Bloggy Health!

How african american skin care products work is surprisingly just like about any other skin care product. Skin is basically skin.  The only real difference is the pigment or tone.  Of course, skin problems can vary among ethnic groups.  But the bottom line is that good skin care works for all skin tones IF the product has the right ingredients. So for african american, black skin, white skin or tan let’s see what is safe and effective.Avoid These  3 Ingredients in Skin Care Products

1. Sodium methyl paraben (any type paraben)
2. Petroleum-based products
3. Chemical bleaching agents

1. Sodium methyl paraben can be found in many skin care products.  It can affect the pigmentation of skin. Also parabens have been discovered in patients with breast cancer. So it is best to avoid these ingredients. Parabens, and there are many different kinds, basically are in a product as a preservative. Parabens have been found in breast cancer patients.  There are safer ways to preserve a skin care product.  I’ll come to that in a minute.

2. Petroleum-based products can be very harmful to the skin. Instead of de-pigmentation it can result in hyper pigmentation (hyper or excessive) of the skin. Uneven skin spots can materialize.  If combined with the above paraben could result in a harmful condition.  Also wood based alcohols, propylene glycol, mineral oil and other petroleum based ingredients can bring out a bad skin look.  Avoid petrolatum in any product, just to be safe.

3. Chemical bleaching agents are often promoted to those who want to lighten their skin tone.  There are safe skin lightening products.  I’ll cover that also in a moment.  Chemical bleaching ingredients can bring much harm to your skin. Avoid them especially if you have black skin or darker tones of skin.

Ingredients that are Safe to Use

*Extra Pone Nut Grass
*Vitamin E (If truly natural vitamin E)

Extra Pone Nut Grass will even out the skin tone especially on the face and neck.  You won’t need very much of it to get good results.  This is a safe and effective skin tone lightener.

Natural vitamin E fights free radicals that damage skin cells.  Vitamin E is an antioxidant that will assist in helping to remove hyper pigmentation or skin spots.

Sebum Balancing With Moisturizers

Sebum is our natural skin oil.  The amount can vary from one person to the next.  The skin in some people is very dry to very oily and/or a combination of the two.  So skin conditions can be different.  But remember skin is still skin.  Usually the problem with skin is much of the time in the skin care products one uses.  For example, as stated above, many accept that petroleum in their skin products is okay when in fact it may be causing the problem you are perplexed with.  Using a quality moisturizer with the ingredients I recommend will give you amazing skin problem relief.  You will have no bad effects.

As mentioned sebum comes from the sebaceous glands.  All skin tones, black, white, tan and any other skin have these glands.  Sebum is there for the purpose of being the natural moisturizer for the skin.  Two more ingredients to look for are jojoba and passion fruit extract.  If you have dry skin, these two will help tremendously.

AntiAging Ingredients

It is a shame but much of the skin products being sold today with the promise of younger looking skin is a scam.  Most don’t work.  And at the best give very poor, if any, results.  Many even cause great harm.  For african american skin or black skin, you DO NOT need any special anti-aging skin care product.  Here is what you need. Pay close attention because very few people know about this -miracle.

In all my searching and examinations, the best, most effective anti aging skin care ingredient that I have ever discovered that works for all skin types and tones is: Functional Keratin.  When combined with Wakame seaweed, CoQ10 and Natural Vitamin E, new skin fibers and skin cells are produced.   The result is that the skin is more firm and younger looking.

What causes harm to skin cells and other body cells is what is called free radicals.  They basically go on a rampage and hurt other cells.  The antidote is antioxidants found in compounds like vitamin E.  Remember this please, avoid any ingredient ending in paraben, (for black skin especially Sodium methyl paraben).  Avoid all skin care and other products that list petrolatum as an ingredient.  Don’t even think about using a chemical bleaching agent.  Use the ones I recommend.  See my website for my personally tested skin cream. – Margaret Bell

The 20th century retailing tycoon, John Wanamaker, said “half of my advertising doesn’t work. I just don’t know which half.”The odds are even worse in skin care products–the creams and lotions that claim to clear, lift, firm, tighten, and correct your complexion. Less than 50% of the products you put on your face actually help you look younger. Fewer than that are worth what you pay for them.

Why are skin care products so confusing? Why is there so little brand loyalty? Part of the problem is that the last 20 years have brought a tsunami of new skin care products, new ads, new claims. The splashy advertising, the celebrities and the offers combine to produce instant hype. Every new product promises a new “advance” or “technology” or “significant improvement”. Because this revolution is so new, everyone–retailers, consumers, dermatologists, editors–are struggling to figure it out.

