When it comes to body lotions, there are dozens of options from store-bought to handcrafted, organic lotion. Today, more families are becoming more aware of the health and wellness benefits of organic beauty products. If you are interested in learning about the benefits of using organic lotion, keep reading below.
The Benefits of Using Organic Lotion
1. Promote Healthy Skin
To be considered organic, a product must contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients. This does not include water or salt. The following list includes several natural ingredients to look out for in organic lotions.
- Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis) prevents bacteria and soothes inflammation, redness, itchy skin, and sunburns.
- Oats (i.e. colloidal oatmeal) helps calm skin irritations that may be due to eczema, dryness, and insect bites.
- Shea butter (Butyrospermum parkii) contains rich moisturizing properties that help improve dryness, flakiness, and redness.
- Sunflower oil (Helianthus annuus) contains vitamin E, is non-comedogenic (won’t clog your pores), and absorbs quickly into the skin.
- Tea tree oil (Melaleuca alternifolia) treats breakouts, redness, and inflammation. Say goodbye to those pesky pimples!
- Vitamin C helps prevent signs of aging and tightens skin for a youthful appearance.
- Vitamin E (typically sourced from Tocopheryl acetate) is a natural antioxidant, rich moisturizer, and excellent oil to help heal scars.
- Witch hazel helps prevent excess oil, while also naturally moisturizing your skin.
2. Avoid Harmful Ingredients
In traditional, store-bought lotions, you will find countless questionable ingredients that can be harmful to your health and skin. Check out these commonly found ingredients below and what they are.
- Artificial fragrances or perfumes: these artificial scents are commonly found in most store-bought lotions. Due to a FDA loophole, beauty companies don’t have to list the possibly hundreds of chemicals used in fragrances. The FDA allows this, so companies can protect their trademark scents. However, this makes it impossible to know which chemicals are used in a lotion.
- Bisphenol A: BPA is used in plastics and exposure to this ingredient is linked to brain, behavior, and prostate gland issues in infants and children.
- Butylated compounds: preservatives like BHA and BHT are typically found in skin creams, sunscreens, and personal products with synthetic scents. Studies have shown that this preservative can lead to organ toxicity, reproductivity, and skin irritations.
- Formaldehyde: this ingredient is used as a preservative in personal care products. However, formaldehyde is a known carcinogen and can cause serious respiratory irritation and nerve damage.
- Parabens: this is a cheap preservative found in most store-bought beauty products. Parabens can cause issues, such as pain, itchiness, and GI tract irritation (when ingested).
- Phthalates: this ingredient is usually found in plastic bottles, synthetic fragrances, household cleaners, personal care products, medical equipment, and even PVC materials. Unfortunately, phthalates have been tested and linked to certain types of cancers, puberty, obesity, and stunting growth.
3. Improve Your Skin’s Natural Moisturizing Properties
By using an organic lotion, you can use a product that will improve your skin’s natural moisturizing properties. The perfect balance of natural oils, vitamins, and butters can help support your skin’s health, promote healing, and restore the stratum corneum (outermost skin layer). Indeed, an all-natural lotion can help give your skin the moisture it needs without feeling greasy or sticky.
4. Enjoy Softer Skin
An organic lotion contains all-natural ingredients that can help you achieve softer skin. We are all exposed to things that can make our skin feel rough, such as the weather, friction from clothes and bags, and work. This can lead to dry, irritated, or chapped skin. When you use an organic lotion, look for one that contains hydrating ingredients like shea butter and coconut oil, which will help heal, soothe, and hydrate your skin. With repeat use, you will experience softer and healthier skin.
5. Works Great for All Skin Types
One of the main benefits of organic lotion is that it contains safer ingredients than store-bought versions. These all-natural organic ingredients offer a full range of benefits for a variety of skin types. Like any product, certain products will work better for specific skin types. For example, a hydrating body cream will work beautifully for dry, chapped skin, while a lightweight body lotion will likely work best for those with oily to combination skin.
We hope this article helped you learn something new about the benefits of using organic lotion. As consumers become more aware of what is in the products they use, organic companies have a unique opportunity to help people achieve their skin goals without compromising their health. If you are interested in purchasing organic lotions, check out Signa Scents full line of vegan and organic products today.