Find out components of modern cosmetics, their origin, effectiveness, common errors anf myths.

Ingredients

Ingredients

The Romans and ancient Egyptians used cosmetics including mercury. The components of modern cosmetics may also astonish those who use them: lipstick, for instance, can contain the sparkle substance of fish scales called "pearl essence". Pearl essence is obtained primarily from herring and is one of many by-products of large-scale commercial fish processing. This is infrequently used because of the high cost and intense fragility of this type of colorant. The main source of the pearlescent shine used in lipsticks, eye shadows, and blush is mica - a natural, mined mineral. The mica, which is transparent, is covered with a very thin layer of titanium dioxide. This coating causes color to show through meddling effects with the mica; varying the thickness of the titanium dioxide alters the color.

ingredientsThe red color of lipstick can originate from iron oxide (rust) or from organic pigments. Normally, the pigment is crushed very thinly while being mixed with castor oil. This pigment combination is then mixed with a wax base to form a finished lipstick. The red color of some eyeshadows is from the dye carmine, made from the crushed bodies of the cochineal insect. This is exceedingly expensive and is used as seldom as possible. Pure carmine dye is frequently more costly than gold.

Cosmetic dyes are highly regulated, in the US, for example, the regulating body is the Food and Drug Administration. Every country or group of countries has their own regulatory organization that controls what can contain to cosmetics. Many colorants applied in cosmetics are used as food dyes too.

Pearl essence of solid and liquid mixtures (e.g., lipsticks, shampoos and liquid soaps) is achieved by adding a suspension of tiny flakes of a suitable material, often a wax, e.g., glycol.

Some ingredients are completely unsuccessful, but, when advertised properly, add significance to the cosmetic in the mind of the buyer. Placenta is one such component. Placenta is added to, e.g., shampoos because of any number of claims made, such as adding protein, but such claims are scientifically unworkable.

Other components are added to let the producer to make deceptive statements that appear to be true only because of the supplement of a particular ingredient. Aristowax brand wax is one such ingredient. When added to a cream, the Aristowax balls or rolls up as the cream is rubbed into the skin. Doubtful claims are then made in the instructions for the use of the product that rubbing the cream into the skin will cause "rough" skin to "roll off." Factual, skin is always chipping of and some dead skin cells are removed, but it is the Aristowax itself in the product that balls up, not "rough" skin, and the instructions for use lead the customer to believe that the resulting Aristowax rolls are actually dead skin cells being flaked.

One more ingredient that makes a product come out to be working is contained in dandruff shampoos. The shampoos claim to abolish dandruff. In fact, the ingredient has no effect on dandruff, except to break the dandruff flakes into smaller pieces that make them much harder to identify.

Nevertheless, in the world of cosmetics, beauty is in the eye of the onlooker, and since cosmetics are not food products, they are not regulated as strictly, and producers may assert almost anything they wish.