Random Skincare Facts on Baking Soda

We've seen a lot of Youtubers and bloggers promoting the use of baking soda for facial skin care, usually as washes or as exfoliator. Popular as it may seem though, baking soda is one ingredient not meant for the face. especially if used on DIY skincare recipes. Today, we'll take a look on what baking soda is and how it affects the skin.

Good for baking, bad for skin.
(Image from Arm & Hammer website)

Essential and carrier oils you should be careful of (Part 2)

Phototoxicity is a chemically induced irritation which needs light. Phototoxic substances undergo molecular changes when they absorb light particles - and these transformed chemicals are what causes burn-like patches such as this.

From vitiligosupport.org

Now, most products I see which are catered towards natural ingredients contain essential oils. Some of these "brightening" oils increase the risk of photosensitivity and for skin care conscious individuals like me, care must be ensured that products using essential oils are well formulated.

Essential and carrier oils you should be careful of (Part 1)

I cringe at people who claim that all things "natural" are safe.

Because not everything synthetic or manufactured is unsafe, and not everything natural is safe. Take for example essential oils and carrier oils. Such ingredients derived from plants have benefits and unwanted effects, just like other "chemicals" - and it is the way these ingredients are mixed which determine their performance.

Today, I'll be naming a few of the essential and carrier oils which may be dangerous (especially on the hands on unsuspecting DIY-ers or chemical-hating consumers who fail to check their facts).

I hope lavender is not on the list

Natural abortifacient

User /u/valentinedoux from /r/SkincareAddiction did a good job of enumerating herbs and oils which may be abortaficient. Anise, Basil, Bay, Bitter Melon, Camphor, Cinnamon, Coriander, French Lavender, Lavender Cotton, Lemongrass, Neem, Nutmeg, Parsley, Peppermint, Sage, Rosemary, Thyme and Wormwood are some which I've heard of.

Anise seeds
(Image credit to http://www.livingherbaltea.com)

Essential oils for aromatherapy (Not!)

According to a review on toxicology of essential oils written by Anthony Dweck, consultant on natural products for cosmetics, toiletries and pharmaceuticals, some essential oils may be dangerous even for aromatherapy. Bitter almond oil, Armoise oil, Boldo leaf, Calamus oil, Chenopodium oil, Croton oil, Horseradish oil, Lanyana oil, Mustard oil, Parsley herb oil, Pennyroyal oil, Perilla oil, Savin oil, Sassafras oil, Summer Savoury oil, Tansy oil, Wintergreen oil and Wormwood oil are unsafe for aromatherapy purposes.

Wintergreen (Image credit from aromaoilstore.com)

Irritating essential oils

If you're the type to be irritated with chemicals such as SLS and SLES which are irritants for some, you should also be aware of irritating essential oils which may be in your skincare or toiletries. Bay oil West Indian, Clove oil, Coriander oil, Ho oil, Kuromoji oil, Melissa oil, Origanum oil, Pimento berry and leaf
oils, Rosewood oil, Summer Savoury oil, Winter Savoury oil, Tagetes oil, Tea Tree oil, Thyme oil and Turpentine oil can mess with your skin, so it's best to careful with these in your skincare.

Long story turned short, it's best to leave the formulation in the hands of capable professionals - whichever natural or synthetic ingredient is used.

Part 2 of this post will go over essential oils which may be phototoxic and carcinogenic. Stay tuned!


Source:
Dweck, A. (2009). 'Toxicology of essential oils reviewed' Available at: http://www.zenitech.com/documents/Toxicity_of_essential_oils_p1.pdf (Accessed Dec 11 2013).

Popular Skincare Ingredients to Avoid During Pregnancy

For expectant moms, the greatest concern in every decision made is the safety and well-being of her baby. For skincare junkies like us, one of such concerns is the safety of the products we use. Some websites based on fear mongering would list several "chemicals" as unsafe, limiting the "safe" products that may be uses, and in effect will make skincare for pregnant women much more expensive (because organic and natural). But how do we know which ingredients may be harmful during pregnancy? 

Sure, you're not Marissa Miller, but hey, one can at least try to be beautiful!
(photo from allure.com)

Phthalates in cosmetics: my non-scaremongering version

I've recently been eyeing a lip conditioner from one of my favorite Korean brands. When I checked its ingredients with cosdna.com, I found out that it had a phthalate (DPHP). I really want to buy the product because sale and I like lip care products, but I felt that the unrated DPHP component listed with cosdna needs some checking.

