Is Makeup Bad For Your Skin?
In the pursuit of beauty, many of us use makeup as a tool to enhance our natural features, boost confidence, and cover imperfections. In fact, makeup is often considered to be an art form, and our skin is the canvas. However, beneath the surface of this beauty ritual lies a debate about the potential effects of makeup on our skin.
Have you ever considered this paradox? While makeup can elevate us, it also introduces hundreds of potentially harmful chemicals onto our skin – our body’s largest organ. What effects does this have on our health and appearance? Today I will dive into the dual nature of makeup to determine if it really is a friend or foe. We will review potential impacts of makeup on our skin and investigate how they occur. Additionally, we will discuss the steps and best practices we can implement to support our overall health and avoid damage to our skin.
Is Makeup Bad For Your Skin?
To answer this question, we will dive into the ways makeup products can affect our skin and our bodies in general. Indeed, the relationship between makeup and your skin is not without its challenges. Hence, let’s embark on this investigative journey and demystify the age-old question: Is makeup bad for you? Or is it simply a misunderstood accomplice in the pursuit of beauty?
How Does Makeup Affect Your Skin And Body?
To begin, certain makeup products may harm your skin by causing irritation and acne. In addition, many substances in makeup are absorbed into the bloodstream, raising concerns about long-term health impacts on our bodies in general. Thus, some important makeup effects include:
- acne
- exposure to hormone disrupting chemicals and trace carcinogens
- exposure to potentially harmful toxic heavy metals
- sensitization and allergic reactions
- skin irritation or contact dermatitis.
Acne
Most likely, many of us have faced such a common skin condition as acne, or “acne vulgari,” at some point in our lives. While studies have concluded that numerous factors influence the formation of acne, makeup is certainly one of the considerations (source).
Ingredients That Cause Acne
For starters, ingredients that cause clogged pores are referred to as “comedogenic.”
On the one hand, there are many comedogenic ingredient lists and even comedogenicity scales such as this one on the Internet:
0 – won’t clog pores at all
1 – very low likelihood of clogging pores
2 – moderately low likelihood
3 – moderate likelihood
4 – fairly high likelihood
5 – high likelihood of clogging pores
On the other hand, I’ve noticed that the comedogenicity scales are not standardized. Some are 0 to 4; the others are 0 to 5. Further, I’ve found that the lists of comedogenic ingredients are inconclusive, contradictory, and lack any references. In other words, how do they know whether the ingredients are truly comedogenic and contribute to clogged pores? Have the publishers of the lists done any testing on humans or rabbit ears or perhaps they just copied and pasted the information from somebody else’s blog post? We will never know.
After spending numerous hours trying to trace back the comedogenicity lists, I came to conclusion that it’s best to try the products and see for yourself.
Moreover, as a product manufacturer advisor for ingredient safety, I can tell you that a product formula is not just a sum of its ingredients. Instead, ingredient combinations can turn a comedogenic ingredient into a non-comedogenic ingredient and vice versa. Next, a concentration of the potentially pore-blocking ingredient within the formulation can change the degree of comedogenicity. Last, the method by which an ingredient is extracted and processed plays a role as to whether it has a potential to block pores, too.
That said, from my personal multi-year experience I can tell you that the makeup products I use don’t block pores. Learn more about makeup that I recommend in my Non-Toxic Makeup Archives.
Exposure To Hormone Disrupting Chemicals And Other Trace Contaminants
Some potentially harmful chemicals in makeup are hormone disruptors and carcinogens. To clarify, hormone disruptors are chemicals that our bodies mistake for natural hormones, like estrogen. Carcinogenic chemicals increase the risk of cancer, and many chemicals are considered “potentially carcinogenic” based on studies. Although these are typically in small or even trace amounts, they have the potential to harm the body in any amount.
You may have heard the phrase “the dose makes the poison,” meaning that any chemical can be toxic if you are exposed to too much of it. This statement is applicable to irritants, allergens, and carcinogens, but it does not hold for hormone disrupting chemicals. In other words, hormone disruptors can have serious deleterious effects on our bodies even in small doses.
