In our "Apply This, Not That" series, industry experts come clean on the ingredients often found in professional products. This month, our professional is Carmen Gendebien, cofounder and CXO of A Wholesome Glow, a farm to bottle skincare company based in upstate New York. Here, discover why Gendebien prefers to use alfalfa in her company's products instead of phenoxyethanol.
Apply This: Alfalfa
“One of our favorite key ingredients on the farm is alfalfa. We plant it, grow it, and harvest it on the farm for our cows but also for our bath bar. Alfalfa is known as the king of all foods, because it contains vitamins A, B, C, D, E, G, and K and the full family of B vitamins. It is a very important herb on our farm that we treasure. It helps soften the skin and keeps it radiant.”
A Wholesome Glow star products: Bath Bar Exfoliating in Alfalfa, Oats, and Milk
Not That: Phenoxyethanol
“Phenoxyethanol is a manufactured synthetic preservative used in many cosmetic products. Although more research has to be conducted about the long-term effects of using beauty products containing phenoxyethanol, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued warnings revealing that the ingestion of phenoxyethanol can be toxic and harmful for infants. Due to the European Commission’s and FDA’s concerns about oral exposure to phenoxyethanol, it is reasonable to be skeptical about its safety, especially when so many beauty products contain it.”
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