By: Marty S.
At Apsara Skin Care, we stand by our belief that natural ingredients are the way to go. There is a myriad of natural ingredients with healing and nourishing properties that are quite beneficial to you and your lifestyle. This is especially true when it comes to your skin and hair. Natural ingredients provide the very best care to your skin and hair, and they should be your utmost priority if you want stunning skin and gorgeous locks of hair.
Of course, the alternative to using natural ingredients is harsh chemicals. Harsh chemicals may look more convenient than natural ingredients - they might be cheaper and more accessible than products with natural ingredients - but trust us when we say that harsh chemicals are not worth it whatsoever. Not only are they not as effective on your skin and hair as natural ingredients, but they can also pose serious risks to your skin, hair, and even your internal health. Today, we will share with you the 5 dangers of harsh chemicals in many conventional skin and hair products. We hope that this information will encourage you to go natural with your beauty products, and if you wish to do so with Apsara, please click here.
1. Skin Irritation
Some people cannot stand harsh chemicals, literally. Many harsh chemicals like parabens, phthalates, and fake fragrance can damage your skin and hair cells; in response, your skin may develop an adverse or allergic reaction. The severity of this reaction does vary. For some, harsh chemicals could provoke a mild form of redness, itchiness, or swelling. However, if you have sensitive skin or you experience skin conditions like rosacea or eczema regularly, harsh chemicals may make your skin flare up quickly.
Regardless, an adverse reaction is a sign that you should not be subjecting your skin to the treatment of harsh chemicals in the first place. If you have a facial cleanser, body shampoo, et cetera that is causing more problems than it solves, stop using it immediately.
Related: Apsara Skin Care products are gentle, nourishing, and aromatic.
2. Premature Aging
An adverse skin reaction will heal itself over time; skin inflammation, redness, and swelling won’t last forever and your skin will start to look normal again in no time. However, repeated usage of harsh chemicals may cause more lasting damage that could be permanent. Not only are many harsh chemicals absorbed quickly into your system (which is terrible news for your skin and hair), but they also aren’t subjected to enough quality control or regulation to deem them completely safe to use on your skin and hair. Fake fragrance, for example, is listed as “fragrance” or “parfum” on the label rather than the number of chemicals used to make it, so you don’t know exactly what’s in it that could cause an allergic reaction. Plus, if that product with fake fragrance comes from a questionable source, your skin could be absorbing those harsh chemicals as well as bacteria.
A common victim of harsh chemicals is your skin. When harsh chemicals are used, they can dry out your skin and make it look more aged than normal. Over time, these harsh chemicals may make your lines and wrinkles look more pronounced and visible. Even if you are using anti-aging products with harsh chemicals, they might not be as effective on your skin because of the damage those chemicals could be causing.
3. Hair Loss & Thinning Hair
Harsh chemicals can be just as damaging your hair as they are to your skin. Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) is a prominent chemical found in hair care products because it helps produce more lather and foam. However, by giving your skin more lather, it also has the side effect of stripping your hair of its natural oils, which your scalp produces to nourish itself and your hair follicles. In response, this can cause a number of hair and scalp issues including dry hair, hair breakage, and dandruff. When left unchecked, harsh chemicals like SLS could lead to more serious problems like thinning hair and hair loss.
4. Hormone Disruption
If you thought harsh chemicals only affected your skin and hair, think again. Harsh chemicals can be absorbed easily, and they can deeply penetrate your skin. Because of this, these harsh chemicals can wreak havoc on your entire system. For example, phthalates, found in countless beauty care products, are known to disrupt your endocrine system, which is responsible for hormone regulation. Since your hormones control your appetite, energy, mood, and sleep schedule (among other things), a small imbalance can still make a huge impact on your lifestyle.
5. Poor Health
Due to the impact that harsh chemicals can have on your hormones as well as internal health, if they are allowed to accumulate in your system, they may contribute to poorer health and make you more prone to illness. Harsh chemicals like parabens and phthalates have been thought to impair reproductive health and may affect fertility, birth defects, et cetera. There are even quite a few studies claiming that exposure to parabens and phthalates might lead to cancer. The bottom line is, if you are not feeling well after coming into contact with any form of harsh chemicals, you should eliminate them from your lifestyle to protect your skin, hair, and general well-being.
Related: 2 Major Health Risks Linked to Fake Fragrance
To summarize, harsh chemicals are dangerous and should have no place in your lifestyle. Ayurveda has stressed time and time again that in order to get glowing, youthful skin, gorgeous hair, and a healthy body, you must rely on natural ingredients. It might take you some time to go natural in your lifestyle, but to get a head start, we highly recommend checking out some of our skin and hair products, all of which are formulated with Ayurveda and nature in mind.
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Go natural. It is good karma!