Are cosmetics harmful to health?

For girls, putting on makeup is a very normal phenomenon. The most important thing after getting up every morning is to put on makeup before going out. So, are cosmetics harmful to health? Generally speaking, cosmetics contain relatively many ingredients, and various complex ingredients will also pose a certain threat to human health. There may even be toxic and harmful substances that directly irritate the skin and harm health.

Harmful substances in cosmetics can be simply divided into the following categories: inorganic heavy metals (including arsenic), cosmetic stabilizers, organic solvents, fragrances, antibiotics and hormones, etc.

Irritation injury: This is the most common type of skin damage, which is related to the presence of irritating ingredients in cosmetics, or too high or too low pH value of cosmetics, or damage to the user's skin stratum corneum.

Allergic damage: Cosmetics contain allergenic substances that cause allergic reactions in users with allergic constitutions.

Infectious damage: Cosmetics are rich in nutrients and provide a good environment for the reproduction of microorganisms. Using cosmetics contaminated by microorganisms can cause infectious damage to the human body, and the damage is greater to damaged skin and areas around the eyes.

Systemic damage: Cosmetic raw materials are diverse. Although many ingredients have cosmetic effects, they may have various toxic effects on the human body. Some ingredients may be non-toxic in themselves, but they may also produce toxic substances (such as phototoxicity) during use. These toxic components can be absorbed into the body through the skin and accumulate in the body, causing systemic damage.

Lead, as a common heavy metal, is well known for its toxicity and toxicity. Lead oxide has a long history as an additive in cosmetics. Lead-containing beauty products were once all the rage, and even foreign royal families used to favor them. The lead powder used in the Ming and Qing Dynasties was the prototype of powder, the main ingredient of which was lead oxide.

Lead oxide powder is pure white and has strong adhesion and covering abilities. Until modern times, it was still the main component of concealing products such as foundation and pressed powder. Nowadays, lead has become a banned ingredient in almost all industries, and titanium dioxide (titanium dioxide), zinc white powder (zinc oxide), etc. are more commonly used in concealer products.

The above article gives a clear introduction to whether cosmetics are harmful to health. It can be seen that the health risks of cosmetics are indeed great. In order to protect your own health and avoid skin irritation, it is recommended that you use less cosmetics as possible, especially inferior cosmetics, and be sure to remove makeup thoroughly before going to bed at night.