Kelpology Red List

Kelpology Red List

Let’s play a game: go grab your current face wash and flip it over to the back. See those words you can’t pronounce? The ones that sound like they belong in a nuclear reactor rather than your skincare routine? Yeah, we aren't fans either. I’ve done the heavy lifting so you don’t have to. 

Here is the Kelpology Red List—a guide to the ingredients that are essentially 'gaslighting' your skin, and why we’ve officially banned them from our studio.


The "Barrier Strippers" (Harsh Surfactants)

  • The Culprits: Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES).

  • Why they’re a "No": These are the overachievers of the skincare world. They create that big, bubbly, "squeaky-clean" lather that people think means the product is working. In reality, they are too good at their job—they strip away your skin's natural lipid barrier. Once that lipid seal is gone, your skin loses its ability to hold moisture, which leads to that tight, dry, irritated feeling.

  • Kelpology's Take: If your cleanser feels like it’s stripping the paint off a wall, it’s probably doing the same to your face.

2. The "Masking Agents" (Synthetic Fragrances)

  • The Culprits: Anything listed simply as "Parfum" or "Fragrance" on a label.

  • Why they’re a "No": Because manufacturers don’t have to disclose the specific chemicals used in their "secret" fragrance blends, you never really know what you're getting. Many of these are Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) that can penetrate the skin barrier and trigger contact dermatitis, redness, or long-term sensitization.

  • Kelpology's Take: Your skin isn't a scented candle. If it needs a fragrance cocktail to be appealing, it’s probably trying to hide the smell of the lab-grade chemicals underneath.

3. The "Forever Chemicals" (Microplastics)

  • The Culprits: Polyethylene (PE), Polypropylene (PP), Nylon, and Acrylates Copolymer.

  • Why they’re a "No": These are often the tiny, perfectly round beads used in mass-market scrubs. They’re effectively cheap, plastic sandpaper. Not only can they create micro-tears in your skin (hello, inflammation!), but they’re also an environmental nightmare. They wash down your drain, through the treatment plant, and straight into the ocean where they’re ingested by marine life.

  • Kelpology's Take: We aren't here to turn our oceans into a plastic soup. If your scrub has ‘grit’ that never dissolves and doesn't come from the earth or sea, it’s a hard pass.

4. The "Hormone Mimickers" (Parabens)

  • The Culprits: Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Butylparaben, and Ethylparaben.

  • Why they’re a "No": These are cheap preservatives used to keep products on a shelf for years. The concern is that they can mimic estrogen in the body, which has led many scientists and health advocates to call for their removal from products we use daily.

  • Kelpology's Take: I prefer my skincare to have an expiration date—it means the ingredients are still alive and active, not chemically frozen in time.

5. The "Dehydrators" (Drying Alcohols)

  • The Culprits: Ethanol, Isopropyl Alcohol, and Alcohol Denat.

  • Why they’re a "No": While they can make a product feel light and dry quickly, they’re essentially "liquid strip-mining" for your moisture barrier. They’ll give you a temporary matte look, but they leave your skin thirsty and vulnerable to outside irritants.

  • Kelpology's Take: There’s a reason we use alcohol to disinfect surfaces, not to hydrate them. Let’s keep it off the face.

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