Some cosmetics companies like it that way. They invent funny names for molecules. They retouch the living daylights out of those unretouched ads. They cleverly (yet legally) manipulate the copy. These deceptive practices are called “smoke and mirrors”– the metaphor for deceptive or fraudulent practices. The term was first invented to describe the way in which magicians could make objects appear or disappear by using mirrors amid a sudden burst of smoke. It’s clever, but also deceptive.

It works for magicians, and it works for the skin care industry. So women, the willing and unknowing, plunk down big bucks because they want to believe in magic. It’s a national addiction. People everywhere want to fight aging and are looking for solutions.

If you’re going to spend money on skin care products, spend it advisedly. Make sure that you’re not being conned. Make informed decisions. Invest in products that really work. Discriminate. Know how the channel of distribution affects the quality of the merchandise, and the price that you pay. Understand how ads are delicately written and carefully crafted.

Zein Obagi, MD

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Do you avoid the skin care cream aisle at the store? Are you stubbornly using the same skin care moisturizer cream from 5 years ago, simply to avoid shopping for a new one? It’s overwhelming to see hundreds of “the best…” skincare products to choose from.

How can you possibly determine which are rip-offs and which actually work? How can you be sure that the 3 oz bottle of skin care moisturizer cream (priced at $34.99) isn’t the same stuff as the $3.99 bottle of Jergens at Wal-mart?

I’ll make it easy for you. Here is a crash-course in skin care cream ingredients. I’ve listed 2 ingredients your skin is crying out for, and 2 ingredients your skin has nightmares about. With just these 4 tips, you’ll be able to weed out 95% of the thorns and come out with a rose.

2 Things Every Skin Care Cream Should Have

Babassu

• Babassu is a natural wax that softens and soothes your skin. It’s important because it creates a moisture-barrier around your skin that keeps out dirt and grime, but yet allows the skin valuable “breathing” room.

• It’s a natural product that comes from the oil extracted from the Babassu palm (in the Amazon). Many manufacturers will attempt to save a dime by replacing Babassu with mineral oil (one of the 2 no-no ingredients listed below).

Vitamin E (in the form of natural alpha-tocopherol)

• Vitamin E has a long-proven record of protecting your skin from damaging free radicals found in pollution, UV radiation, poor nutrition, and aging. The best form of Vitamin E found in your skin care cream should be alpha-tocopherol.

• Most skincare products (including the expensive ones at department stores) use a synthetic form of alpha-tocopherol. Besides being less effective in synthetic form, manufacturers will only put a dash in each skin care cream product (.1% to .2%), making it practically meaningless.

• It is also a natural preservative that prevents your skin care moisturizing cream from going rancid before you’ve finished using it. Again, many well-known skincare lines will use parabens to preserve their product. Parabens are NOT good for your skin! In fact, they are one of the two ingredients your skin care cream definitely should NOT have in it.

2 Things Your Skin Care Cream Should NOT Have

Parabens – (look on the label for methyl, propyl, butyl, and ethyl parabens)

• These chemicals are widely used in expensive (and cheap) skin care creams to give the creams a longer shelf-life. They are super cheap and widely available. Some studies have suggested that they could cause cancer (particularly breast cancer) and affect estrogen levels over long periods of time.

Mineral oil – (also written on the label as liquid paraffin, paraffin wax, or petrolatum)

• This petroleum by-product is super cheap and used by companies to coat the skin and “keep in moisture”. Unfortunately, it also keeps in toxins, encourages acne break outs, and strips away the natural oils that prevent premature aging.

• Even worse, any mineral oil derivative can be contaminated with the cancer-causing PAH’s. Stay young longer by avoiding products using mineral oil or other petroleum by-products.

In evaluating your skin care cream, keep this question in your mind: Could you eat your skin care moisturizer cream? (I’m not suggesting you do, just asking if you could.) If you recoil in horror from putting those ingredients in your mouth, why would you put them on your skin? After all, it’s going to be absorbed and enter your body just as if you had eaten it.

Crack open that cabinet and pull out your skin care cream. Flip it over and look at the ingredients label. If your skin care moisturizer cream is missing those two important ingredients, and if it uses mineral oil and Parabens instead, it’s time to find a new skin care cream.

You can spread effective skin care cream and eat it too. Synthetics not only damage your skin’s health in the long run, they are simply not as efficient in treating your skin in the long run. (But they are cheaper! This is why so many skincare manufacturers use them!)

Babassu and Natural Vitamin E are just the tip of the iceberg. There are a whole host of other ingredients that bring will bring out the best in your skin care cream.

Phytessence Wakame, Maracuja, and Crodamol OP come most immediately to mind. You can find out more about these amazing botanical ingredients (and where to find a skin care cream with them inside) at my website linked below.