The cosmetic business has witnessed swift expansion over the previous couple of decades which is mainly attributed to increase for the demand because cosmetics and beauty products have become an essential part of our life. In earlier days, only those cosmetics were used by people which were necessary in their daily life like soap, shampoo, hair oil etc., but as the time changed other cosmetics like perfume, deodorant, moisturizer, hair color, hair gel are also being used by people widely. In the modern world, the role of makeup is just more than getting ready for ceremonies or festivals and it is something unbound by the boundaries of gender too. It is not just women who use makeup but men also do it on regular basis. Some cosmetics including mascara, eye shadow and eye liner, cleanser, toner, moisturizer, nail paint, lipsticks, and skincare products has become an indispensable part of modern women’s life.
As we have heard, common profitable beauty and cosmetic products and even cosmetics products manufactured by reputed brands frequently hold noxious and chemically-potent substances which have in general harmful effects for each customer, some people reveal instantaneous health evils upon use of such products akin to populace with susceptible skin or those who have freshly undergone some kind of cosmetic or plastic surgery tend to react with rashes or have other allergic reactions to the chemical components of such cosmetics. Currently, make-up products that last longer are in great demand and most of the cosmetic companies use lead in these beauty products. Lead is a toxic and carcinogenic chemical and often used by most of the cosmetic companies to manufacture lipsticks and eye liners that last longer. Women use these beauty products regularly but only 48% of females read about the ingredients of their products. Some products like soap, shampoo, fairness cream, hair oil are being equally used by males and females. However, deodorant, perfume, hair gel, hair color are more popular in males while moisturizer, sunscreen, kajal are mostly used by females.
According to a study, most of the people select their brands by getting influenced with the advertisements (53% of females and 49% of males). Around 41% females and 37% of males purchase as per use by their friends and also 47% males and 52% females don't know about the ingredients of their cosmetic products. We should purchase cosmetics according to the nature of our skin so that undesirable side effects of beauty products like irritation of eyes, nasal irritation, skin burns, itching and inflammatory reaction etc. can be prevented. Preservatives in beauty products can also cause the skin to become irritated and infected. A preservative is a chemical that is added to products to prevent decomposition by microbial growth or by undesirable chemical changes.
Most commonly used preservatives in cosmetics are Paraben, Imidazolidinyl urea and Quaternium-15. Bithionol, Mercury compounds and Vinyl chloride are some other ingredients in cosmetics causing cancer or other serious health problems and their use in cosmetics is limited. Just like preserved food products, these beauty products, having preservatives are also responsible for most of the health issues. Acetone used in cologne, detergent, nail enamel remover acts primarily as a central nervous system (CNS) depressant also causes dryness of the mouth and throat, dizziness, nausea. Benzaldehyde used in perfume, cologne, hairspray etc. acts as local anesthetic, CNS depressant, irritant. Similarly Benzyl Acetate in perfume, cologne, shampoo etc. is carcinogenic (linked to pancreatic cancer), as well as irritant to eyes and respiratory passages. Many such other ingredients like Benzyl Alcohol, Camphor, Ethanol etc. used in different cosmetics like perfume, hairspray, shampoo etc. cause varied side effects ranging from fatigue and irritation to CNS, kidney, liver disorder to cancers.
Cosmetics and beauty products have become an essential part of modern man’s and woman’s life but their marketing can be misleading. If you use cosmetics or personal care products, be informed as to what exactly is in them. By reading the labels and doing some research you can make educated, healthy decisions when purchasing and using cosmetic products.
Source
Tejal, P., Nishan, D., Amisha, J., Umesh, G., Desai, K., & Bansal, R. (2013). Cosmetics and health: usage, perceptions and awareness. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science, 12(4), 392–397. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjms.v12i4.13330