Facial lotion should contain only the safest ingredients.
An allergic or adverse reaction on the face can damage one's appearance permanently.
Lotions could even increase your risk of skin cancer.
Many of the ingredients in lotions on the market today will clog pores and contribute to acne.
Mineral oil, petrolatum and paraffin are among the pore-clogging ingredients.
Artificial preservatives, added fragrances, color additives and aluminum salts are known allergens, yet they are present in most moisturizers.
Ethylene oxide and sodium laurel sulfate are well known irritants, yet they are favored ingredients among the cosmetic industry.
The practice of adding a sunscreen ingredient to face lotions has become commonplace in recent years.
Some lotions even bear an SPF (sunburn protection factor) rating.
SPF ratings are unreliable.
Most sunscreens need to be reapplied after 15 or 20 minutes in order to provide maximum protection.
Sunscreens may be organic or synthetic.
Some of the synthetic chemicals are known to penetrate into the skin and cause mutations in healthy skin cells when they are exposed to sunlight.
That a compound provides protection against sunburn does not indicate it provides protection against free radical damage or skin cancer.
If you really need to use sunscreen every day (which most people don't) you should apply your facial lotion first.
Allow it to dry and follow with one of the safe sunscreens.
Avoid the benzene derivatives like avobenzone and benzophenone.
They are the ones that cause cellular mutations.
You can then apply your makeup on top of the sunscreen.
A recent animal study provides evidence that lotions stimulate the growth of skin cancer cells.
However, a specially prepared moisturizer that did not contain allergens, irritants or toxins (no mineral oil or sodium laurel sulfate) did not have the same effect on the cancer cells.
That study demonstrates the importance of choosing the safest facial lotion, regardless of your complexion type.
There are safe ingredients available today that provide moisture, improve your skin's ability to retain moisture and address the causes of skin aging.
Those causes include free radical damage, decreased collagen production and low levels of hyaluronic acid.
Hyaluronic acid has become a popular ingredient in creams and lotions, even though dermatologists say it cannot penetrate through the skin's outer layers, which means it cannot provide any benefit.
The low level of hyaluronic acid can be addressed with ingredients that prevent it from breaking down.
The latest facial lotion ingredients are completely safe and naturally.
Most are derived from foods.
We think of these new lotions as health supplements for our faces.