We learn to read cosmetic labels

For many years now, we have been intensely interested in what we eat, reading product labels. This has become really important to us. It is gratifying that recently, evaluating the composition of cosmetics before buying is also becoming popular, but when buying beauty products, we often still look not at the composition of the product, but at the beautiful packaging, the manufacturer's advertising slogans or a catchy name. We trust a friend's recommendation, the advice of a store consultant, or we simply hold the opinion that cosmetics sold in pharmacies are really the best solution when choosing a cosmetic product... And we can only find out the real truth about a product by reading its label. There we will see how many skin-friendly ingredients the manufacturer used, whether they spared no active ingredients, whether they care for our skin and did not add a lot of skin-irritating ingredients or substances designed to create a temporary pleasant sensation. The whole truth is there – on the unsightly side of the packaging.
Learning to read cosmetic labels is not very difficult, it just takes a little bit of practice, but nothing is impossible, especially when Google and other search engines provide such capabilities these days.

Fragrances in cosmetics

But if you want answers here and now, let's name one of the biggest pests used by cosmetic manufacturers. It would be fragrances. No matter whether synthetic or natural, they have all been identified by scientists as having an irritating effect on our skin for a long time. What do they do? They destroy the skin's protective barrier, cause inflammatory reactions in the skin, and slow down the skin's renewal process. And those reactions are not necessarily visible, the process can take place without us even knowing about it. By constantly using a product with allergens in fragrances, we risk triggering an earlier skin aging process. On second thought, it's probably better to swap out your scented cream for a fragrance-free or at least allergen-free product.

Allergens in cosmetics

So, let's try to specify what allergens in fragrances are. The EU Cosmetics Directive lists 26 substances that cause allergic and inflammatory skin reactions. If their amount in a product exceeds certain norms – 0.01% in rinse-off products and 0.001% in leave-on products. This means that it has been studied that even such small doses of allergens in fragrances can cause allergic skin reactions. So, official allergens: Benzyl alcohol, benzyl salicylate, cinnamyl alcohol, cinnamal, citral, coumarin, eugenol, geraniol, isoeugenol, anise alcohol, benzyl benzoate, benzyl cinnamate, citronellol, farnesol, limonene, linalool, butylphenyl methylpropional, alpha-isomethyl ionone, amyl cinnamal, amylcinnamyl alcohol, evernia furfuracea extract, evernia furfuracea and evernia oakmoss extract, hexyl cinnamal, hydroxycitronellal, hydroxylisohexyl 3-cyclohexene, methyl 2-octynoate. (note - can be placed in a table or similar) You can always look for these substances at the end of the ingredient list if the product contains fragrances labeled as Parfum or Fragrance. If you choose a fragrance-free product, these substances should not be present.

Skin irritants

In addition to the official list, there are a significant number of other substances that scientists have found over many years of research that cause negative skin reactions. Their number is certainly considerable, but the most popular and most widely used by manufacturers could be named: anise, bergamot, all citrus fruits, camphor, cinnamon, sage, lemongrass, eucalyptus, fennel, geranium, ginger, juniper, lavender, mint, peppermint, neroli, roses, rosemary, sandalwood, tea tree, ylang-ylang, etc. There are so many names, it would be difficult to remember them all, so if you don't have the opportunity to check, when choosing cosmetic products, you should choose fragrance-free or less fragrance-free products, and avoid products containing essential oils and hydrosols, as most of them contain a significant number of allergens from the official list. Believe me, if you follow these tips, you will eventually notice that you have to deal with skin problems less often, acne outbreaks are less bothersome, there are practically no more unexplained skin rashes, and your skin simply looks healthier. Read more about the composition of cosmetic products and substances that harm the skin in the next issue - we will reveal the damage caused by alcohol used in the production of cosmetics.