Using natural beauty products could help reduce the number of chemicals women introduce to their skin every day.

This is the opinion of Amanda McGillivray, who runs an organic beauty products business and believes females should read the list of ingredients on the product packaging before making their purchase.

"If the list contains a long string of chemical-sounding names then the chances are that the product contains an array of unhealthy chemical ingredients which have absolutely no bearing on the health of the skin, and are added for commercial reasons - usually to make the product cheaper to produce," she explained.

"Try to opt for products with natural and organic ingredients, including herbal extracts, vitamins and essential oils, and look out for these food-type ingredients near the top of the ingredients list."

Ms McGillivray’s comments came after research from Vaseline found each year, female consumers waste £964 million on skin care products that they then don’t use.

Three-quarters of these products are left gathering dust on bathroom shelves as women tend to stick to two beauty items that they have tried and tested out of a typical eight that they own.

Despite this, females appear to want to hang on to their unused products, with 14 per cent of respondents admitting to hoarding items over three years old.

But even if they know the importance of looking after their skin as part of a healthy living exercise, separate research shows over half (51 per cent) of British customers ignore the advice and shun fruit and veg.

A poll by fruit delivery company Fruitdrop revealed that one in two people do not eat five portions of fresh produce every day, while 20 per cent said following a healthy diet is too expensive.

Posted by Laura Andrews