The Tribune

That lotion you think may be toning, plumping and softening your skin may actually be doing more harm than good.

So says a respected skin care paramedical specialist who warns that some of the most common ingredients found in facial cleansers, lotions and creams could be dangerous, and in some cases, even cause cancer.

“As women, we all want to look good,” said Raquel Sully, founder of the RaSu Concierge Spa, a service that takes massage therapy and skin care treatments to a patient or client’s home.

“It starts from the time we are old enough to look into a mirror or gaze at a model in a magazine. Looking good is programmed into us, and as we age we tend to spend more and more trying to look young or younger than we are. We try wrinkle creams and body lotions and soaps that promise to make us as fresh and happy as the woman we see in the shower on TV.”

The problem is, Ms Sully said, many of the ingredients used in those creams and lotions are harmful and some have been known to be carcinogenic. And it’s not just the inexpensive products that contain them.

“I could give you a list of 20 ingredients that are commonly found in some of the finest or most beautifully packaged products and every one of those ingredients will have one or more troubling side effects,” said Ms Sully, who holds several certifications in skin specialties and massage therapies,

“Products like alcohol, which dries the skin, or disodium-EDTA, a chelating agent that makes cleansing products work more effectively but in studies has been shown to disrupt hormone function and can actually cause cell mutation.”

Some skin care products contain the same ingredients used in pesticides. “Others use synthetic dyes which make can include colors or numbers like FD&C No 5 or what we know as yellow dye No 5. I urge every client to look at the list of ingredients and if they see sulfates, or propylene glycol or ethyl acetate, please do not use. Even a product as seemingly harmless as lanolin which comes from sheep can be dangerous depending on whether where the sheep grazed was treated with fertilizer and DDT or Dioxan, both well-known carcinogens. The skin is the body’s largest organ,” she said.

Ms Sully worked at several spas, including the world-class Mandara Spa at The Cove, Atlantis, prior to launching RaSu Concierge Spa this summer.

“There were two reasons I wanted to go out on my own and to take the service of massage therapy and skin care to the client at their home or wherever the client or patient is based,” she said.

“The first reason was I wanted the emphasis to be on the sense of well-being and health, understanding that massage therapy is far more than luxury, but is part of building and maintaining wellness. It can be an important part of treating those with generalised pain disorder, diabetes or other circulatory challenges.”

The second reason, she said, is to use only non-toxic products with no animal testing. She chose a line called Hylunia. The products cover all the types of care she provides – pre- and post-operative skin care, light chemical peels, anti-aging, HIV/AIDs training, medical camouflage make-up, microdermabrasion, manual lymphatic drainage and advanced holistic treatments.

“Wellness is a journey,” said Ms Sully, “and I want to use my training, all the years of studying I have done, and my experience to make that journey as safe and valuable as possible.”