African American and Black Skin Products must have the right ingredients to really work. Some ingredients should be avoided for black skin or any other type of skin. In this article I will show you which ones work and which ones to avoid. Some ingredients, for example, will cause hyper pigmentation while others will cause de-pigmentation. Here is what you should avoid and what you need.

Compounds to Avoid

-Sodium methyl paraben

-Petroleum-based products

-Chemical bleaching agents

Sodium methyl paraben is one ingredient that is a lot of skin care products. It has been suspected of causing breast cancer and is currently banned in the EU. It can also cause de-pigmentation that may not be temporary. This and all parabens should not be used on your skin

Products with petroleum content also can cause hyper pigmentation. Dark spots may appear that do not match other skin tone. Also propylene glycol and wood based alcohols have been known to cause darker spots to appear on the skin. The reason often stated why these ingredients are in black skin care products is that they relieve oilness. However, the products most people are using cause the oilness. Petrolatum, mineral oil and other products that are petroleum based CAUSE the oilness.

Products that contain bleaching agents are usually very harmful to the skin. Do not use them. There are whitening agents that are safe. I found one that is excellent.

Compounds to Seek Out

-Extra pone nut grass

-CoQ10

- Jojoba

-Natural vitamin E

-Functional keratin

-Wakame kelp

Extra-pone nut grass is a very good ingredient that will even out the skin tone. It usually doesn't take much to give a noticeable difference.

Also, natural vitamin E will help repair hyper-pigmented skin spots. Vitamin E does this because it is an antioxidant. Black skin can have an uneven tone that will be helped by nut grass and vitamin E.

Effective Moisturizers that Balance Sebum Production

Most of us have places on our skin that can be anywhere from very oily to mildly or very dry. What causes this is usually a cream or lotion that has ingredients that should be avoided. It might be that we just have a difference in the amount of skin follicles. Use a moisturizer with the ingredients I recommended and avoid cheap over the counter skin products. Expensive department stores are also a place NOT to buy products. Many are harmful.

Sebum, which is the natural moisturizer for skin, comes from the sebaceous glands. They are located at the root of the hair follicles. Jojoba and/or passion fruit are found in the better african american skin products. These ingredients are known for moisturizing dry skin. And they will do so without making greasy areas or causing skin irritations.

Anti-Aging Ingredients

Anti aging products such lotions and creams are very popular right now. Many companies are promoting anti-aging products. But beware most of them don't work and could even make your skin worse. So what does work?

Functional Keratin is the most successful and effective of all the antiaging products I researched. Functional keratin combined with Wakame kelp extract and antioxidants CoQ10 and natural vitamin E promotes the increase of new skin fibers and skin cells. Wakame helps prevent sagging by increaing skin firmness.

Antioxidants that are from a natural source, not some cheap imitation, attack free radicals. Free radicals, is believed by some doctors, to cause aging signs to appear. So if you have black skin or actually any skin tone, the above ingredients mentioned should either be avoided or included in your skin care regimen. I recommend that you use a skin care product that is designed to protect and enhance your skin complexion. I'm glad I did. - Margaret Bell