A study done by three dermatologists at Stanford University School of Medicine found that nearly all of the “natural” skincare products sold at top US retailers include allergens.
Nearly 90 percent of the 1,651 personal skin care products studied – including lotions, soaps, and moisturizers – contained at least one of the top 100 most common allergens known to cause contact dermatitis.
Contact dermatitis goes beyond a minor irritation. This is a red, itchy, blistering rash that can be caused by skin irritation or inflammation. This is an allergic reaction, which occurs when the skin becomes sensitive or sensitive to an otherwise benign substance.
According to some estimates, contact dermatitis rates are approximately 80% On the riseGlobally, nearly three-fold increase in the past three decades (from 1996 to 2016).
Researchers claim that the increase in contact dermis, a rapidly expanding skincare and beauty industry worth billions of dollars, and a lack regulation regarding its marketing, motivated the study.
“The US Food and Drug Administration has not defined clean and/or natural, allowing sellers the freedom to freely advertise using these terms that suggest safety and health benefits,” Peter Young, dermatologist, and his Stanford University colleagues. Please explain.
Researchers gathered product ingredient lists from three US retailers and compared them to an online database that lists common ingredients contact dermatitis sufferers should avoid. The American Contact Dermatitis Society maintains this database.
Contact dermatitisIt is possible to prevent it if you are able to read and understand the lengthy list of ingredients in skincare products. Also, be aware of which ingredients might cause skin irritations. This is easier said than done.
A typical cosmetic or skincare product could contain between 15 and 50 ingredients. According to research, people may be using makeup more often than they realize. over 500 different chemicalsDepending on their skincare routine, they may apply sunscreen to their skin every day.
This means that the more products you use the more potential allergens are exposed to your skin.
Many of the allergens identified in the study were fragrances – think lavender and other botanical extracts – which have become a leading cause of contact dermatitis.
Skincare products typically contain between four to five allergens. Surprisingly, 7,487 different allergens were found in the 1,651 products examined.
Although it is based only on information online about the product, it gives an idea of the extent of the problem.
Young and coworkers stated that “These results suggest the need to educate patients as well as health care professionals about what products are applied to their skin.” ConclusionIn their paper.
This isn’t the only study that has looked at allergens in personal-care products. A 2017 study in the USA also found allergens in personal care products. Few moisturizers are free of allergensEven ‘fragrance free’ products can contain fragrances that can irritate skin.
This issue is on the dermatologist’s radar for some time, but their message rarely seems to cut through the marketing buzz around natural products – which often emphasizes what supposedly harmful ingredients products don’t contain, hoping savvy consumers don’t scrutinize ingredient lists too closely.
Labeling products as “natural” does not tell consumers anything about the ingredient’s safety. It perpetuates a false division between ingredients that are sourced from nature and synthetic substances that could be chemically identical.
“Natural” is a marketing term that plays on the long history of human sourcing. Traditional medicinesand cosmetics from nature, which makes us believe that these are safer.
Marketing influences consumers’ perceptions. This can lead to real consequences. A ” epidemic“Contact allergies erupted, for example, when a more allergic preservative called methylisothiazolinone started replacing another safer perseverative, parabensThey were unable to be in the beauty industry after this. now-refutedThese claims are based on very Fake science.
Marketing is not always a problem, but it’s important to remember that sometimes it can be. False advertising and, at times, Untrue. A few beauty influences have made a real difference. Sentiment shiftSunscreen is now a’must have’ for great skin.
However, industry terms such as “hypoallergenic” and “dermatologist tested” are concocted to make the industry look more credible. no legal criteriaTo make these claims, manufacturers must meet certain requirements. We’re not even going to get into the marketing hype surrounding skincare’s health benefits.
Courtney Blair Rubin (University of Pennsylvania) and Bruce Brod (University of Pennsylvania), both dermatologists, said that consumers and physicians should be able to demand evidence from the clean beauty movement. SubmittedIn an editorial in 2019.
It is the same today.
The study was published in JAMA Dermatology.
