One factor that is the same for all human life is that we age, which means that at some point in our lives we will all have to deal with wrinkles or age spots, however, this doesn't mean that we can't do something to help lessen the blow. In fact, several skin care companies now offer special skin care products specially catered to treat aging skin.

Skin care creams for maturing skin should be gentle. A good option for mature skin is natural skin care products. However, it may difficult to choose the right, natural skin cream because some products contain ingredients that we would not consider gentle or soothing.

For instance, the skin care industry believes that petroleum based ingredients are natural substances. This may or may not be true, but who is really willing to treat their delicate aging skin with petroleum? Let's take a look at a few other ingredients that you may want to avoid when in search of gentle face creams.

Alcohol is an ingredient you should always avoid unless it comes in the form of cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol. Alcohol dehydrates skin and can cause irritation. Make sure that the product you choose does not contain alcohol in its first five ingredients.

Parabens are another ingredient that should not be present in natural skin creams. Even though they serve an important purpose by suppressing microbial formation in creams, parabens have been linked to irritation. They have also been linked to more severe problems such as cancer.

Other carcinogenic products you may want to avoid are acryl amide, polyethylene glycol, and dioxine. Other ingredients you should avoid are synthetic colors and fragrances.

Phenol carbolic acid is a very common ingredient found in most skin care products. It is an antiseptic and disinfectant, however, if you are continually exposed to this type of ingredient you may experience irritation or dermatitis.

An ingredient known as stearalkonium chloride is used in creams for its conditioning properties. This ingredient is known to cause skin and eye irritation. It is not advisable to use it for prolonged periods of time.

Vital Ingredients for Face Creams

There are a few very special ingredients that you should look for in all skin care products, and if at all possible, prefer them over products that don't contain these ingredients.

Rose hip seed oil is not only one of the best natural moisturizers around, but it has a long history of helping to treat dry skin, eczema, scar tissue, and even stretch marks.

Licorice root extract is a very soothing natural ingredient that, oftentimes, appears listed as glycyrrhizin on the product labels. If you are worried that this ingredient may cause irritation or produce allergic reactions, then you should do a patch test before trying it on your face.