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Eye Cream Ingredients: Mineral Oil

Whether you know it as mineral oil, petroleum jelly, or petrolatum, it’s a skin care ingredient to avoid. Shockingly common in our everyday skin care products and eye creams, mineral oil and its derivatives can cause extreme damage to our skin and bodies. If it’s so dangerous, why is it used? The answer is sadly unsurprising; it’s incredibly cheap.

Contrary to its name, mineral oil, sometimes known as paraffin oil, is not sourced from minerals. Mineral oil is a byproduct of the distillation of gasoline from crude oil. Mineral oil is a clear, unscented liquid that will not spoil, and since it’s made in the process of distilling gasoline, it is extremely abundant. To get an idea of how cheap this beauty care ingredient is, remember this: it is more expensive to dispose of mineral oil than it is to purchase it. Mineral oil is used in many beauty and eye care products, including everything from moisturizers to eye creams to baby care products.

Petroleum jelly and petrolatum have very few differences. Both are jelly forms of mineral oil, making them better for use in things like lipstick and eye gels. They cause the skin care product to spread easily and coat the skin well, which are two very important things when it comes to skin care, especially eye wrinkle creams. However, petrolatum and petroleum jelly cause the same problems as mineral oil, making them all ingredients to avoid.

Even though there are many healthier alternatives to petroleum jelly, petrolatum and mineral oil, these ingredients are most often used because they’re cheaper for the manufacturer. In turn, the product is then cheaper for you, the customer; but at what cost to your health? Here’s a look at the dangers mineral oil and its derivatives pose to your skin and overall health:

• Clogs pores (comedogenic)
• Slows skin’s ability to eliminate toxins
• Dries the skin by stealing moisture
• Increases photo-sensitivity
• Likely to contain cancer-causing carcinogens
• Absorbs important vitamins, making them unavailable to the body
• Can cause lipid pneumonia, a potentially fatal disease

In addition, mineral oil, petroleum jelly, and petrolatum increase the likelihood of your under eye cream traveling into your eyes. Because mineral oil does not absorb into the skin, it simply sits on the top of the dermis, making it extremely easy for your eye cream product and its active ingredients to enter the eye. This can cause everything from redness and puffiness to an extreme allergic reaction, especially if any of the ingredients are found in your night eye cream.

For any or all of the reasons listed above, it would certainly be a wise move to remove from your skin care regimen any eye care product containing mineral oil or its offspring. Be sure to also check your other skin care products, as well as your child’s skin care products, for these highly dangerous poisons.

Eye Cream of the Month: PCA Skin EyeXcellence

EyeXcellence is brought to you by PCA Skin, a leading clinical skin care company that supplies chirally correct products. PCA Skin claims to be the first cosmeceutical company to create scientifically researched daily skin care products, and is recognized in medical textbooks as the company behind blended chemical peel treatments. PCA Skin’s entire range is free of synthetic fragrances, alcohols, comedogenic oils, color additives and other sensitizers, allowing them to be used by all skin types. In addition, PCA products are available only through licensed medical professionals, making them an exclusive and trusted brand.

PCA’s EyeXcellence under eye cream is designed to treat the three most common eye area concerns: puffiness, dark circles, and wrinkles. Formulated with three peptides (Dipeptide-2, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-3, and Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-3/Matrixyl®), EyeXcellence is able to increase collagen production, circulation and capillary function. These three actions encourage a smooth skin texture, an even skin tone, and a youthful brightness.

In addition to these peptides, EyeXcellence uses grape seed extract, aloe and vitamin E to deeply moisturize and nourish the eye area while supplying exceptional antioxidant protection against free radicals. By using antioxidants to protect the delicate eye area, signs of damage such as wrinkles and discoloration are less likely to occur. Finally, ingredients like licorice root extract and panax ginseng extract work overtime to diminish puffiness and dark circles, restoring a healthy and young-looking vibrancy to the entire eye area.

This truly excellent skin care eye cream may be used twice daily without increased risk of irritation or adverse effects. Customer reviews state that a little bit of this product goes a long way, which maximizes the life of your tube. Customers also say that EyeXcellence is the best eye cream for those who enjoy a rich yet light texture that absorbs quickly and completely, leaving a reside-free finish that feels fresh and soft.