Problem Skin? It May Be Your Hair Products!

Have you ever experienced a break out on your forehead after your hair stylist gave you the new "bangs" of the season? What about the sides of your face feeling dry and itchy after using hairspray? Here is the problem: Many women with sensitive skin can have a reaction to the harsh chemicals and other ingredients that can be found in some of your favorite hair products. It may happen to you even if your skin is normal, dry or oily. Does that mean you need to give up all hair products to ensure a perfect complexion? Not necessarily, but changing your products when you have a reaction and looking out for some ingredients that may irritate your skin will keep your skin (and overall health!) balanced and healthy looking.

The top five ingredients that can irritate your skin are:

1. Mineral Oil
A key ingredient in some hair shine and frizz control products, mineral oil, is the worst for oily or problematic skin. Mineral oil is actually a by product in the processing of gasoline from petroleum.  When it sits on the face for a long period of time it acts like a plastic wrap, cutting off precious oxygen and preventing toxins from escaping the skin which can cause acne.  Mineral oil is simply a cheap filler 80% of companies use to help increase their products regardless of the harmful effects to your skin and health.

2. DEA, MEA or TEA
DEA (diethanolamine), MEA (monoethanolamine) and TEA (triethanolamine) are hormone-disrupting chemicals found in many shampoos. They're thought to cause cancer so stay away.

3. Imidazolidinyl Urea & DMDM Hydantoin
These are preservatives in many hair creams and gels that release formaldehyde, (formaldehyde based solutions are used in embalming to disinfect and temporarily preserve human remains pending final disposition), triggering skin irritations and even heart palpitations.

4. Fragrance
If you see the word "fragrance" on the ingredient list of your hair product take into consideration that it can sometimes mean up to 400 separate and maybe synthetic ingredients that can cause allergic reactions.

5. Alcohol
Alcohol dries out hair and skin so if you tend to have dry skin, avoid most hairsprays and volumizers, which contain tons of alcohol.