Say NO to petroleum on your skin, use Calendula oil instead

Say “NO” to Petroleum Petroleum is found in over 40% of baby lotions, and 15% of lipsticks. source : Healthpost NZ

Why should we avoid Petroleum based products? While petroleum-based skin care products are thought to moisturise the skin, they tend to work more as an occlusive moisturiser. This means that it traps moisture inside the skin by sealing off the skin like a barrier, rather than actually adding extra moisture. Due to its make-up, petroleum tends to just cover the pores, trapping in sweat and doesn’t add any nutrition to the skin.
Some petroleum-derived ingredients may also have gone through an incomplete refining process. This means they could potentially be contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons – or PAHs for short.

PAHs are known to have negative effects on human health, such as

• endocrine disruption
• allergies and skin irritation
• and are a possible carcinogen. In fact, the European Union categorize petrolatum as a carcinogen and therefore restricts its use in cosmetics.

What You Should Look Out For. Keep an eye out for these common names on your product labels when trying to avoid petroleum-derived ingredients:

• Mineral oil
• Petrolatum
• Liquid paraffin
• Paraffin oil/wax
• Petroleum jelly
• White petroleum

Natural Alternatives.There are plenty of natural ingredients you can use to moisturise and soothe dry, cracked or irritated skin. Look for natural based products with ingredients such as

200 ml Calendula Oil, $20
 available in our studio

• beeswax
• coconut oil
• shea butter
• cocoa butter, jojoba and
• and sweet almond oil
• calendula oil