Here’s an example:
Think about birth control pills that have 20 mcg (micrograms) of estrogen or less in them (source). How much is 20 mcg? 20 micrograms is 0.000002 grams or 20 parts per million (ppm) of a gram (gram = 0.036 ounce). And yet they pack a powerful punch, preventing a woman from conceiving. To illustrate this amount, take the following example. Let’s say we have a kid’s sandbox with 150 pounds of sand in it. 20 mcg (or 20 ppm) in a gram would be the equivalent of ¼ teaspoon in the 150 lbs sandbox.
Furthermore, when we add several products to our beauty routine, we have the potential to accumulate a larger dose of these chemicals than we intended, which is known as the “additive effect” (source). For example, in the morning, you may wash your face, use a moisturizer, serum, sunscreen, primer, foundation, blush, bronzer, eyeliner, mascara, eyebrow pencil, eye shadows, and more! Without even realizing it, your skin can come into contact with hundreds of different chemicals before you’ve even had breakfast! If each of those products contained small amounts of these toxins, how do we know that our exposure is within the “safe” limits?
Exposure To Potentially Harmful Heavy Metals
It is important to note that heavy metals, including arsenic, lead, mercury, and cadmium, can be present in cosmetic products. These heavy metals can interfere with bodily functions and have the potential to cause significant damage if we are exposed to a high enough dose either chronically (i.e., over time) or acutely (i.e., on a one time basis) (source). While it is unlikely that makeup would be a likely cause of noticeable metal poisoning, toxic metals can add to the overall burden on our bodies.
Moreover, small amounts of toxic heavy metals in lipsticks and lip glosses can be ingested.
You may be wondering how or why these metals end up in makeup! Well, heavy metals are a natural part of our environment. And they can contaminate the ingredients manufacturers use, even though they are not intentionally added. You can learn more about this in my blog post Protect Yourself From Lead In Lipstick.
However, some brands are extra vigilant to source high-purity ingredients from trustworthy suppliers and conduct independent 3rd-party metal testing to ensure the makeup products contain heavy metal residues way below the strictest European standards for heavy metals in makeup. Once again, this highlights how important it is to find trustworthy and transparent companies to buy from.
Sensitization And Allergic Reactions
In the realm of skincare and cosmetics, a sensitizer or allergen is a substance that has the potential to cause an allergic reaction due to sensitization. Specifically, sensitization refers to the process by which exposure to a substance leads to the development of an allergic response over time. In turn, allergens, when they come into contact with the skin, can trigger an immune response. Which leads to symptoms such as redness, itching, swelling, and even anaphylactic shock.
While both irritation and allergic reaction can look similar, dermatologists call a reaction caused by an allergen “allergic contact dermatitis.” It is important to note that the symptoms are caused by an immune response (source). Understanding these elements is vital because repeated exposure to allergens and sensitizers can intensify allergic reactions that can compromise not only your skin health, but also general health.
Ingredients That Are Sensitizers Or Allergens
Did you know that every year the American Academy of Dermatology Association assigns a new “Allergen of the Year”? In other words, there is no shortage of allergens in the products around us. For instance, in 2023, the association named lanolin as the “Allergen of the Year.”
The good news is that there are makeup brands that avoid common allergens. However, keep in mind that everyone is unique. Namely, people have exhibited allergies to a very large number of substances, many of which do not adversely affect most people. Hence, you never know to what substances people might be allergic. Importantly, if you continue using an ingredient that you are allergic to or sensitized to, your reactions can grow more severe! Therefore, it is crucial to choose your makeup and skin care brands carefully. Specifically, it is a great idea to go for makeup brands that use high-purity and high-quality ingredients. To learn more about my most trusted makeup brand read my blog post Crunchi Non-Toxic Makeup Reviews: The Good & The Bad.
Skin Irritation Or Contact Dermatitis
To start with, skin irritation or irritant contact dermatitis is a condition where the skin reacts adversely to certain substances or physical factors. Specifically, dermatologists define irritant contact dermatitis as a “non-immunologic skin response.” To explain, this reaction can manifest as redness, itching, swelling, or rash. And it occurs when the skin’s natural barrier is compromised.
Understanding irritation is critical as it not only causes discomfort but also can lead to long-term damage if left unaddressed. To emphasize, the skin serves as a protective shield, and any compromise to its integrity can leave it vulnerable to infections and other issues (source).
Ingredients That Can Cause Skin Irritation
As it happens, many ingredients commonly found in makeup products can trigger skin irritation. For example, the following preservatives are frequent culprits:
- butylparaben
- ethylparaben
- methylparaben
- propylparaben
- chlorphenesin, and
- phenoxyethanol (source).
