Sensitive Skin Product Series – What Ingredient to Avoid

1. Sensitive Skin Product Series – What is Hypoallergenic?
2. What does Natural Skincare Product mean?
3. What is considered Organic and Non-Comedogenic?
4. What does Suitable for Eczema Children mean?
5. What is Patch Testing (for skincare product ingredients?)
6. How do you read ingredients on skincare product label?
7. What does Irritant-Free mean?
8. What ingredients in skincare product to avoid?
9. How is Coconut Oil used in skincare?
10. What is product cross-reactivity?
11. How many ingredients in a skincare product?
12. How to use skincare products on Sensitive Skin?
13. How to manage the diaper area?

How to Choose Moisturizer

Marcie Mom: For a parent on a tight budget (also considering long term and frequent use of moisturizers), should he/she start the child on the cheapest lotion/cream available? If not, is there certain baseline to start with, for instance, it must state ‘suitable for infant with eczema’ or not contain ‘perfume’?

Dr. Verallo-Rowell: The answer is no. Many cheap products are strongly/nicely scented to cover up for the natural scent of less-pure cosmetic ingredients versus, for example, pharmaceutical-grade or higher-quality or purer ingredients, which are frequently more expensive. Some cheaper products are dyed with relatively cheap ingredients to add attractiveness in children’s eyes. Cheap or expensive, preservation is also problem, as are added antibiotics. All these are allergens and break down the skin’s natural barrier.

Many cheap products are strongly/nicely scented to cover up for the natural scent of less-pure cosmetic ingredients

Make function be the basis for your choice. Remember that in different forms of eczemas you pay attention to the skin’s outermost barrier layer: genetic innate barrier dysfunction initiates atopic; allergic or irritant reaction breaks down the barrier in contact; food around the mouth area can physically act on the barrier, and secondarily, bacteria cross damaged barrier in all types of eczemas. Hence to keep the barrier as intact as possible:

Place the least irritating, partially occluding product you can find without any of the above: scents, preservatives, antibiotics, dyes.

Mineral oil and pertroleum jelly are long time favorites of us dermatologists. They are cheap and excellent barriers, but they are petrochemical derived. Consider non-preserved, non-adulterated oils. For this my favorite is virgin coconut oil because it needs no preservation and is broken down by lipases of friendly skin bacteria into monoglycerides with antiseptic properties. I have a published paper on VCO vs. Olive oil in Atopic Dermatitis that includes comparison on Staph. Aureus action by both oils.

Can you list for us some common irritants and list them on a scale of 1-10 (1 being the most likely to cause allergy)?

It’ll also be great if you can let us know if there are other common names for these irritants.

Perfume, Fragrance

Benzyl alcohol (Phenylmethanol / Phenylcarbinol), also named as Natural grape aromatic preserves & scents in “fragrance-free products”

Carvone (d-carvone, d-1-Methyl-4-isopropenyl-6-cyclohexen-2-one, essential oils from dill, caraway seeds, spearmint, orange peel

Cananga odorata(Ylang ylang, Cananga distillates)

Cinnamic aldehyde (Cinnamaldehyde), from bark camphor, cassia cinnamon trees

Colophonium Rosin (Abietic acid, alcohol, Abitol), a resin from pine tree

Extracts of common plants of the (Astraceae/ Compositae family: yarrow, mountain arnica, German chamomile,   feverfew, tansy) – Botanic addictives

Preservatives

Bacitracin  (An Antibiotic )

p-Chloro-M-Xylenol (Chlroxylenol, PCMX)

Clioquinol

Formaldehyde (Formalin, Methaldehyde, Methanal)

Diazolidinyl urea (Germall II) and    Imidazolidinyl urea (Germal 115, Eukyl K 200)

Dimethylol dihydroxy ethyleneurea (DMDHEU)

DMDM Hydantoin (Glydant)

Quarternium 15 (Dowicil 200)

Methyldibromo glutaronitrile + 2 phenoxyethanol (Eukyl K 400)

Methylchloroisothiazolinone/methylisothiazolinone (MCI/MI Eukyl K100, Kathon CG)

Parabens

Methyl, Ethyl , Propyl, Butyl Paraben.  Please see also above in Preservatives

Propylene Glycol

1,2 Propanediol

Lanolin

Lanolin alcohol, Wool Alcohol

Colorant/Dye

Disperse blue 124/106  Mix (Thiazol-azoyl-p-phenylene diamine derivative dyes)

p-Phenylenediamine

Conventional emulsifiers

Stearamidopropyl dimethylamine  (Amidoamine)

Dimethylaminopropylamine (DMAPA)

Cocamide DEA (Coconut Diethanolamide)

Cocamidopropyl betaine

Oleamidopropyl dimethylamine

Decyl glucoside  from glucose (corn starch) & decanol fatty acid from coconut

Ethylenediamine dihydrochloride (Chlorethamine)

Mineral oils – actually quite skin safe. A favorite among dermatologists.

Paraffin – same as mineral oil.

Sodium Lauryl Sulphate – An Irritant especially when present in higher concentrations. Not too common as an Allergen.