At many expos and exhibitions I have been inundated with enquiries from people looking for products to alleviate eczema, dermatitis or other skin irritations. Most important is knowing which skin care ingredients to avoid and sometimes this can be exhausting, however time invested in this process will make you more familiar with the most common ingredients and this will help you identify irritants. In most cases, ingredients are listed in descending order of concentration—in other words, the ingredients present in the highest concentrations top the list, and so on. However, companies can disregard listing in order of highest to lowest concentration if an ingredient is used in a percentage that’s 1.0% or lower. These ingredients can be listed in any order, as long as the ingredients used in percentages above 1.0% are listed in order of concentration from highest to lowest. If you are experiencing irritated skin try adopting a less is more approach especially when showering or bathing; look for products with no Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS) which is another cheap foaming agent, and exactly the same product is used to degrease car engines. Steer away from Parabens; you will see them near of the end of the ingredients list. If it doesn’t say Parabens straight forward it may have ethyl, butyl, methyl, isobutyl or propyl in front of it.
