Label Reading 101

The very basis of knowing what you're putting on your skin starts with reading the label. Easy right? Not so much.Take the label on the product in the picture for example.

Here's the list of ingredients:

Stearic Aid, Prunus Armeniaca,Caprrylic/Caprice Triglyceride,Ethylexy Methoxycinnamate,Dimethicone. Butyrospernum Parkii, Gylcaryl Stearate, Panthenol.Tocopherol Acetate, PEG-100 Stearate,Triethanolamine,Caromer,Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben,Butylparaben, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Parfum, CI19140, CI17200

Is that even English?! 

So first a couple of label reading basics: 

1) Ingredients are listed in order of decreasing concentration. 

2) Manufacturers are tricky and when it says "fragrance" or "Parfum" it can mean just about anything. Fragrance should ALWAYS be the last ingredient listed because it's one of the biggest reasons you have a "reaction" to a product.

3) In general, less is more. Go for products with fewer ingredients. Think about it for a second. If you're buying an eye cream, for example, and the net weight is .5 ounces (about average) and there are 24 ingredients in it, how much of each ingredient do you actually think you're getting for your $55.00? Not very much is the answer. 

4) Any product that lists water/aqua as the first ingredient has to have a pretty heavy-duty preservative in it, so look for it. Water is a natural harbor for bacteria so preservatives are necessary to keep them from getting contaminated. Chemical preservatives rank as some of the most evil ingredients out there (read parabens!) so be aware. Almost all lotions have water as the first ingredient, so they need to be preserved(This is one reason why we don't make lotions).

5) Many of the ingredients in a product actually do nothing for your skin! They're in there to help the product come out of the bottle easier, or stay in solution better, or feel good to the touch. Call us crazy, but we believe that every single ingredient in a skincare product should have a potential benefit for your actual skin! Sorry, we're not sorry.

Now start googling! We're not going to lie, until you get familiar with what you should be looking for, this process can be a little time comsuming, but it's definitely time well spent. And we're going to do our best to make this as easy for you as possible.