Safe Cosmetics - Your Solution to Keep Side Effects of Makeup At Bay

Safe Cosmetics - Your Solution to Keep Side Effects of Makeup At Bay

On average, most individuals use anything from 6 to 12 personal care products every day. If you happen to be one of them, this means over a hundred different ingredients get the opportunity to react with your skin on a daily basis. Unfortunately, despite your expectations that these cosmetics will help make you look amazing, they can actually end up worsening your health instead in the long term.

To make matters worse, your personal care products not only have the power to affect your appearance but can also cause your health to deteriorate. Thankfully, you can prevent this by choosing safe cosmetics.

Let’s learn how to identify safe cosmetics and elaborate on the disadvantages of using skin-unfriendly makeup. Keep reading to discover how safe cosmetics can help tackle unwanted side effects.

What Are Safe Cosmetics?

First things first, so let’s discuss what makes a cosmetic product ‘safe’. Well, it’s really straightforward. A safe makeup or skincare product does not contain any ingredients that could pose any threat to the user’s skin and health.

Cosmetics companies are notorious for incorporating elements such as artificial dyes, chemical preservatives, parabens, fragrances, phthalates, formaldehyde releases, sulphates, and tons of other irritants into their products. Needless to say, all of these are red flags when selecting a cosmetic product.

Do your research before choosing cosmetics. The most important step revolving around the identification of safe cosmetics is investigating whether it is composed of safe ingredients. Also, be mindful of some skin products that claim to have a long shelf life, as it is very likely that it contains preservative ingredients, which may also cause harm in the long term.

As an extra measure, check whether any clinical studies have been conducted using the cosmetic product. Many safe cosmetic companies will strive to offer evidence for their claims. Clinical studies might also provide an overview of how the product might react with other medications or cosmetics. Finally, check whether all the ingredients are certified, especially when it claims to be organic and safe for their intended use. In addition, manufacturers must meet local regulatory requirements before releasing cosmetic items into the market. So, make a more informed decision by selecting only certified cosmetics.

Side Effects of Makeup

Now, you already know how to identify the right cosmetics. Next, let us have a look at how choosing the wrong cosmetics can impact you.

Dry or Oily Skin

A makeup product that doesn’t suit your skin can impact it drastically. Cosmetic products that are not safe can upset your skin’s oil balance. It can either make your skin oilier or make it extremely dry. Indeed, you do not want any of these two skin conditions.

If you have dry skin, putting certain makeup ingredients like artificial fragrances and toluene on your face could lead to extreme dryness. On the other hand, those with oily skin might suffer from excessive oil production when certain other ingredients like alcohol, silicone, and formaldehyde are involved. In both cases, your skin can become very uncomfortable and even lead to more skin concerns.

Clogged Pores

It is especially important to choose cosmetic products carefully if you apply makeup regularly. Otherwise, the makeup that sits on your skin for prolonged periods can clog your pores. In addition, if you have oily skin, failure to use the right products can increase oiliness and clogged pores. 

The best way to avoid clogged pores is to remove makeup as soon as possible. When makeup blocks your pores, your skin cannot breathe. As a result, the skin becomes prone to skin concerns such as bumps and acne. Clogged pores can also lead to a dull appearance. You might even notice some blemishes around the eye area, which is very sensitive.

Skin Discolouration

Not only is it damaging to wear makeup that does not complement your skin, but it is also not good for your skin if unsafe ingredients are applied daily. In addition, when makeup products include harmful ingredients such as hydroquinone and lead, they can change your skin tone over time.

However, the main culprits behind skin discolouration are the ingredients in your cosmetic products. Sometimes, makeup does not allow your skin to breathe. On top of that, thickening agents like polyethylene glycol attract dust, pollutants, and other free radicals to settle on your skin. These can form a barrier that causes dullness.

Long-lasting lipsticks, for instance, contain silicone oil. But unfortunately, the same ingredient that helps seal the colour on your lips prevents oxygen from entering your skin. This causes pigmentation and discolouration. Moisturisers, sunscreens, toners, and creams also contain harmful ingredients that darken or bleach the skin.

