Stop wasting your money on fancy labels and big promises by learning how to read your skincare labels. Finding a perfect skincare regime that agrees with your skin type and budget is often a case of trial and error.
Use our skincare-ingredient guide to tell whether a product is suitable for you:
1. Don’t be fooled by product claims
The first step in our skincare-ingredient guide is to be aware of buzzwords and great claims. Brands often market products as ‘clinically’ or ‘dermatologically’ tested to give us the impression that they have been through extensive tests and trials. This is not always the case, as these tests are not necessarily conclusive – sometimes, even a patch test is enough.
2. Read your ingredient list
Clever marketing and labels often attract us to products. Read the ingredient list on the back instead. The ingredients are listed from the highest to the lowest amounts. Most skincare ingredients often contain high amounts of water, and emollients such as glycerine.
Some products do contain good ingredients such as antioxidants or retinol, but the quantities of these ingredients might be too low to make a difference to your skin. Some products also contain high amounts of of fillers such as stabilisers, solvents and thickeners (disodium EDTA, phthalates or xanthan gum).
Check for colourants and fragrances, as these ingredients do not benefit your skin.
3. Check the packaging
A product containing unstable active ingredients in a jar will be exposed to air and dirty fingers, rendering those ingredients useless. Check for a pump bottle and opaque glass or plastic when a product contains active ingredients. Do not store your skincare products in direct sunlight.
4. Prioritise your budget
Think about the amount of time a product is sitting on your face: a cleanser is washed off in seconds, while serums and moisturisers sit on the skin for an entire day and night. Don’t spend money on a fancy cleanser and not on a moisturiser.
Related: Avoid these 9 DIY skincare treatments
5. Check for potential allergens and irritants
Many ingredients can trigger skin irritations. Some of the biggest culprits are fragrances and colourants. Alcohol is also a scapegoat for irritation, but not all alcohols are bad in skincare. Check for denaturalised alcohol (listed as alcohol denat), as this can dry and irritate skin. Parabens also cause skin irritation for some people.
6. Don’t mess around with SPF
A built-in SPF is a big selling point in many day moisturisers. However, the SPF levels are often not high enough for adequate protection. In some products, ingredients such as zinc oxide appear further down the ingredient list.
This means that the amount of sun protectant in your product is not nearly potent enough. Rather shop for a moisturiser with higher doses of beneficial ingredients, and slather on a high SPF afterwards.
7. Don’t let the big names scare you
If you check the ingredient list of your trusted moisturiser for the first time, those scary-sounding ingredients may shock you. But just because something sounds like it was cultivated in your natural-science class doesn’t mean that it’s ‘toxic’ and ‘bad’.
Search for these ingredients on directories such as the Paula’s Choice Cosmetic Dictionary for concise definitions. Combine this information with our skincare-ingredient guide and know what you are truly putting on your face.
8. Ask the experts
If your skincare products are simply not targeting the concerns you have, it’s best to go straight to a dermatologist or a medical spa, as they can provide you with the correct guidance and product options to target problem areas.
* Disclaimer: We wrote this skincare-ingredient guide to serve as a rough guideline. If you do have any serious skin concerns or questions, do not hesitate to contact your dermatologist or doctor for clarity on a certain ingredient or product.
PHOTO: iStock/simarik
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