January 13, 2022

Top 5 Ingredients to avoid in your skincare

The heart of Salcura has always been natural active ingredients, high in vitamins and minerals to support the skin’s own natural healing process. We believe in the principles of homeostasis – the self-healing capacity of the skin, which is dependent on the supply of nutrients. Naturally active ingredients are ingredients that actively work with your skin to make it healthier. You can think of ingredients like Lavender, Eucalyptus and Sea Buckthorn.

As the skin is the body’s largest organ, we support it through adding the highest levels of natural oils and extracts to our formulations. This is to ensure your skin gets as many nutrients as possible to help itself. Natural solutions for dry atopic and problem skin.

This has been the heart of the brand for over 20 years and is still one of our key values. As much as we fill our products with the highest level of natural ingredients, we also have a long list of ingredients that cannot be found in our formulations. Our products will never contain synthetic ingredients commonly known to be unsuitable for sensitive skin, like Steroids, Paraffin, Sodium Lauryl Sulphate, Sodium Lauryl Ethyl Sulphate, Parabens, Petroleum Jelly, Diethanolamine (DEA), Phthalates and Synthetic Colour and Fragrances.

Here are some of the ingredients that Salcura do not add to its formulations:

Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS) & Sodium Lauryl Ethyl Sulphate

SLS and SLES is detergent that is widely used in many products that create a foam. It can be found for example in soaps, shower gels and shampoos. It is not a harmful (dangerous) ingredient, however, SLS and SLES is known to be very drying on the skin. This is in return can become problematic for those who already suffer from eczema or psoriasis and are prone to a dry and sensitive skin. If it is used daily on the skin, it can make the skin even more dry and irritated.

We use instead natural foaming agents derived from coconut, that gently cleanses the skin without drying it out, leaving the skin feeling soft. This will return help a dry skin and support it to rebalance its dryness.

Lanolin

Lanolin has been used for a long time and is found in many beauty products on the market. Lanolin is an ingredient taken from the sebaceous glands of sheep. Sheep secrete lanolin to protect their wool, therefore lanolin has been used in products for its protecting properties. However, research has shown that lanolin allergies are on the rise due to over-exposure of this ingredient.

If you already have a dry, sensitive, eczema prone skin, there is a chance that this ingredient will cause even more irritation. Hence why you will not find Lanolin in our products. Second reason is that we do not use any animal derivatives in our product, nor test on animals. 

Parabens

Parabens are preservatives that were at one time the most widely used group of preservatives used in cosmetics.  Many were derived naturally from plants, a rare phenomenon for a preservative but also many were derived from chemical sources.

Parabens can be found in many natural sources and in plants in the form of p-hydroxybenzoic acid (PHBA), a chemical that breaks down to become parabens for a plant’s own protection. The preservatives we use in our formulations are derived from natural sources and are needed in the products, to keep them stable and safe for use. However, levels we add are in very low percentages. We and many brands follow the guidelines set out for us that are required by law and regulations, to ensure the highest quality and safest use for our customers. 

Mineral Oils

Most mineral oils do originate from the earth; however, many are as well a by-product of the distillation of petrol and petroleum products. Mineral oils do not harm the skin but will not bring any specific benefits to the skin either. They tend to sit on top of the skin and not have the ability to hydrate, and in many cases cause skin irritation. If your skin is already dry and sensitive, prone to eczema and psoriasis, applying a mineral oil might cause more dryness and irritation.

Salcura uses natural plant oils and extracts instead of mineral oil, that are packed with essential vitamins and minerals that the skin need. The natural plans oils and extracts have proven to efficient in improving the dryness and regeneration of the skin. This is ingredients that have been used for centuries for it is self-healing benefits and there are studies that proves the benefits.

Synthetic Colours & Fragrances

Synthetic colours and fragrances can be found everywhere – from household products, beauty products to food products. There are many studies that show that these two are causing allergic reactions and skin irritations. This is also depending on the levels found in the products.

At Salcura we don’t use any synthetic ingredients, and this also applies to synthetic colouring and fragrances. The scent you experience with Salcura is from the blend of the natural oils and extracts. The scent itself tend to disappear after a while, and it is not something that remains on the skin as a fragrance. What you will experience is the true scent of the product and its natural ingredients. As it is a natural product, the scent may also change over time change. The scent might not come across as “fragrant”. This happens when the products are stored in a warm bathroom and you use the product (open and close), the product gets exposed to oxygen. It doesn’t mean that the product is “off” in any way.

The colour is also the true colour of the product and its natural ingredients. Same as for the explanation for the change in scent, this will also apply in the colour of the product. You might experience that the colour might change slightly, however this is normal for natural formulations.

It can sometimes happen that next time you purchase the same Salcura product, that the colour is slightly lighter or darker. The reason why this might happen is depending on the natural ingredients that are being used. This is depending on the harvest, how much sun the natural ingredients received etc. This can also sometimes affect the scent of the product.

Our Natural Ingredients

Our products are packed with highest amount of natural oils and extracts, using the highest quality. Here are some of the natural ingredients that can be found in Salcura: