Do you know the dilemma when you apply cream regularly, but your skin still becomes tight, dries out more and more, becomes sensitive, irritated, red or reacts with itching? What's behind it? The reasons can be complex. It may be due to a congenital neurodermatitis disposition - but ingredients in your cosmetics may also be the cause. Additives that are not even necessary are particularly problematic here. In addition to preservatives, fragrances and alcohol, these are primarily emulsifiers in our daily cosmetics.
What are emulsifiers?
A commercially available face cream contains watery and oily components that cannot be mixed with each other without a "connector". The role of the connector is taken over by emulsifiers. They have the ability to hold the oily and aqueous components together in a chemically stable manner as phases of an emulsion.
PEG emulsifiers in conventional cosmetics
Emulsifiers in conventional cosmetics mostly consist of polyethylene glycols (PEGs). These synthetic molecular compounds are made from the extremely toxic and environmentally harmful petroleum derivative ethylene oxide. PEGs can cause allergies and are potentially carcinogenic and genetically damaging.
Emulsifiers in natural cosmetics
Esterified vegetable fatty acids are usually used as emulsifiers in natural cosmetics. They almost always consist of industrially processed, ultra-high-temperature, refined palm oil. For years, palm oil has rightly been denounced as harmful to the environment and health: huge palm oil plantations are destroying the rainforest on a large scale, depriving people and animals of their livelihoods and accelerating climate change.
Why do emulsifiers harm the body?
Some of the emulsifiers used in natural cosmetics are also used as e-substances in the food industry. While emulsifiers in food were considered harmless for a long time, they are now increasingly being criticized. According to new scientific findings, emulsifiers can unbalance sensitive metabolic processes in the body and, for example, change the microbiotic bacterial colonization of our intestinal system (chronic irritable bowel syndrome). It is also worrying that genetically modified organisms that do not even have to be declared can be used in the production of emulsifiers. However, the effects of these substances are still largely unexplored. Researchers are therefore calling for stronger controls on emulsifiers as food additives and are calling for intensive research into their side effects in long-term studies.
Why are emulsifiers harmful to the skin?
Emulsifiers don't just combine moisture and oils in a skin cream. As an undesirable side effect, emulsifiers are deposited in the skin and continue to emulsify there. They bind to the skin's own lipids of the protective skin barrier and release them from their tight bond. There is a washout effect. This means that the skin's own protective lipids are flushed out of the skin the next time it comes into contact with water. As a result, the skin barrier becomes increasingly thinner and gradually porous and can no longer fulfill its function. The washout effect has far-reaching consequences:
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The skin is less and less able to retain sufficient moisture. Instead, the water increasingly escapes to the outside (increased transepidermal water loss). The skin increasingly dries out, loses tension and ages prematurely.
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The skin becomes permeable to harmful microorganisms such as bacteria or viruses from the environment. The foreign substances can even reach the deeper layers of the skin and into the organs and deposit there (weakened immune system).
Behind which ingredients are emulsifiers?
It is sometimes difficult to detect emulsifiers in a skin cream because these ingredients are hidden behind many cryptic names on the label. So simply scan the barcode of your skin cream and look it up on the Codecheck app, for example. what's behind it. The following ingredients from the INCI declaration/ingredients list are often used emulsifiers:
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Ingredients in conventional cosmetics that start with PEG- or end with –eth, e.g. Laureth 4, Ceteareth -15, PEG-8.
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Common natural cosmetic emulsifiers include sucrose stearate (also used in foods as E 473), methyl glucose sequistearate, glyceryl stearate (citrate), cetearyl glucoside or hydrogenated palm glycerides.
Facial care without emulsifiers
A saving solution against constant creaming for dry and problematic skin is either high-quality, cold-pressed facial oils or facial creams WITHOUT skin-weakening emulsifiers. According to the cosmetics regulations, these creams may be advertised as “emulsifier-free”.
Water-free facial balms such as the Face Balm Amaranth based on untreated shea butter are also valuable facial care without skin-damaging emulsifiers.
Lecithins and phospholipids (hydrogenated phosphatidylcholines)
Plant lecithins are an emulsifier-free natural cosmetic alternative. They ensure that aqueous and fatty components of a recipe combine. As a natural component of every cell membrane, lecithins are also a valuable skin-identical active ingredient. Lecithins are obtained from non-GMO rapeseed, soy or sunflower oil. In contrast to conventional, exogenous emulsifiers, lecithins, with their high proportion of phospholipids, do not have a drying effect. The phosphatidylcholine we use with over 90% phospholipids is incorporated directly into the skin barrier as a natural membrane substance. Phoshatidylcholine provides long-lasting moisture and sustainably protects the skin from moisture loss. It leaves the skin feeling silky smooth and supple without being greasy. This means that it does not leave an unsightly greasy film on the skin after use.
Beta-glucan and pectin
The emulsifier-free myrto face creams with pectin from vegetable fruit fibers and beta-glucan from the oat germ layer follow a different, innovative concept. Fruit fibers made from pectin physically hold the oily and watery phases of a face cream together on the skin like a grid and stabilize the texture of the cream. Pectin also improves the skin's ability to retain moisture.
The natural active ingredient beta-glucan in myrto creams and serums has been proven to strengthen the skin barrier. Beta-glucan is introduced into the deeper layers of the skin and has a long-lasting hydrating effect. Beta-glucan helps make skin more elastic and resistant to environmental stress. Beta-glucan has an anti-inflammatory effect and improves the skin's own UV protection.
The myrto face creams without emulsifiers are the saving solution, especially for sensitive, very dry and problematic skin. They sustainably strengthen healthy skin functions and ensure long-term smooth, delicate and optimally cared for skin. Bring your skin back into balance. She will thank you.
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