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Organic skin care has a healthy ring to it, but the real meaning of organic products doesn't necessarily coincide with what consumers might expect. As a matter of fact, organic simply means that a product is free of artificial ingredients, petroleum-based ingredients or other unsafe ingredients.

However, some ingredients that we often consider as unnatural are readily added to natural for skin care products. For example, petroleum is considered a natural ingredient added to several natural skin care products, however, I can't think of many people that would knowingly want to put it on their skin. Therefore, the best way of having a say in what goes on your skin is by learning how to spot noxious ingredients on the product labels.

Stay Away From These Ingredients

Anti aging and organic skin care products should be able to help keep your skin looking young and healthy, however, not knowing which ingredients are good or bad can lead you to using products that can actually speed up the aging process and lead to dull skin and wrinkles.

Stay Away from Products Containing Petrochemicals

This group of ingredients is derived from crude oil, giving it the name of Petrochemicals. These petrochemicals coat your skin and make it impossible for your body to eliminate toxins. This obstruction can lead to dull skin, and cause allergies and clogged pores.

Don't use anti aging creams that contain mineral oil, paraffin and petrolatum. This is especially important if you have oily or combination skin.

Stay away from Quats (Quaternary Ammonium Compounds)

Quaternary Ammonium compounds are used in conditioning products, however, use them carefully because they have also been linked to antibiotic resistance. Stay away from products that contain benzalkonium chloride, cetrimonium chloride and cetrimonium bromide, among others.

Avoid Synthetic Colors

These ingredients are made from coal tar and heavy metal salts. They are known to lead to eye wrinkles and dull skin. This happens because they produce free radicals which are damaging to the skin's structure. In order to avoid exposure, do not use products that contain FD&C or D&C.

Stay Away from Sulfates

These components are usually used to make soaps, detergents and cleansers. They are listed under the following names: sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate. Sulfates are known to dry out the skin (remember dry skin is more prone to wrinkling), cause rashes and lead to ocular problems.

Avoid Certain Alcohols

Anti wrinkle creams should not contain alcohol because it dehydrates the skin and can lead to wrinkles. Alcohol can also lead to irritation and rashes, but this isn't true for all types of alcohol. In fact stearyl and cetearyl alchol are both acceptable ingredients in any wrinkle treatment cream.

All you need to do is invest a little time and research to find the ingredients that you should avoid. In fact, it doesn't feel like such an effort when you're looking for the best wrinkle creams out there.