$62,460,000,000 were spent by people in 2015 on products to achieve a more seemingly flawless exterior. Thousands of products are purchased everyday by the American consumer in the hopes to retain their best look. For the prices these products run, one would hope that they are receiving only the best. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Due to questionable ingredients and improper care, what claims to fix could really be ruining one’s health.
Every beauty product on the market in America must go through a process in order to be deemed acceptable for use. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) carries out this process.
According to Katherine Harmon of the Scientific American, nearly every U.S. resident is exposed to almost 126 chemicals daily through cosmetic products; including makeup, lotion, perfume, shampoo, etc. However, many of those chemicals have been very lightly tested, enough to know they will not kill the consumer.
The FDA has no guidelines that specify exactly what can or can’t be used on skin, so most of the decision making is done by the cosmetics company itself.
America also has very few restrictions on the chemicals that can be present in the products as compared to other countries such as Europe. According to the Food and Drug Administration’s website, currently only eleven ingredients are banned from being present in cosmetics as opposed to Europe’s list of over 1,000 banned ingredients.
Considering that your skin is the largest organ in a body, as well as all the pores that are meant to absorb the materials that are on the surface of skin into the body, putting harmful products on skin ultimately ends up inside the body.
As an easy comparison, many know that snack foods that contain ingredients that are unheard of to the average person are the opposite of healthy, so if one was trying to stay healthy and in shape avoiding those would be the best path. The same goes for cosmetics. If the list of ingredients is long and unfamiliar, it is probably best to avoid that product.
Not all of the potentially health damaging features of cosmetics are caused by the ingredients of the companies, however. Similar to the food comparison from earlier, it is just as important to avoid spoiled cosmetics. Nearly every cosmetic product has an expiration somewhere on the bottle.
Most times the expiration label is a small picture of an open jar with a number and a letter inside. For example, a lipstick may have the jar label with a “24M” inside. This means that product is usable for 24 months after opening before product loses quality and possible safety.
According to Paula’s Choice website, products that come with pumps typically last longer, around two years, while anything that comes in a jar should be thrown out at about six months because of the bacteria that enters the product when your hand touches it.
Eye products are the most important product to throw out. Mascara especially should be thrown out at four months at most. The eye area easily transfers bacteria, and is very sensitive to new bacterias. Although it may be tempting to keep the mascara that cost a pretty, and run it until it’s dry, it is always best to consider the health risks first.
Feeling confident is so important, and using cosmetics of any kind can always help to boost that confidence. Although there are risks with using many products there are many steps one can take in order to avoid these risks. For example there are lots of available natural beauty products on the market.
Products that contain only natural ingredients are much less of a risk and better for overall health. Throwing out products when they have reached their allotted time for use, not sharing makeup, washing hands before application, and storing items in dry, room temperature places all help to reduce bacterial risks as well.
The science behind beauty is not perfect, so taking every precaution possible is the best way to look out for one’s own health.
