HALAL SKINCARE: IS WHAT YOU ARE USING TRULY HALAL AND TAYYIB?
Looking after your skin is not always easy. From city smog and office air conditioning, to UV light exposure, every day we face environmental pollutants that take a toll on skin health.
Over time, the harm caused by environmental pollutants runs more than skin deep. Prolonged exposure causes cell damage and disrupts the skin’s natural barrier, in turn leading to premature ageing.
While we can’t always control our environment, we can control what we put on our skin to counter-act the damage. But in doing so, are you using products which are haram?
The sad truth is, as we explained in our earlier article, “How to decode the ingredients label on your skincare” it is not always easy to decipher whether the ingredients are halal. Take for example, Glycerine. This humectant which draws moisture to itself, can be made from animal sources, either bovine or porcine. Or like the glycerine we use in our skincare, made from vegetable sources.
Stearic Acid Molecule
But glycerine is an easy one, let us explore stearic acid. Like glycerin, stearic acid can be made from either animal or vegetable sources. However, the vegetable source is significantly more expensive to produce. It is why the British plastic currency have traces of animal derived stearic acid – to cut costs. So, look for stearic acid on the ingredients list and avoid it like the plague?
It is not so simple, stearic acid is used as the precursor in many different chemicals by reacting other chemicals with it. From stearic acid, you could get Stearamide, Stearamine, Stearates, Stearic Hydrazide, Stearone, Stearoxytrimethylsilane, Stearyl Alcohol, Stearoyl Lactylic Acid, Stearyl Betaine, Stearyl Imidazolin, Stearyl Acetate, Stearyl Betaine, Isopropyl Palmitate and many more obscure ingredients.
Stearic acid is only one of many different fatty acids such as Lauric Acid, Myristic Acid, Oleic Acid and Palmitic Acid used in soaps, cosmetics, skincare and even food. While each of these substances can be derived from plants, they are frequently obtained from a slaughterhouse by-product known as tallow or animal fat.
So buy vegan?
While vegan products do not contain any animal by-products, but they can include alcohol, which is not permissible. While skincare is usually applied topically, skin also happens to be the thinnest organ, being only a fraction of a millimetre (0.5mm to be precise) thick in some places, making it incredibly permeable, absorbing a large proportion of what we put onto it, making its way into our bloodstream & around the body.
Alcohol is a fantastic solvent and is used by other skincare companies to increase permeability of the skin for other chemicals by disrupting the skin.
The issue is, it isn’t as easy as trying to find “ethanol” or “alcohol” or “alcohol denat” in the ingredients list. Fragrance (or parfum), is an umbrella term for thousands of other chemicals. Since fragrance is proprietary—meaning manufacturers don’t have to legally share what, exactly, makes up the said fragrance, it can hide all sorts of chemicals in there, including alcohol, a solvent used widely to affix perfumes and scents.
The only way to make sure what you are using is halal is to ask the manufacturer.
What is Tayyib and why is it important?
یٰۤاَیُّہَا النَّاسُ کُلُوۡا مِمَّا فِی الۡاَرۡضِ حَلٰلًا طَیِّبًا ۫ۖ وَّ لَا تَتَّبِعُوۡا خُطُوٰتِ الشَّیۡطٰنِ ؕ اِنَّہٗ لَکُمۡ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِیۡنٌ ﴿۱۶۸﴾
“O mankind, eat from what is on earth that is halal (lawful, permissible) and tayyib (pure, natural, wholesome)” – Surah 2, Verse 168
Tayyib is a very comprehensive word and has a great place in the Qur’an and Sunnah. Tayyib is from taa-ya-ba (ط ي ب) and it literally means to be good, pleasant, agreeable, lawful. The word ‘tayyib’ itself means to be good, clean, wholesome, gentle, excellent, fair and lawful. From these meanings we get the general meaning for tayyib of anything that is good, pure and harmless. So with no doubt in it, it is good for you.
To us, tayyib is met by by products that are mindfully created and produced without any proven or suspected harmful ingredients. Tayyib skincare products include ingredients ethically sourced and are made with the health of our bodies and the environment in mind.
That is why our entire range of products is free from ALL Petrochemicals incl Parabens, Sulphates (SLS SLES) or Ionic surfactants, PEG’s, Alcohol, Pthalates, Silicone, Urea, Synthetic Dyes or colours, Mineral Oils, Petrolatum, MI, MCI and are NOT Tested on Animals. The packaging we use is fully and easily recyclable.
From the conception of the idea of 100% natural skincare, we wanted to be at the forefront of clean skincare. As the UK’s first halal skincare brand for men, we aim to educate consumers about the significance of the Islamic Principles, which calls for a more conscientious and wholesome consumption of products.
We also aim to educate the Muslim consumers to be fully aware of the tenets of Tayyib – which advocates the production of pure, wholesome, and ethically sound goods – so we can better nourish our bodies, souls, and the planet.
Are You Buying Skincare The Smart Way?
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