Bis(2-propylheptyl) phthalate or DPHP belongs to a class of components known as phthalates. In cosmetics, phthalates have been used as plasticizers in nail polishes or hair sprays or as solvents in creams and fragrances. Interestingly, phthalates are used in medical supplies, both invasive and non-invasive chemicals, even on the examinations gloves doctors use.

So what is the deal with phthalates then? They are used in medical supplies and cosmetics but then EPA says long term exposure to phthalates (specifically, DEHP) may lead to various problems. Are phthalates really as scary as they sound or are they victims of the greenwashing movement?

Personally, I'd still prefer a life saving transfusion with phthalates over natural nothing.
(Image from blog.phthalate-free-plasticizers.com)

Is that face paint on you safe?

It's that time of the year when Westerners, rich Pinoys or social climbing Pinoys celebrate Halloween. From cute get-ups to cool props, a wide variety of costumes and accessories are made available for the Halloween party guy/gal. Makeup, and face paint too, is an essential part of the Halloween getup. But how can we assure ourselves that a scary mark made from paint or makeup will not cause irritation or a bizzare reaction and become a permanent mark on your face?

Image from diy-enthusiasts.com

Book Review: It's okay to have lead in your lipstick by Perry Romanowski and Randy Schueller

Weeks ago, while I was browsing through the Beauty Brains, I stumbled upon the book "It's okay to have lead in your lipstick" written by the founders of The Beauty Brains themselves, Perry Romanowski and Randy Schueller. The title was definitely intriguing as I too have this notion of how "bad" of an ingredient lead is.

The authors have impressive background of the cosmetics industry. Perry Romanowski is a cosmetic chemist, inventor, scientist, instructor, founder of Chemists Corner blog and training program. Meanwhile, Randy Schueller is a former Sr. Director of Hair and Skin Care R&D for Alberto Culver and Unilever, while also being a member of the National Association of Science Writers. The authors are basked in the cosmetic industry, and the quality of information in the books proves it.

Natural is not always safer

Whenever I look out for ingredient used in cosmetics, I almost always run across advocacy for "natural products" over products with synthetic ingredients, along with other scaremongering tags (SLS-free, paraben-free and the likes). Now, by all means I am not against the use of organic products (in fact I reviewed a couple, one of which turned out to be an excellent Vitamin C serum), but I do not like the fact that most of these products are much more expensive compared to their synthetics-laden, more effective counterparts.

The main points to those who advocate for anything "natural" is safety. So let's presume these products really are derived from natural products - say, vitamin C really came from citrus fruits are not from synthesis. Of course, the process of extraction of such from natural produce may require synthetically formulated chemicals, but let's ASSUME this possibility is bypassed by hippie magic. So are products made of natural ingredients safer?

Wild Cherry. All-natural. May contain cyanide. (Image from www.eatweeds.co.uk)

How to check if a beauty product is FDA approved

Following an advisory from the FDA on the purchase of unnotified products, 13 lipsticks, mostly from China, have been marked as having no market authorization from the FDA. The agency warns that unnotified lipsticks may contain hazardous ingredients, especially lead.

Any of these look familiar? Better check FDA's advisory here (fda.gov.ph).

So how can we know if the product we are eyeing on is FDA-notified?

Miracle(?) Skin care Ingredient: Aloe Vera

A lot of skin care products contain aloe. I have after sun gels with aloe. I have a facial wash with aloe extract. I've always though aloe was an established, as in well-researched miracle care, since it has been used for so long.

Until I found this strip from http://carbon-comic.com. This site just gained a regular!

I read more of the post and found out that there are no scientific evidences yet for the use of aloe as a remedy for sunburns. Let's say the evidences for the use of aloe on sunburn may be anecdotes for now, but what about some of the other skin-related claims?

Like as a moisturizer, treatment for acne, anti-aging ingredient, remedy for stretch marks, treatment for wounds among many others. Again, there are no scientific evidences for these claims - http://www.webmd.com and http://www.mayoclinic.com do list some cases where aloe may act as remedy but point out that additional research on aloe is still necessary.

