Organic skin care sounds healthy, but isn't quite what you may have expected. In fact, when a product is labeled as organic it means that it contains no artificial ingredients, petroleum-based ingredients or other unsafe ingredients.

Nevertheless, there are several ingredients that we don't deem as natural that are commonly added to natural skin care products. One example is petroleum. This ingredient doesn't seem like something that you would want to put on your skin, however there are several skin care products that do contain it. 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 are supposed to help keep the skin young and healthy. However, certain ingredients in these products 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. 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.

Stay away from anti aging creams that contain mineral oil, paraffin and petrolatum. This is especially true for people with oily or combination skin.

Do Not Use Products Containing Quaternary Ammonium Compounds

Quats are used in conditioning products, but be careful because they have also been linked to antibiotic resistance. Try and avoid using products that contain benzalkonium chloride, cetrimonium chloride and cetrimonium bromide, among others.

Don't Use Synthetic Colors

Synthetic colors are often 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.

Sulfates Are Not Your Friend

Sulfates are usually found in soaps, detergents and cleansers. If you have a hard time finding them listed in the ingredients list, look for their alias: sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate. Sulfates dry out the skin and cause rashes, and in some cases have been known to cause ocular problems.

Not All Alcohols Are Good

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. It's not too much to ask when looking for the best wrinkle creams out there.