Opting for organic moisturizer will leave your skin feeling softer, smoother, and healthier, the safe and environmentally friendly way.

Lotion is a miracle in a bottle for maintaining healthy skin or restoring dry and damaged skin, if you use the right kind. Many traditional lotions and other beauty and personal care products advertise themselves as moisture replenishing creams and healing salves, yet their ingredient lists just don't say the same thing.

Since the skin is your body's largest organ, it's important to carefully examine the ingredients in the lotions you use. Various  substances can be absorbed into the body through the skin, so it's ideal to use organic lotion made from eco-friendly, wholesome ingredients.

Other lotions on the store shelves often contain parabens, dyes, silicones, perfumes, phthalates, formaldehyde, and other harsh chemicals that could lead to skin irritation, as well as health and environmental consequences. We'll take you through the top 5 reasons organic lotion should join your beauty lineup, and why you should avoid potentially harmful chemicals in traditional lotions.

1. Organic lotion is loaded with natural plants, vitamins, and minerals that encourage healthy skin.

Many natural, plant-based, and renewable materials are good for the skin. To be labeled "organic," a skincare product must contain at least 70 percent organically produced ingredients, not including water and salt. The remaining ingredients must also be approved as nonagricultural substances on the USDA National List or non-organically produced agricultural products that are not commercially available in organic form, also on the National List.

The following are just a handful of natural ingredients that can be found in various organic lotions.

• Tea tree oil combats redness, inflammation, and breakouts.
• Shea butter has intensive moisturizing properties and improves dryness, flakiness, and redness.
• Oats like colloidal oatmeal calm skin irritations, such as eczema, dry skin, and insect bites.
• Argan oil is packed with vitamins A and E, antioxidants, omega-6 fatty acids, and linoleic acid. It gently moisturizes the skin and helps heal irritation.
• Aloe vera fights bacteria and soothes inflammation, redness, and itchy skin.
• Vitamin C fights signs of aging and tightens the skin; vitamin A improves the complexion and fills in fine lines; vitamin E is an antioxidant and intensive moisturizer.
• Witch hazel helps to fight excess oil and moisturizes at the same time.

2. Organic lotion avoids synthetic endocrine disruptors.

Some endocrine disruptors that won't be found in organic lotions include: Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that, in laboratory studies on mice and on human tissue, show properties that either mimic or inhibit hormone function. According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, these disruptors can be found in all kinds of everyday products, including cosmetics and personal care products.

• Parabens, which are used as preservatives in many beauty products and even processed foods. Specifically, topical application of parabens has been shown to accumulate in the top portion of the skin (stratum corneum) after daily use for one month.
• Phthalates are typically found in synthetic fragrances and plastics with the #3 label. They can disrupt human development in male infants, according to NIEHS.
• BPA is used in the production of plastics, including many lotion bottles, and some studies believe it could affect the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in infants and children, according to NIEHS.

3. Organic lotion supports the skin's natural moisturizing properties.

The oils and vitamins found in organic lotion help support the natural, healthy function of your skin. The  natural  ingredients have shown anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects on the skin, promotion of wound healing, and restoation of the skin barrier.

Additionally, not all natural or organic products are created equally. The skin barrier maintains its healthy function by its high fatty acid content. Specifically, the stratum corneum (top layer of the skin) has a high content of longer chain free fatty acids and of C-18 unsaturated free fatty acids, such as linoleic acid and its derivatives. This finding may explain why sunflower seed oil, with its higher proportion of linoleic acid, shows an improvement in the skin barrier repair, whereas olive oil does not show improvement in skin barrier repair.

4. Organic lotion doesn't contain synthetic materials or contaminants.

Organic lotions don't contain harsh, synthetic chemicals that can be harmful to your body and the environment. The following chemicals are commonly found in mainstream lotions and other personal care products.

• Butylated compounds, like BHA and BHT, are preservatives found in creams, sunscreens, and personal products with synthetic fragrance. Studies have linked them with organ toxicity, reproductive toxicity, and skin irritation, according to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.
• Formaldehyde is another preservative found in many personal care products and has been linked with skin irritation and cancer.
• Ethanolamine compounds, such as MEA, DEA, TEA, and more, are linked with organ system toxicity and liver cancer, according to research collected by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

5. Organic lotion doesn't contain artificial fragrances or perfumes.

Artificial fragrances are found in most traditional personal care products on the market. The FDA does not require products to list the chemicals in fragrances, and many companies choose not to disclose them in order to protect signature scents. Because of the uncertainties associated with synthetic fragrance ingredient profiles , we recommend buying organic lotions that are either unscented or scented using natural fragrances.

For an organic lotion that's completely made with clean, holistic ingredients, try our Puracy Organic Hand & Body Lotion. Made from organic Aloe vera, organic sunflower oil, organic vegetable glycerin, organic shea butter, and organic jojoba oil, it rehydrates and soothes the skin naturally to restore balance and comfort. The oils chosen for this blend have studies backing the benefits on skin barrier repair, along with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.