We are becoming more and more aware about what we pop on our skin, especially our little ones however it is still so easy to be fooled by smart marketing and deceptive greenwashing such as ‘naturally derived’ etc.
By promoting the ‘good’ ingredients first on the list they hope that you won’t bother to scan much further or delve any deeper into their other add in’s and quite often that IS the case! We see aloe vera, almond oil, coconut oil, purified water and think- perfect!
But it’s far from perfect and often why you aren’t seeing healing and/or healthy, hydrated skin, particularly those creams aimed at eczema and other skin conditions.
Whilst many of ingredients come from natural sources they are NOT natural once processed. Pure vit E is not the same as d-alpha tocopherol acetate and whilst these ingredients may be ‘better’ options they are still NOT ideal.
So, a main product that I often hear from customers as one they’ve been using and thought to be ‘clean’ is..
MOOGOO BABY AND CHILD ECZEMA + PSORIASIS CREAM ✨
The ingredients:
Active (the chemical compounds in medicines that have an effect in the body – in other words, the chemical in the medicine that makes it work) :
Aloe Vera inner leaf juice 20mg/g fresh, Matricaria chamomilla flower liq. extr. eqv 5mg/g dry, Centella asiatica herb tincture eqv 5mg/g dry, Sage Oil Dalmatian 500 microgram/g
Other (inactive ingredients are the components in a drug that have non-medicinal importance):
Purified water, Almond Oil, Cetostearyl alcohol, Piroctone olamine & Polysorbate 60, Olive Oil, Squalane, Allantoin, d-alpha-Tocopheryl acetate, citric acid, Xanthan gum, Humulus lupulus flower extr. liq.conc.
Looks good right? (Note the words that you would be familiar with, plant based and trigger words like fresh, herb tincture etc).
But let’s look further into the other ingredients.
We have;
Polysorbate 60
Polysorbate 60 is a humectant commonly used in beauty cosmetics and is a by-product of petroleum production. It’s known as ethoxylated chemicals and during the ethoxylation process unwanted impurities can form that may cause skin irritation. It is also a known carcinogen.
Xanthan Gum
Xanthan Gum is derived from corn, soy, or wheat after intense industrial processing and often from GMO sources (Similar to PUFA oils and their processing). It is used as a thickening agent, texture enhancer, and to stabilise emulsions. It can cause allergic reactions such as redness, inflammation and itchiness (especially if allergic to corn, soy or wheat),
Tocopheryl acetate
Tocopheryl acetate is used as a preservative and can be made ‘naturally’ from vegetable oils or synthetically from petroleum products. However tocopheryl acetate is a synthetic racemic mixture not a natural compound. It can cause local reactions such as redness, itchiness and rashes.
Piroctone olamine
Piroctone Olamine is a petrochemical used to treat fungal infections. Petrochemicals are carcinogenic, irritating and drying to the skin + often reported to cause sensitivities.
Cetostearyl alcohol
Cetyl and stearyl alcohols are often derived from coconut, palm, corn, or soy vegetable oil and is used as a emollient and emulsifier. It can cause burning, stinging, redness, or irritation and this risk in higher in people who have eczema, as they have a compromised skin barrier, and who often use multiple topical medicines. In fact, an article from the 1980s states that about 1% of people with eczema are allergic to cetyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, or a mixture of both—cetearyl alcohol. A 2007 article also reported five cases of allergic contact dermatitis due to cetearyl alcohol.
Almond + Olive Oil
Both oils rate 2 on the comedogenic scale which means they are considered mildly comedogenic and almond oil is high in PUFA (detrimental to skin health compared to saturated fats which assist in healing eczema and skin conditions).
With this information in mind is MOOGOO the best product for our little ones and their eczema prone skin? For a product aimed at children and skin conditions do these ingredients provide the building blocks the skin needs for healing and nourishment? Is it truly efficacious and most importantly is it safe enough? Is there a better option/s?
I dare to say NO, it’s not the best product, it’s not the safest product, it’s not the most ideal product and it’s low key deceitful and reliant on consumer ignorance.
Better options? Absolutely- tallow ✨
We can only make the best decisions when we are informed!