Our blacklist: There are a few ingredients often found in ‘natural’ skincare brands that we refuse to formulate with, because frankly, they don’t meet our standards for your skin. These are low-quality, low-nourishing ingredients, many of which are irritating and damaging to your skin barrier over time.
We only use nourishing and supportive ingredients that play an active role in the benefits of our formulas. Additives like these simply displace good ingredients.
Our Blacklist:
Synthetic or toxic preservatives;
Emulsifiers / solubilisers;
Retinoids;
Alcohol;
Artificial “fragrance”, and
Hyaluronic Acid.
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All natural
When we founded Nuts Organic, we wanted our ingredients to be in tune with nature, to protect your skin and to offer effective nourishment without the use of toxic ingredients.
With each formula, we tweak, tweak again and tweak again until we have produced an all-natural product that is as effective as it is natural.
Being a formulator is a journey, and the skills we have learned over the years have given us more clarity in our beliefs – that we should look after our skin as we want to our planet.
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Hyaluronic Acid – A sneaky inflammatory
Hyaluronic Acid is produced naturally by our bodies and is found in our skin, keeping our tissues well lubricated and moist. However, its production is reduced as we age. Hyaluronic acid attracts moisture to itself, which is why it is often used topically to keep skin hydrated and supple, in fact it holds 1000 times its weight in water.
If you have sensitive skin or an already compromised skin barrier, hyaluronic acid can cause greater inflammation and irritation. An article written by “The Cut”, explains that the molecular weight of hyaluronic acid can vary. Some hyaluronic acid is broken down into smaller particles to reach and moisturise the deeper layers of the skin, but that smaller molecular size causes inflammation.
“Hyaluronic acid of low molecular weight is the remnants or waste product, and not part of the original construct of HA,” says Dr. Harold Lancer, a board-certified dermatologist. He reminds us that HA is part of the human body to begin with, so there is no reason for it to be inflammatory. “If you take it from its natural, vibrant form and turn it into debris or waste, it’s going to be inflammatory.”
A BETTER ALTERNATIVE: Absolute Serum
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Retinoids – The instant fix, long term cost
Retinol or retinoids are a vitamin A derivative. They used to be only available on prescription but are now available over the counter to help with signs of ageing and acne flare ups.
It’s known to speed up cell turnover/exfoliation and promote collagen production, which can reduce the appearance of fine lines and plump the skin. These benefits sound great, but there is a downside as retinol causes irritation, redness, peeling and inflammation. It also makes your skin more sensitive and susceptible to UV rays and environmental pollution.
According to an interview with Dr. Sara Palmer Hussey, “Studies seem to show that they improve the appearance of wrinkles, but this could be as a result of the micro-inflammation and accelerated healing provoked and we have yet to see the long-term cost to the skin,”.
Using retinol essentially adds stress to your skin, which manifests as short-term improvement but is detrimental over time. And, at Nuts Organic, we are all about naturally healing and nourishing our skin, not stressing it out!
A BETTER ALTERNATIVE: Prickly Pear Oil
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Alcohol – Counterintuitive
Alcohol is drying, plain and simple. If you are using a toner or hydrating mist that contains alcohol, it’s probably causing excessive drying and irritation.
You might think a bit of alcohol would dry a spot up quickly, but you’ll be exacerbating the inflammation and redness and inhibiting your skin’s natural ability to heal. Alcohol wipes out our microbiome’s beneficial bacteria, which are needed for a healthy skin barrier.
A BETTER ALTERNATIVE: Rose Mist
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Emulsifiers & Solubilisers – Barrier Destroyers
Emulsifiers and solubilisers are ingredients that combine oil and water, often used in lotions, hair conditioners or cleanser formulations. The only difference between the two is that a solubiliser is used for dissolving oils in water (like dissolving essential oils into a mist).
Have you ever used a cleanser and then experienced that dry, tight feeling? Emulsifiers & solubilisers don’t stop at the ingredients they are mixed with; they also emulsify your skin lipids (oils) with the water you use. Basically, you are washing your skin’s natural moisture barrier down the drain. On top of that, they leave your skin more susceptible to any other harmful or irritating ingredients within the cleanser.
We don’t use any emulsifiers or solubilisers in any our products and instead choose to keep our waters and oils separate – making your skin happier.
A BETTER ALTERNATIVE: Purify Cleansing Oil
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Surfactants – The majority are overly aggressive
Standard surfactants are used as the primary cleansing agent in cleansers and detergents – they are what invoke the activity of a foaming reaction on the surface of your skin, pulling away dirt.
Some brands claim that you need a surfactant in an oil cleanser for the product to “clean” skin. This is simply not true. “Cleaning” is just a term used to indicate something is free from dirt and it doesn’t dictate the method.
Well, there is more than one method to remove dirt from your skin. We prefer the theory of “like attracts like”: pure oils massaged onto skin will attract your skin’s oil and the dirt trapped within, then the warmth of a washcloth gently softens and removes those grimy oils. Oil cleansing also helps your skin to naturally rebalance its natural oil production so it’s a win-win!
Standard surfactants can damage your skin’s barrier function and cause inflammation. They can also increase your skin’s PH which can make skin dry and itchy or cause breakouts.
(We include an extremely mild surfactant in our liquid face masks called sucrose stearate, one of the gentlest available – derived from sucrose extracted from sugar beet and cane sugar and fatty acids from coconut.)
A BETTER ALTERNATIVE: Clarify Cleansing Oil
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Artificial Fragrance – Mysteriously toxic (aka Parfum)
The problem with the word “fragrance” is that we don’t know what it is. Cosmetic manufacturers are not required to disclose what “fragrance” is made up of because these recipes are considered trade secrets.
“Fragrance” is usually a proprietary blend of chemicals, many of which are linked to serious health problems such as cancer, reproductive and developmental toxicity, allergies, and sensitivities. “Fragrance” also covers certain preservative systems within the product which do not need to be labelled individually.
Can you give informed consent if you don’t even know what these are made from?
Nope. We won’t use them in our products, ever.
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Preservatives – They have a time & place
We are not going to say that all preservatives are bad, after all, they do keep us safe from microbes that can cause life threatening infections. While most conventional preservatives come with hefty warnings such as endocrine disruption or possible carcinogens, there are more natural options. We haven’t found many natural preservatives that we feel passionate about testing with yet as many can cause skin irritation and that truly defeats the purpose of our products.
Formulations made with water need a preservative system in most cases because microbes and mould grow easily in water.
We intentionally formulate waterless products that do not need preservatives of any kind; we even offer scoops and bowls where necessary to ensure water does not enter a product jar.
