A conscientious skin care routine means treating yourself to natural, nourishing products. For those of us attempting to reduce the visibility of a hard-earned scar or unanticipated stretch mark, it’s important to find a product that fulfills its promise of banishing the blemish while also supporting the overall health of our skin. What many of us don’t know is that potentially harmful chemical compounds hide in the inactive ingredients in many mainstream products.

Producers of cosmetics are proud to promote their primary active ingredients, but what about the rest of the stuff listed on the back of the box? Inactive ingredients are often used to give skin care products a longer shelf life or a better consistency, but these synthetics are in no way “natural.”

“Because your skin is porous, you actually absorb 60 to 80 percent of what you put on it, depending on the compound,” said Pieter Oosthuizen, creator of CELSUS Bio-Intelligence Scar Cream. “That means you shouldn’t put anything onto your skin that you wouldn’t put into your mouth.”