Skin Smart Installment 5: Ingredients In Beauty Products That Can Cause Acne

As much as we love our skin care products and makeup, there are quite a few ingredients in your everyday makeup and skin care products that could be doing more harm than good, especially for sensitive and/or acne-prone skin. I have listed below some key ingredients to look for that may be the culprit of those annoying acne breakouts:

Coconut Oil

Although coconut oil has become a big hit in the beauty world, it is also considered to be highly comedogenic, which means it can easily block or clog your pores. Coconut oil is fine to use as a body moisturizer or as a deep conditioning treatment for hair but try to cut it out of your face routine. Also read the ingredients listed on your skin care and makeup products as some products do contain coconut oil or a coconut derivative and consider replacing with products that does not contain any coconut oil or coconut derivative.

Fragrance

You might love the scent of your moisturizer or foundation, but the scent might not be as appealing to your skin. Added fragrance can dry out your skin, which can cause breakouts and added fragrance can also cause your existing breakouts to scar even further. It can also increase your skin’s sensitivity, leading to even more blemishes. Stick to unscented or fragrance free facial products.

Alcohol

Even though you do not smell alcohol in your foundation or skin care products, it is probably in there as it helps the product set into your skin and last longer. However, alcohol is extremely drying and can cause the makeup to seep into your pores which could eventually lead to blackheads and whiteheads, so read the labels on your makeup and skin care products before purchasing.

Isopropyl Isostearate – Not only does this ingredient sound scary, it can also clog your pores and turns your skin into a blemish breeding ground. It is used to formulate a lot of face and eye makeup, so again, be sure to read your labels for any ingredients you cannot pronounce.

Parabens

It is believed that parabens are bad for your skin because parabens can mess with hormone levels thus increasing your skin’s chances of breaking out.

Dealing with breakouts is hard enough when it comes to hormonal fluctuations, but when the skin is breaking out for what we believe to be no reason, it may be time to do some makeup and skin care housekeeping, so I hope this list of some of the possible acne-causing ingredients in makeup and skin care will be helpful for you when it comes to cleaning out your (possible) acne causing beauty products and until next time, be happy, healthy and beautiful!!