Early Skin-ageing

One of the most important ways to maintain healthy skin is to protect it from the sun’s harmful rays. Unfortunately, when you apply makeup without applying sunscreen first, your skin is exposed to sun damage - which can fast-track skin ageing. Therefore, sun care is vital to maintain your skin’s health.

Moreover, wearing makeup for a prolonged period can result in premature skin ageing. Signs of premature skin ageing due to makeup include age spots and fine lines. If you do not wash away makeup well, it can block your pores, break down elastin, and result in wrinkles. In addition, chemicals of poor quality in cosmetics products could cause redness, freckles, and unevenness.

Skin and Eye Infections

Certain ingredients in your cosmetic products can react with your skin and cause you a lot of discomfort. It is not unusual for beauty products to be loaded with unfavourable chemicals. Mention-worthy chemical ingredients you should be wary of are SLEs and parabens. These can trigger allergic reactions and infections.

You may also want to avoid shampoos, cleansers, moisturisers, perfumes, and other personal care products that contain fragrances. Fragrances can be harmful to your health. Another ingredient that is detrimental to your skin health is synthetic colour. Derived from coal tar or petroleum, artificial colours can instigate skin irritations.

Be especially picky regarding eye creams and eye makeup. The eyes and the skin around your eyes are extra-sensitive; hence makeup can lead to eye infections too.

Cancer

You will be surprised to learn that the side effects of makeup are not limited to oily skin or allergic reactions. The use of certain makeup products can also increase your risk of cancer. Yes, long-term exposure to many chemicals, such as coal tar, arsenic, formaldehyde, silica, and chromium, has been associated with cancer risks.

Paraben is another carcinogenic substance you should look out for. You can rest assured that any cosmetic product containing fragrance has toxic ingredients. To avoid the potential risk of cancer, you can also avoid products with lead content.

Unfortunately, certain levels of some of these harmful substances are still allowed to be used by authorities due to economic and business reasons. So while picking your cosmetics next time, do ensure they are absolutely free of these cancer-causing ingredients.

How Can Safe Cosmetics Help Keep These Side Effects at Bay?

Don’t be alarmed! All of these side effects can be avoided by making the right decisions regarding which cosmetic products you should use. The aim is to identify all the red-flag ingredients and boycott any products that contain these ingredients. In addition, environmental agencies publish a list of ingredients that may be toxic for you that you can refer to. Then, with this knowledge, you can choose cosmetics that have non-toxic skincare ingredients instead.

Safe cosmetics do not have any carcinogens, hormone disruptors, or allergens. So you can use them without any concerns, and you can use them every day! Most safe products are made of natural ingredients that come from plant-based sources. But not all natural components are safe for humans, so be wary of that while choosing your cosmetics.

It’s also easy for you to find these. Thanks to rising consumer interest, there are many safer cosmetics options in the market today. You can also choose to use organic pantry staples such as coconut, olive, and almond oil for skin care and hair care. So, join the clean beauty movement today!

Do not ignore skin-friendly practices when you start using safe cosmetics. Even when using safe cosmetics, you should keep your skin type in mind. Moreover, even safe makeup products must be removed thoroughly at the end of the day.

Conclusion

Serums, creams, makeup, and so much more - every day, you apply a slew of products on your skin. Ever wondered about the quality of these cosmetics? Unfortunately, not all skincare and makeup products will make you look your best.

The wrong products may even wreak havoc on your delicate skin. From clogged pores to discolouration and ageing to even cancer, using “unsafe” cosmetics regularly can have some serious consequences.

By choosing cosmetics made for your skin type and assessing whether the ingredients in them are safe for you, you are doing your skin and health a big favour. Safe cosmetics can effectively cancel the risks of any side effects that the wrong type of makeup can trigger.

Be it your makeup, skincare or even supplements, going for the ones that only contain natural organic ingredients is your key to adopting a more holistic lifestyle. So next time when you are stocking up on your personal care products, be sure to check for the ingredients and go for only clean nutrition and beauty.