THE DARKSIDE OF COSMETICS

Source: Flickr Commons. Assortment of Cosmetics.

Makeup!

Makeup is something that most women and some men are familiar with. For some individuals makeup allows them to express their creativity with the colours they choose and the various ways of application. For others, it provides an extra oomph of self-confidence. It also helps with accentuating one’s natural “beauty”. As well as, makeup allows for covering up unwanted blemishes and flaws that take away. Although “makeup” has these pros, it does come with some concerning cons.

One major con is the chemicals that are incorporated within the products. Besides the chemicals, another downside is that makeup does not allow skin to breathe freely as it plugs pores. Back to the chemicals. Most makeup products contain parabens and phthalates. These chemicals allow for “blushes”, “eyeshadows”, “lipsticks”, and “foundations” to remain fresher for longer due to their preservation qualities. Seems like that would be beneficial for consumers as their products would not go bad as fast and thus not buying products that often. In reality, parabens and phthalates are more harmful than helping save a few bucks. These chemicals have been tested and have led to many problems such as skin irritation, interference with sex hormones in both males and females, and most shocking, cancer.

A study led by Dr.Dabre, found that the penetration of parabens through the skin led to breast cancer. From this study that included 40 patients, all 40 of the women tested positive for at least one type of paraben found within their breast tissue. This one study may not cause one to think that it is that significant as only 40 patients were tested, but more scientific research is being done to see what other potential harms could arise from chemicals contained within “cosmetics”. Therefore, pre-cautions such as using less or no makeup at all can help with avoiding the dark side that comes from within “makeup”. So the next time you decide to put on some “lipstick” before you go out, think twice about what other chemicals you are putting into your body.

Source: Wikimedia Commons. Lipsticks.

Rubeen Sangha