a dozen bottles of Cetaphil onto my dry skin. With further reading I discovered: 2/5 of the ingredients were flagged due to the fragrance because it could potentially cause a contact-allergy reaction, 2/5 were flagged due to the possibility of causing developmental & respiratory toxicity (gasp!), and 1/5 was "below threshold" because the amount in the product is too little to create any effect. This soothed me because I truly think that Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion does its job as a moisturizer, and it's most likely the cleanest drugstore lotion when compared to other brands like Jergens for instance.
Jergens Daily Moisture Dry Skin Moisturizer used to be my go-to lotion because it succeeded at doing everything from moisturizing my skin, to leaving it feeling soft but not sticky, and the barely there fragrance never made my sensitive sinuses sneeze. While Jergens does a great job at hydrating your skin (and ~$6 for a 21 oz. bottle is a deal!) I discontinued using it after I became aware of ingredients because Jergens contains methylparaben, propylparaben, and mineral oil. Jergens is a great product (I have friends who refuse to use anything else) and I would switch back if the ingredients changed but due to my fear of potentially poisonous ingredients it's just not for me.
You may be wondering if a clean lotion even exists? I'm happy to tell you that one does. Origins Make A Difference rejuvenating hand treatment is free of all things bad because it's ORIGINS. Origins is a skincare company that prides itself on being free of parabens, phthalates, propylene glycol, mineral oil, PABA, petrolatum, paraffin, DEA, and animal ingredients. Origins' products are formulated with organic ingredients and 100% natural essential oils. With ingredients such as rose of jericho, trehalose, sea haricots, and oceanic flora you can almost sense the purity of the formula, and with one sniff of any of Origins' creams, serums, or toners your senses will be put to ease and you'll feel like you're relaxing on an exotic, tropical island (for a tad of the price!). Even though Make A Difference is a rejuvenating hand treatment I use this as a body lotion. Make A Difference lives up to its name as it applies smoothly and though it feels like rich butter the formula dries to a silky, non-gooey finish. I could go on and on about Origins products, and trust me I will soon. Please tune in next week to learn about Heaven in a jar.
Sincerely,
JEN
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