By the way, in the shop section of my website, you won’t find any products that contain these preservatives. The products in my shop section are also free of many other potentially harmful ingredients.
For those with sensitive skin, fragrance (aka “parfum”) can lead to irritation, even if the fragrance is made of essential oils. If you are sensitive to essential oils, check out non-toxic products that are free of any essential oils. For more information about fragrances, read my blog post Is Natural Fragrance Safe?.
Application Methods And Irritation
Additionally, the way you remove makeup can also contribute to skin irritation. For example, rubbing off makeup vigorously, especially around sensitive areas like the eyes, can disrupt and irritate the skin (source). This friction can lead to redness and inflammation. Normally, we rub vigorously because the cleanser does not remove makeup well. To prevent irritation, I recommend a double-cleansing method using cleansing oils. However, if you are like me and don’t have time for double-cleansing, check out this foaming cleanser that removes makeup very well without causing irritation or dryness.
In addition, using hot water or abrasive materials can exacerbate the problem (source and source). So, be sure to be gentle with your skin. Also, consider washing your face with filtered water.
What Types Of Ingredients Should I Avoid?
Understandably, everything listed above can be overwhelming. For help, use my blog post Toxic Chemicals In Makeup that covers 12 ingredients to watch out for in makeup and serves as a great resource when evaluating any cosmetic product. Also, my blog post Hidden Ingredients In Cosmetics touches more on contaminants and two brands that take great strides to avoid them.
Potentially Harmful Preservatives
Although preservatives are often sources of irritation, this does not mean you should search for preservative-free makeup. As I discuss in my blog post WaterWipes Baby Wipes: You Need To Know This!, preservatives play a very important role in preventing the growth of bacteria, yeast, and mold. For example, mascara that is not properly preserved has the potential to quickly cause eye infections.
Instead, it is best to choose products with preservatives that are safe and effective. If you would like to learn more, I have a fantastic e-book called Savvy Consumer Superpower. It reviews the most common problematic ingredients in products. In addition, you will learn how to estimate the safety of a product’s ingredient label within seconds by learning to search for the most common red-flag ingredients.
How To Wear Makeup Without Damaging Your Skin
Despite all the concerns mentioned above, there are ways to incorporate makeup into your daily life while reducing its potential harm to your skin and body.
First, select makeup from brands that care to choose the safest ingredients and preservatives.
Second, be consistent in your skincare routine; cleansing, moisturizing, and using SPF provides a strong foundation for applying makeup and helps to prevent premature aging. Consider your skin type, such as whether you have dry or oily skin so that you do not contribute to further skin problems.
Third, clean your brushes and sponges regularly. I have learned that bacteria can accumulate in makeup brushes and cosmetics, leading to acne and rashes (source). Furthermore, avoid using expired makeup, or products that have been opened longer than is designated by the manufacturer. You can find this on some products by looking for the Period After Opening symbol (an opened can with the number of months the product is good for after opening). One way to help with this is to use up a product before opening another product to sample it.
Lastly, don’t forget the golden rule: always take your makeup off before bedtime. This also helps to remove excessive dead skin cells that may contribute to acne. For those with dry skin, be gentle! Don’t remove cosmetics with harsh rubbing motions and avoid excessive cleansing as overdoing it can lead to inflammation. You can learn more about dry skin in my blog post The Best Tips For Skin Care Routine For Dry Skin.
If you embrace a balanced approach, your skin will thank you for it.
Conclusion: Is Makeup Bad For Your Skin?
By Opting For Carefully Formulated Non-Toxic Makeup, We Can Achieve The Perfect Balance: Elevated Beauty Without Jeopardizing Our Health And Well-Being.
In conclusion, the key to enjoying the transformative power of makeup lies in making informed choices and embracing a mindful skincare routine. Opting for products from truly clean brands ensures that you’re putting quality ingredients on your skin. Trustworthy brands prioritize formulations that not only enhance your beauty but also prioritize skin health.
Specifically, by incorporating simple yet consistent skincare habits into your routine, like thorough cleansing, moisturizing, and sun protection, you create a solid foundation for flawless makeup application. Remember, makeup should be a source of joy, not stress for your skin, and I Read Labels For You is here to help you on your journey to choosing the best non-toxic products for your skin and body.
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