Natural Skin Care

# What Happens When You Stop Using Products with SLS Sodium lauryl sulfate dissolves the lipid barrier between corneocytes. Research confirms barrier disruption at concentrations as low as 1%. Most facial cleansers contain 5-15% SLS. Stopping SLS products initiates a recovery timeline: **Days 1-3:** Skin feels "dirty" because sebum is no longer being stripped. The sebaceous glands are still in overproduction mode, compensating for years of daily lipid removal. **Days 4-7:** Sebum production begins recalibrating downward. Tightness and flaking reduce as the lipid layer rebuilds between cells. **Week 2:** Transepidermal water loss decreases measurably. Hydration improves without applying more moisturizer — because the barrier is holding water in. **Week 3-4:** Sebaceous glands normalize output. Skin produces appropriate sebum levels rather than emergency-response levels. Pores appear smaller because oil production is no longer excessive. **Month 2+:** The full stratum corneum has turned over. Every corneocyte layer was built in the absence of daily lipid stripping. The barrier functions as designed for the first time in years. The irony: brands owned by conglomerates sell SLS cleansers AND the moisturizers needed to repair the damage. Same company profits from both. The damage cycle is not a bug — the financial incentive to use gentle surfactants disappears when one corporation owns both products. Era Organics uses decyl glucoside and coco-glucoside — plant-derived surfactants from coconut and corn glucose that cleanse without disrupting lipid architecture. [Era Organics Face Wash](https://www.eraorganics.com/products/face-wash-for-sensitive-skin) — formulated for the skin you want to have, not the skin that needs to buy another product. #sls free #sulfate free #skin barrier #sensitive skin #face wash #skincare routine #barrier repair

# Methylene Blue: The 100-Year-Old Molecule That's Changing Anti-Aging Methylene blue was synthesized in 1876. First synthetic drug used in medicine — treating malaria before any modern pharmaceutical existed. A deep blue molecule that crosses cell membranes and accumulates in mitochondria. Here's what researchers found when they tested it on aging skin cells: A 2017 study showed methylene blue at nanomolar concentrations increased fibroblast proliferation by 20-30% and boosted collagen production while reducing cellular aging markers. A comparative study found methylene blue outperformed retinol, vitamin C, AND CoQ10 in stimulating collagen production in 3D skin tissue models. The mechanism is unlike anything else in skincare: Methylene blue functions as an alternative electron carrier in mitochondria. It accepts electrons from NADH and transfers them directly to cytochrome c, bypassing damaged complexes. This restores ATP production in cells whose energy factories have degraded with age. More ATP means more fuel for collagen synthesis, DNA repair, and cellular turnover. The molecule also scavenges reactive oxygen species that leak from impaired mitochondria. Mitochondrial damage causes aging. Aging causes mitochondrial damage. Methylene blue interrupts the cycle at both points. No irritation. No peeling. No photosensitivity. Safe for sensitive skin that cannot tolerate retinoids. A molecule older than aspirin, hiding in plain sight for 150 years. #methylene blue #anti aging #skincare science #mitochondria #collagen #retinol alternative #aging skin

# The Talc Problem Nobody Talks About Anymore Johnson & Johnson faced a $2.1 billion verdict in 2018 over talc-contaminated baby powder linked to ovarian cancer. The company pulled talc-based baby powder from North American shelves in 2020. Then the news cycle moved on. Talc (magnesium silicate) shares geological deposits with asbestos. Contamination occurs during mining. The FDA found asbestos in talc-based cosmetics as recently as 2019. J&J knew about asbestos contamination in their talc supply for decades. Internal documents dating to 1971 reference asbestos fibers in their raw talc. The company chose not to disclose. The replacement matters. Many brands switched to cornstarch — which feeds yeast in warm, moist environments. Cornstarch-based baby powders promote Candida overgrowth in diaper areas. Era Organics uses organic arrowroot powder. Arrowroot absorbs moisture without feeding yeast. Antifungal properties actively oppose Candida growth rather than promoting it. Zero talc. Zero cornstarch. Zero asbestos risk. [Era Organics Talc-Free Baby Powder](https://www.eraorganics.com/products/talcum-powder-free-baby-powder) — because "we removed the carcinogen" should not be the selling point. Starting without carcinogens should be the baseline. #talc free #baby powder #johnson and johnson #asbestos #arrowroot #baby skincare #organic baby products

# Beef Tallow Was the Original Moisturizer Galen formulated the first cold cream in 150 AD. The base ingredient: rendered animal fat. For 2,000 years, human skincare relied on tallow. Petroleum-derived ingredients replaced it in the early 1900s — not because petroleum worked better, but because petroleum was cheaper to manufacture at scale. Here's why tallow matches human skin better than any synthetic alternative: **Beef tallow fatty acid profile:** - 47% oleic acid - 25% stearic acid - 26% palmitic acid **Human sebum fatty acid profile:** - 30-40% oleic acid - Similar stearic and palmitic ratios The overlap allows tallow fatty acids to merge with the skin's natural oil layer. The skin recognizes tallow as its own. Petroleum sits on top as a foreign occlusive layer. Grass-fed tallow also delivers fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K2 in topically bioavailable forms. Petrolatum delivers nothing — zero nutritive value. Just a seal. The shift away from tallow happened because Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, and Unilever needed cheap ingredients that scaled to millions of units. Animal fats require sourcing relationships. Petroleum refining byproducts cost pennies per kilogram. Era Organics sources beef tallow exclusively from 100% grass-fed, USDA Certified Organic cattle raised on small family American farms. Low-temperature rendering preserves the complete vitamin profile. The original moisturizer never stopped working. The industry just found something cheaper. #beef tallow #skincare #ancestral skincare #moisturizer #grass fed #tallow balm #petroleum free #organic skincare

# Your 'Fragrance-Free' Product Probably Isn't Here's something the skincare industry hopes nobody looks up: "Fragrance-free" has no legal definition in the United States. The FDA has no standard. No testing requirement. No enforcement. A product labeled "fragrance-free" still contains masking fragrances — chemicals added to cover the smell of other ingredients so the product smells like "nothing." Those masking fragrances interact with skin cells identically to scent-adding fragrances. The immune system does not distinguish between a fragrance added for pleasure and one added for odor neutralization. The sensitization pathway: - Fragrance molecule crosses the stratum corneum - Binds to skin protein, creating a hapten-protein complex - Langerhans cells present it to T-cells - Memory T-cells form (permanent) - Every future exposure triggers allergic contact dermatitis This process is cumulative. Repeated daily application from "fragrance-free" products containing masking fragrances accumulates toward the sensitization threshold. Products labeled "unscented" are worse — many achieve that neutral scent profile BY ADDING fragrance chemicals that cancel out raw ingredient odors. The EU requires disclosure of 26 individual fragrance allergens. The US requires only the single word "fragrance" — hiding up to 3,000 compounds behind one term. Era Organics defines fragrance-free as: zero fragrance compounds of any category, added for any purpose, at any concentration. Zero synthetic. Zero natural. Zero masking. USDA Organic certification independently verifies this through annual supply chain audit. Products smell like their ingredients — beeswax, rosehip oil, botanical extracts. That's how you know nothing was added. #fragrance free #skincare #sensitive skin #eczema #contact dermatitis #clean beauty #ingredient transparency #masking fragrance