You hear a version of this saying all the time. As someone approaching the ‘halfway point’ to becoming a Centenarian, it has certainly crossed my mind. What will I look and feel like when I hit the big 50?
When it comes to skincare, there are numerous concerns that the inverse of this age-old phrase (pun intended) may very well be true. Since this skincare journey began for Farrow, it has become increasingly obvious that the story we are told, the products we are sold, and the recommendations we are fed are NOT aligned with optimal skincare. Not in the least.
Having nearly 15 years of hands-on work in the nutrition and lifestyle space, I can tell you that the skincare industry looks very similar to the diet/nutrition industry in many respects. Here are a few observations of both:
- The Gated Institutions are Corrupt!
Doctors are wined, dined, and marketed to constantly by big Pharma, this includes Registered Dieticians, Dermatologists, and Estheticians. Most of the schools that award these certifications are funded, by in large, by corporate interests, grants and kickbacks through a variety of programs to move their products. Profits over people and certainly over human health. Skincare is co-opted and corrupted by the juggernauts holding all the cards. Would it surprise you to know that Big Food/Big Pharma/Big Skincare are the same companies?
L’Oreal Brand
Largest cosmetics company in the world reporting over $30B in revenue in 2019. Nestle owns nearly 24% of this company, making the initial investment in 1974.
Olay Brand
$18B cosmetics brand in the US is owned by Proctor & Gamble (the same people that brought you Cottonseed Oil, Crisco and the Saturated Fat Myth with the help of Ancel Keyes).
Neutrogena Brand
Ships its products to over 70 countries and is owned by Johnson and Johnson. Only a few billion in paid claims for false claims about its products.
You want to trust your health and skin to these guys?
- Nobody Understands the Microbiome—or certainly doesn’t act like it!
This is a topic that isn’t normally met with excitement. We get it. Nobody likes to think of your body being covered in microscopic organisms that number in the billions. Did you know that your body has more DNA in it/on it that belongs to other creatures than you? What do these “bugs” do? We’re not sure…but we are learning more about the human microbiome each year.
Here is something you can bank on—these bugs are here for a reason. Perhaps many reasons…all related to human health. If the first ingredient on your skincare is Water, there are chemicals in that cream that kill bacteria. This is good for the cream, its shelf life, and the bottom line of the manufacturer. NOT so good for your natural microbiome as you spread that cream on your skin. You’re effectively putting napalm on your skin’s bacterial inhabitants. Humans have co-evolved with this ongoing list of micro-organisms inhabiting our skin. Seems like a good idea to treat them a little better than industrial napalm.
- Consumer Protection is LACKING!
The Food and Cosmetics Act of 1938 (FCA) is the primary body of law protecting consumers when it comes to skincare. The ONLY ingredients that require pre-market safety testing from the FCA are color additives. The FCA was updated in the 1970s and cosmetics were excluded!
Take a moment to think about all the chemicals and compounds we have created or discovered since 1938. All those petroleum derivatives and “waste” products that are now available. The only ingredients in your skincare that require safety testing are color additives.
We are learning more and more about the harmful effects of Parabens, Formaldehyde, Petroleum Jelly, Oxybenzone, Phthalates, Fragrance (fancy word for up to 100 chemicals making up the scent), and Butylated Hydroxytoluene. All these are ubiquitous in skincare today. Several are linked to numerous cancers and highly disruptive to our endocrine system.
So, is it possible that 30 is the new 50?
If you have been coating your skin with the water-based products that have been sitting on a store shelf for months (and likely another year in a warehouse somewhere), you can bet that you are aging your skin faster and faster.
Industrial skincare is 70-75% water. Water dries out your skin and forces you to apply more product…drying out your skin further and further. Much like the “diet industry” in this country is built on your gaining the weight back, skincare is built on your skin requiring more of its products.
Industrial skincare contains oils that are NOT aligned with human biology. Petroleum derivatives, seed oils and plant-based oils are by no means ideal for human skin.
Constant destruction of your skin’s natural microbiome and ongoing dryness perpetuated by these products forces your skin to shed and flake off. This causes your skin to make more skin. This is obviously a natural process. You don’t want to do anything to speed up the process.
Put the garbage down and let’s reverse the aging caused by industrial skincare. You want your skin to glow and be amazing, ditch the junk.
