Ever since the advent of the modern age, we’re not really trusting the products we buy. When you think about it, there’s a good reason for a healthy dose of skepticism. More companies that we’ve time to list have been guilty of committing sins, to the point of an almost total erosion of trust. Then there’s the fact that things society used to think were harmless turned out to be, well, fairly harmful. The items in that list are almost limitless, but to name check a few of the worst sinners: lead paint and asbestos. Once a foundation for industry and now known carcinogens.
So while cynicism is good and producers of products can be Bad, it’s really not that cut and dried. Yet if you read a few blog posts, you’ll soon begin to see a worrying trend.
You’ll see this across the spectrum, but let’s focus on makeup. A quick run through a search engine and you’ll find the issue immediately. Name a substance currently found in a popular cosmetic and you’ll soon find it linked with birth defects, cancer and everything else. The only option seems to be “natural” makeup, but that can have its problems as well.
So should you be worried? Should you be eying your makeup bag like it contains poisonous toxins, and resign yourself to a bare face forever? Not quite. Here’s the problem with those blanket warnings, and why you should learn to take them with a pinch of salt. Make up manufacturing companies are not trying to kill you, despite some of the exclamations of alarm you may read.
- They completely fail to understand quantities.
Let’s talk about formaldehyde. Now, no one is going to suggest it’s good for the human body. It’s a pretty nasty substance and yes, it can give you cancer.
It’s also found in apples. As in, the things you eat. And don’t think organic apples offer an escape; they don’t, formaldehyde is in the body of the apple. It’s part of its cellular process.
It’s not going to kill you. Neither is your lipstick!
So why aren’t we calling apples a carcinogen? Because it’s about quantity – and the same applies to cosmetics. Yes, some of the ingredients in makeup are dangerous, but not in the quantities you find in makeup. You would have to be eating thousands of lipsticks to even find a trace of any problematic element in your system.
And we can’t make this point strenuously enough: don’t eat lipstick. For many reasons, not just what they may contain concern trace elements.
- They may be promoting something
As with organic food, when something is meant to be free of something we’ve been schooled to believe is dangerous, the product is overpriced. While organic food has legitimate reasons for this – the cost of farming organically is much higher; it’s less so in the beauty realm. “Natural” is not a protected term, and you should not have to pay a premium to buy something claiming to be so.
- Frequency of use
Even if the chemicals in your beauty products were a problem, how often do you use them? Not enough to build up a recognizable amount in your system. If there is something you’re dubious about, just make a point of not using it every day, though even that is a precaution you don’t have to take. Just be smart.
Photo by Brooke Cagle
Romina Nabhen
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