So fellow skin care fans, don't forget to check the active ingredients on your products. Always check the product claims. And don't forget natural is not always safe, so test a product prior to purchase.

Papaya whitening: Is it safe and effective?

Visit a supermarket and you are sure to find a TON of whitening products. Among the most common here in the Philippines is the use of papaya soap. Papaya is claimed to help whiten the skin and is a common ingredient in lotions and soaps, which can be cheaply bought off supermarket shelves.

According to papaya whitening advocates, papaya contains papain which is the effective "whitening" ingredients. So what is papain and how does it "whiten" the skin?

Misunderstood: SLS and SLES

With the rise of the green movement came the demand for natural products. Among the main considerations of skin care product consumers is the absence of sulfates, hence the label "sulfate free", which comes almost always with "paraben-free" (related blog post here).

Image from http://www.shielo.com

Advisory: FDA orders ban and seizure of 16 cosmetic products

The FDA bans 16 products, mostly from China, on suspicion that it may contain unsafe levels of heavy metals (such as lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic). The products are as follows:

- Baiyansu Three-In-One Whitening Set
- Beauty Girl Green Cucumber 6 Days Double Whitening Soft Essence Cream
- Bihuayn Whitening Day Cream
- Care Skin Strong Whitening and Spot Removing Package
- Gadakai Freckle Removing Cream
- Huayuenong 12 days Whitening and Speckle Removing Wrecking Set
- Huayuenong 12 days Whitening and Speckle Removing Wrecking Set (Note: No idea why this product was listed twice)
- White Advance Hydroxytyrosol L-Glutathione Whitening and Anti-Aging Cream
- Yudantang Ginseng and Green Cucumber 10 Days Whitening Speckles Removed Essence
- Yudantang Green Olive and Papaya Natrual Essence 6 Days Specific Eliminating Freckle Whitening Sun Block Cream
- Yundantang Sea Pearl and Papaya Specific Eliminating Freckle Whitening Cream
- Specific Eliminating Freckle Spot and Double Whitening Sun Block Cream
- Yundantang 10 Days Whitening Speckles Removed Essence, with picture of cow and papaya (Wat?)
- Zyiang Day Cream
- Whitening Cream (with the rest of the label in Chinese characters)
- Product label in Chinese characters, with gold package and picture of red flower with 3 green leaves

The advisory (link here) also advised the public to use only FDA acknowledged products and to carefully read the labels of cosmetic products before purchase. Said FDA-approved products must contain the following information:

- Name and address of the local company
- Full ingredient listing
- Batch code
- Date of manufacture or expiration date

Panic over parabens

Let us face it. Beauty products are sometimes full of BS and marketing hype. Anti-aging. Breakthrough technology. All-natural. Of course, some claims may actually be true, but are we discerning enough to know which ones are true and not? How do we know we are not paying ridiculous claims worth nothing?

Let's take a look at one of the labels we often see in products nowadays: paraben-free. For those who have no idea what they are: paraben (butylparaben, ethylparaben, methylparaben, propylparaben) is a class of chemicals commonly used as preservatives. Recently, some beauty brands have been pegging this label into their products, implying that parabens are unsafe. But how (un)safe are parabens anyway?

Pulblic Safety Advisory: Kanebo Cosmetics voluntarily recalls products with Rhododenol

Rhododenol or 4HPB, is a substance implicated in cases of white blotches on the skin. Rhododenol-containing products have also been banned by FDA last July 4, 2013 following this voluntary recall by Kanebo Cosmetics, manufacturer of the said whitening ingredient.

White patches from rhododenol (Provided by Kanebo Cosmetics Inc.)

Fail: The booger and why stores have samples

When you are starting a skin care regimen, it is very easy to mess up. A lot of trial and error are made that even some of the products end up being discarded (or given away), even if the product costs a lot.

My little product mishap happened more than a year ago. My sister told me her friends from Korea buy tea tree oil to be used as a spot treatment for acne. She claimed that the oil worked overnight and that it works so well, there will be no trace of the pimple by the next day. 

So for science, I decided to buy this tea tree oil from the local The Body Shop. I did a little Goggle-ing prior to the purchase and apparently, tea tree oil generally is good for acne. 

This little magic bottle cost me around 500 php.