Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Botanical extracts that are toxic to skin!


New skin care companies are marketing products without safety testing of exotic plant extracts which have high incidences of skin irritation and with long term use can be toxic.

Some natural plant extracts fall outside the definitions of "cosmetic" ingredients and have never been tested for safety by the FDA.

Many of these new skin care companies advertise the value of various combinations of these exotic plant extracts in their products but provide no clinical studies that actually support their claim.

The following is a list of plants and tree extracts to avoid in skin care products:

Dieffenbachia
Castor bean
Daffodil (keep it as pretty flower in the garden)
Buttercup (in Daffodil family)
Foxglove (another pretty flower only to look at)
Tulip "Bulb"
Narcissus Bulb
Cow slip
Milkweed
Broomweed
Rubber Tree extract
Fig Tree Sap

Any botanical skin care product that costs very little can be appealing to those who are unaware of these very "nice sounding" ingredients. Remember, you always get what you pay for.