100% Pure Skincare – are You Still Looking for It?

Nearly all of us would love to find 100% pure skincare. After many years of artificial everything, we've noticed that natural is almost always better. Holistic skincare is our goal these days.

It's a great goal. We do need to be realistic about it, though.

if by 100% pure, you mean that no processing of any ingredient is allowed, there is no 100% pure skincare product.

If by holistic skincare you mean that ingredients must be exactly as they are found in nature, whole and complete, then there is no such thing as holistic skincare.

The simple truth: some type of careful processing, as natural and holistic as possible, must take place before even the finest skincare ingredients can be used in a skincare product.

Intelligent processing, done with a respect for the power of the natural plants, makes herbal supplements more effective than the plants they come from. Often only an extract (the active ingredients) of the plant is used.

Just because there's no 100% pure skincare, you're quite right to look for the purest, most holistic skincare product you can find. One thing that means is, avoiding the common, but untrustworthy, ingredients.

Don't trust the following:

-- Parabens, to take one of the most common ingredients in skincare products. You'll see them listed as methylparaben, ethylparaben, benzylparaben and others.

They're preservatives, to lengthen product shelf life; they are absorbed into the body through the skin; and they are suspected carcinogens.

-- Fragrances. Sorry, but fragrances are made from dangerous chemicals that can irritate your skin. If you want to wear a nice scent, use a body spray or a dab of perfume. That's not avoiding fragrances completely, but it's much safer than rubbing a scented product into your body.

-- Triclosan. Suspected of helping to create widespread antibiotic resistance.

In your search for holistic skincare, here are some ingredients, extracted from pure, natural plant sources, with their effectiveness demonstrated in quality studies:

Phytessence Wakame -- based on a natural sea kelp, native to Japan. Wakame is a natural part of the skincare that keeps Japanese women looking so young.

Cynergy TK™ -- this is a natural substance extracted from the wool of sheep in New Zealand. Cynergy TK™ contains functional keratin, and has been shown in studies to actually stimulate the production of collagen and elastin, proteins essential for firm, supple skin.

Of course, true holistic skincare includes not just pure cosmetic ingredients, but some regular exercise, and diet, too. Leafy green vegetables, both in salads and cooked, quality protein sources such as fish, and pure filtered water are all natural gifts to your skin.

So if 100% pure skincare isn't possible, you're still on the right track by looking for it.

Kathryn Lane is a health and nutrition researcher. The most valuable and effective products she finds are rarely the most expensive or the most-advertised, she reports on her website: http://www.health-and-skin-site.com/