Protect yourself from chemical laden beauty products

This is an era of marketing and packaging, and it's not confined to the fashion or consumer goods industry only but the beauty and personal care industry as well. Better the packaging greater the chances of success of these brands get as they thrive due to lucrative packaging and marketing gimmicks.

Because of the demand of these products and tall claims made by the companies, it becomes very difficult for the consumers to choose the right product. Cosmetic companies will flood you with a deluge of advertisements which confuse you more than they clarify, the characteristics of a product or even a fine print is so fine that the ingredients of the product are not readable, many people don't want to bother themselves for reading the fine print.

In the bargain, they tend to buy a chemical-laden product. Since there is no law as such to educate the consumers there is no compulsion on the part of the company to disseminate the requisite information. and this fact makes things more difficult, however, it is advisable to conduct your own test before buying a particular product, for instance, if a product contains any harmful chemical generally it reacts with the skin and eyes and that should be a signal for you to discontinue the usage of the product or not to buy it in first place.

There are some simple solutions to these problems, different cosmetic products contain different chemicals, in order to find that out there are some easy and quick tests which can make us aware about the suitability of a product for instance if it is an eyeliner, mascara or eye shadow you can do a patch test near your cheeks or ears, if there is any kind of irritation, burning sensation or water starts flowing from eyes you should refrain from purchasing that product as it proves that the product contains something harmful for your skin and wellbeing.

You can do a similar patch test for other products like cosmetics and skincare too, harmful chemicals react with your skin and you can feel irritation in your eyes immediately. Consumers should watch those reactions before buying such products. But this is not to say that you can't buy any cosmetic product, there are products that don't contain harmful chemicals and are suitable for usage.

However, we are highlighting the harmful chemicals that are used to produce cosmetic products and how you can identify and segregate them. For instance, there are medicated creams, lotions, shampoos, makeup products containing alcohol, chrome, nickel, carbon, beads, steroids, heavy metals, fragrance, synthetic colors, etc.

Furthermore, there are certain chemicals that are added to a product to enhance its shelf life which may also interfere with the natural oil of the skin, moreover, apart from these certain cosmetics contain glitters which should be applied with extra care because they can harm your eyes and other parts of your face.

Eyes are one of the most sensitive organs of a human being and if you buy a product neglecting the negative effects your eyes get to become the first casualty and burning of eyes, the itching sensation can lead to drying up of oil glands of your lash line which may interfere with eyesight causing other problems.

Soits imperative to check out the effects and not regret later. If your skin can feel burning, inflammation, rashes, itching or allergy, stop using the product immediately.

Modern-day cosmetics contain a long list of chemicals and in addition to that they also use synthetic colors that are driven from petroleum and coal tar sources, they are irritating to skin and are said to be human carcinogens. Another toxic category to look for and to avoid is Fragrance, which is used in several beauty products like perfumes, body wash, moisturizers, colognes, perfumes, conditioners, and shampoos.

This can cause skin irritation and also allergies. Phthalates is another such chemical that is used as dibutyl phthalate in nail paints, lotions, hair spray and perfumes. They are endocrine disruptors and can increase the risk of breast cancer and cause defects in reproducive birth in males and females. It is used copiously by companies in perfumes, colognes, deodorants, moisturizers and hair sprays.

Triclosan is used in toothpaste, antibacterial soaps, and deodorants. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is used in mostly all personal care and skin cleansing products, shampoos, mascara, and acne creams. Formaldehyde preservatives, Toluene - a petrochemical, Propylene glycol alcohol used as skin conditioning property, Retinol is also used extensively in skin care products but products containing retinol should only be used in moderation and excess can cause irritation and skin rashes

There is a penchant among women to use false eyelashes to enhance their looks but these lashes demand glue, they use glue which is harmful to eyes, in case of bad quality of the glue your original lashes can be damaged

(The writer is a beauty & makeover expert)