What your products might be doing to you without you knowing
You moisturize conscientiously every day, but your skin remains dry, tight, and sometimes irritated? Some ingredients in your products may be worsening the problem rather than solving it.
1. Alcohol Denat
It provides an immediate feeling of freshness and absorbs quickly — but it dissolves the hydrolipidic film. Freshness in the moment, increased dryness in the hour that follows. If your skin is dry, avoid any product where Alcohol Denat appears in the first 5 ingredients.
2. Fragrance (Fragrance / Parfum)
The word 'fragrance' can mask up to 3,000 different substances — some of which are known to be irritants or allergens. Even 'natural' products can contain them. If you see Parfum or Fragrance in the list, it's a red flag for sensitive skin.
3. Sulfates (SLS / SLES)
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) strip away natural sebum with formidable efficiency. For dry skin or baby skin, this is particularly problematic. Opt for gentle surfactants: Coco Glucoside, Decyl Glucoside.
4. Methylisothiazolinone (MIT)
This preservative is known to cause contact allergies even at low concentrations. It has been banned in leave-on cosmetics in Europe since 2016. Check your products.
5. Mineral oils (Mineral Oil / Paraffinum Liquidum)
They create an occlusive film that is useful in the short term but do not provide deep nourishment. For truly dry skin, favor vegetable oils rich in omegas (jojoba, rosehip, sweet almond).
How to spot them easily
The INCI list is in descending order of concentration. The first 5 ingredients = 80-90% of the product. Install the INCI Beauty app on your phone — it scans and rates products in real time.
The Menea philosophy
All our products are formulated without these 5 ingredients. Not because it is a trend, but because as a chemist and a mother, these choices make a concrete difference.
