(NaturalHealth365) On the surface (pun intended), skin care products seem harmless – right? Walking through the drug store aisles, you can find products advertising any number of ‘miraculous’ benefits.

How can we tell what works, what we can trust, and what is truly good for our skin?

You’d be surprised to learn just how much our skin absorbs, and why conventional products are likely not what you want to put on your skin.

Why skin care is so important to our health

Our skin is our barrier between us and the outside world. It is the largest organ of our bodies and being that it’s porous, it soaks in the products we apply like a sponge.

In fact, according to the American Journal of Public Health, the skin absorbs an average of 64% of total contaminants. Scary stuff, right? Well, it doesn’t have to be ‘scary’ – as long as you are putting clean, pure products on your skin.

Next time you’re checking out conventional skin care products, check out the label and ask these 4 important questions.

1. Do you know where it came from?

With every purchase we make, we are given a choice. Not only about what we want to put on or in our body, but who and what we want to support.

“Organic” is not just some fancy buzzword that will be out of style in a decade. It’s here to stay because, we feel, it’s how things should be – organic and just as pure as nature intended.

If you’re using skin care with plant derived ingredients, do your research and find out where they came from. Chances are, big corporations are sourcing from factory farms, where crops are treated with pesticides and chemicals.

One requirement of the skin care industry is that ingredients in your personal care products must be listed in order of concentration. This gives you a great way to tell just how organic your product really is.

Before you buy any product, flip it around and take a look at the label; if the organic ingredients are near the end of the list, that’s a sign that they don’t make up much of what’s in the bottle. Leave that impostor product on the shelf!

2. Do you know what’s in it?

Take a look at the ingredient list of the majority of skin care and other personal care products, and you’re likely to find things like phthalates, parabens, sulfates, ureas, and a bunch of other things you can’t pronounce. Most of these are synthetically produced in a lab through the use of toxic chemical compounds.

A number of chemicals found in our everyday personal care products have been linked to health problems. Research has started to affirm the effects. Just this year, for example, the journal Environmental Health Perspectives published a study that concluded that women with the highest concentrations of two types of phthalates in their blood were nearly two times more likely to have diabetes, compared to women with the least amount of these chemicals.

Many not-so-caring skin care companies will use unnecessary fillers in their products that can be very toxic, not only to your skin, but to your blood and internal organs as well.

Some common fillers you may want to keep an eye out for are: Disodium EDTA, Phthalates, cocamide DEA, triethanolamine(TEA), xanthan gum, sodium hydroxide, benzyl alcohol, sodium carboxymethyl betaglucan, PEG (polyethylene glycol), PPG (polypropolene glycol), and petroleum.

3. Is the label honest?

The dirty little secret in the skin care industry is that many companies are not required to fully disclose all the ingredients they put into their products. The proof? You don’t have to go much further than the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website.

According to the FDA, “It is the manufacturer’s and/or distributor’s responsibility to ensure that products are labeled properly.”

So, what this means is that the skin care industry is currently not required to fully disclose all of the ingredients in their products.

Even products that claim they are natural and organic may in fact may contain ingredients that would frighten you if you knew. Any product manufacturer can slap the word “natural” on a product label. The word is not regulated, so it means nothing.

In fact, many of these “natural” products have chemical ingredients that have known links to various health issues. We’ve spoken to formulators who have told us about dozens of unnatural ingredients that companies rarely disclose on their labels, even though they’re marketed to be pure, natural and organic.

4. Is it made with GMO’s?

A GMO (genetically modified organism) is the result of a laboratory process that takes genes from one species and inserts them into another – in order to get a desired trait or characteristic.

As you may know: evidence is mounting that GE (genetically engineered) crops are slowly polluting our land here in the United States, as well as around the world. It’s essential to take part in the movement (buy spending our money wisely) to protect the food supply and future generations.

Our air, water and soil are all very precious and beneficial to us. We should only purchase and use products that nourish the skin – not contaminate it.
Go clean!

“Clean beauty” focuses on the safety and purity of the ingredients. Clean beauty prides itself on being free of toxic chemicals, made in a sustainable way. This also means third-party testing and certification (ie. USDA Organic, Non-GMO and EWG).

Using clean products can reduce the sensitivity and irritation that comes hand in hand with synthetically derived ingredients. Plus, who really wants their body to absorb toxins and chemicals? By using products with organic plant derivatives, you are also going to see far more vitamins, minerals and beneficial compounds than what you would find in a synthetically derived ingredient.

Conscious skin care business at its best

At Annmarie Skin Care, great supporters of NaturalHealth365, their ‘close-to-nature’ product line is intentionally made, handcrafted, clean and organic, featuring plant-based ingredients that feed your skin and nourish your glow.

If you’re just diving into the world of organic skin care, try Annmarie Skin Care products for yourself. They’ve created three Sample Kits, each specially designed for your specific skin needs or concerns.

Get yours by clicking HERE.

And if you care about the products and ingredients you’re putting on your body, we could guess that you probably also care about the products in your home. With that in mind, Annmarie Skin Care is excited to share their “Toxic Free Home Guide” with you.

When you get a sample kit, they’ll also send you their “Toxic Free Home Guide” (a $24.95 value) – a complete ebook that shows you where you can find hidden toxic chemicals at home and what products and options you have to replace them.

When you purchase an Annmarie Skin Care product, you can be assured that you’ve chosen not only a great, effective, natural product, but you’ve also joined us in a mission to create more honesty and transparency in the entire skin care industry.