Cosmetics: how healthy are they?
by Groshan Fabiola
Nowadays everyone has high expectations regarding the looks of the people surrounding them. A scar, dried skin of the hands, a smelling breath and greasy hair, are not desirable elements for a modern women or man.
Cosmetics are used to make our body look better, our skin smell nice, our teeth look white, generally for making us more presentable to the world. Cosmetics is a vast field containing body lotions, creams more or less perfumed, make up products, toot pastes, hair dyes and all kind of deodorants.
People sometimes wonder about the ingredients of cosmetics. The base of every cosmetic is preservatives and fragrance. Preservatives used in cosmetics can harm the skin by causing irritations on it. The use of the preservatives is for keeping bacteria away from cosmetics, and protecting the product against the action of air and light upon it. Some preservatives like bithionol, mercury compounds, hexachlorophene, and zirconium complexes are suspected of causing skin cancer.
Fragrances come also in more than 5000 different kinds and are known to harm the sensitive skin. This is why producers have also made 'fragrance free cosmetics' that do not contain any perfume, so that people with sensitive skin could enjoy cosmetics too.
Sometimes if used improperly cosmetics can harm us. For example using mascara while driving, riding in a bus or plane can damage the eye if you scratch it with the product's wand. Sharing make up can also bring trouble as cosmetic brushes can easily retain the skin's bacteria. This is why sponges and brushes must be washed up at least once a week. Some cosmetics for skincare and hair care can cause acne if that person using them does not use the type of non-comedogenic cosmetics that are indicated for acne skin.
Cosmetics can be used only for a few while after they have been opened. For example eye liners and mascara can be used only one six months after they were opened otherwise they might cause eye infections. For those natural cosmetics that contain no preservatives the usage time after opening is even shorter as bacteria develops in their composition faster than in the cosmetics that contain preservatives.
Before using cosmetics it is best to carefully read their label and see if they are good for your skin type, if they are not expired and if they have preservatives and fragrance in the composition.
Cosmetics: how healthy are they?
