DIY Skin Care Product ReviewsAre skin care product reviews really necessary? Checked your skin care product or cosmetic ingredient label lately?
Therefore, rather than listing a skin care products review of selected personal care items here—products that may or may not be around in 6 months or that may have re-formulated their ingredient list and no longer be effective or safe—I'm going to give you some helpful information on how to become your own skin care product detective. That way, you will:
What a Girl (or Guy) Wants in a Skin Care Product While a product that helps you grow great skin is the ultimate goal with a skin care product, there are a few other factors that can't be ignored. Anything you put on your skin or purchase to help with acne, eczema, psoriasis, diaper rash, anti-aging or the wide range of other types of skin problems people encounter, needs to meet a few additional skin care products review criteria:
Complete and Accurate Ingredient Lists The first step in doing your own skin care product review is to examine a product's ingredient list and with a little help from experts at ONEgroup, the world's first certified organic personal care products, Safe Cosmetics, and the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep cosmetic data base, I'll point you in the right direction. Though manufacturers should list ingredients in a standard manner (i.e. a full list of ingredients in INCI—international Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients—format) some countries still have this key component of cosmetic safety as a voluntary rather than required guideline. Therefore, some products still do not have ingredients listed at all or don't yet list ingredients in the uniform manner required with INCI standards. Bottom line for a savvy skin care products review detective then: if a product doesn't have an ingredient list, or you can't find an ingredient list by doing a quick online search, don't buy it. And I really mean, don't buy it. (Even if it is advertised on my site; as I don't have complete control over what ads run on the site you'll need to do your due diligence there as well.) If a company has not yet spent the time and money on putting together an accurate INCI-compliant ingredient list, concerns should be raised as to whether or not they are spending the time and money needed to safeguard your health. Next, if a product has an accurate and complete ingredient list, take some time to evaluate it, paying particular attention to:
Product Safety As you conduct a skin care product review on an item's ingredient list there are a couple of other factors to consider. First, much as it is nice to have an INCI-compliant listing of both ingredient names and sources, recognize that because an ingredient is properly listed and is even derived from something natural and wonderful-sounding doesn't necessarily mean it is good for you. For example, an ingredient like cocomidopropyl betaine is synthesized from coconut oil using ammonia, oils and a toxic herbicide. While an unaltered organic coconut oil can be one of the best things for natural skin care, cocomidopropyl betaine probably is not! Additionally be aware of the fact that unless they are certified organic, many personal care products contain:
Product Processing and Manufacturing Although finding out how a company gathers its ingredients, processes and manufactures its products and distributes those products to its consumers can be hard to discover, they are essential components of comprehensive skin care product reviews. A good place to start in discovering this valuable information is with a company's website. 
Look at whether or not a company values natural or organic ingredients, and what they mean when they use those words. Do they operate in a fair trade manner with the farmers producing the raw ingredients the company uses and does their processing allow for maximum retention of the benefits of those raw ingredients? How do they ship their products and is there an effort to reduce carbon emissions and/or offset carbon emissions generated through manufacturing and distribution? Finally, while one goal of all soundly-run companies is to make money, is the company simply about bottom line profits or is green research and education also a part of the company's mandate. If the answers to these questions aren't clear from information listed on the company site, hit the "contact us" button and clearly but politely ask the questions of corporate headquarters; then carefully evaluate the response you receive. Ingredients and Products that Meet Your Needs While it would be lovely if there was a one size fits all natural and organic body care product that worked for everyone, and though that would greatly reduce the need for skin care products reviews, that is simply not the reality. Everyone's skin has unique components that need to be evaluated and factored in when considering which are the best skin care products. Properties such as degree of dryness or oiliness and age factors (i.e. a baby's skin has different needs that that of an elderly person) as well as the type of skin problems a consumer may be managing mean that a top quality DIY skin care product review has to include skin care lines with sufficient range and diversity. Don't eliminate smaller companies or product lines from your research, but recognize that you may have to supplement basics with products from a larger company as well. Guaranteed Effectiveness Generally speaking, top quality organic and natural skin care products are not inexpensive. That is not to say they are not worth their cost or of good value, but simple speaks again to the value of good skin care product reviews. The ingredients they contain, the steps that natural manufacturing practises require and the containers in which they must be sold, can be more expensive than synthetic ingredients, manufacturing with chemicals and storing products in containers that leach chemicals. If, however, you are going to spend your hard-earned money on what appears to be a great certified organic product, it is nice if the company producing the product gives a money back guarantee. That way if the product isn't super effective—remember, not everyone will respond well to the same product—or if there is an allergy or intolerance to one of the ingredients—even certified organic ingredients can be problematic for some people—you can get your money back or perhaps switch the product for another in the company's line. Over the past few decades I've conducted several go-arounds of my own DIY skin care product reviews, both for personal and family use as well as for products to carry in my nutritional consulting practice. My current, hands down overall winner when considering:
Check out other Begin Within Natural Skincare Products pages: Best Skin Care Products Miessence Skin Care Products and ONEgroup Miessence Reviews and finally, Best Natural Skin Care Products Soon there will be additional natural skin care information such as Best Anti-Wrinkle Cream and Baby Skin Care Products. Interested? Sign up for the RSS feed and be notified when new website content is posted. Return from DIY Skin Care Product Reviews to Homepage
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