Perfumes: Not Just a Pretty Scent

Perfumes are not just random solutions of scents, but rather complex combinations of essential oils for the scent and chemicals that keep the scents from turning foul. Most fragrances used come from plants, but not just flowers, they come from seeds, bark, roots and fruits. Extracting essential oils from these natural sources is very labor-intensive and does not yield large quantities thereby forcing companies to make synthetic substitutes. Essential oils contain complicated mixtures of molecules including alcohols, ethers, ketones, esters, lactones, castor oil products, terpenes, paraffins, and heterocycles. “For many essential oils the fragrance is caused by a six membered ring; however, many essential oils don't have the ring and are still fragrant.” The essential oils do not all smell particularly pleasant, yet when mixed together with more aromatic scents, they even out and give the perfume an all together enjoyable smell. After gathering all the essential oils, they are mixed carefully and studied at various pH levels and temperatures to ensure that the scent does not turn foul. The perfume oil that is made is then dissolved in a solvent with 20-30% of the mixture being essential oils for it to be classified as a perfume, 8-15% for cologne, and 1-3% for aftershave. To read more on the composition of perfumes and essential oils you can find the article here.

Can Your Make-up Cause Cancer?

Women are being exposed to deadly diseases through the everyday use of common cosmetics bought over the counter.” Synthetic chemicals used in today’s cosmetics are cheap, last long, and make good make-up. These chemicals include coal tar colors, phenylenediamine, formaldehyde and benzene which can be found in make-up as well as shampoos. The reason for fear is obvious; make-up is directly applied to pores and can easily be absorbed into the skin or inhaled. According to Amelia Hill these chemicals not only cause cancer but “confus(e) hormone receptors and slowly alter cell structure.” Statistically, out of the 70,000 chemicals used in cosmetics already and the 1,000 more every year about 900 are toxic (according to the United Nations Environmental Program). Support for her allegation is presented in lab animal cases where cancer has resulted from the use of the before mentioned chemicals. Hill feels that the reason that companies are getting away with putting carcinogens into everyday cosmetic products is that they are not necessities, in comparison with water and air quality. For more information on the possible risks you are putting yourself in by using make-up with certain chemicals check this site.

Salt in Your Shampoo

Many companies, when deciding what will go into a product like shampoo or other cosmetics, do not always consider if the ingredients will damage hair or skin but rather the decision is based off of what makes the product appear better. A shampoo company in Britain used salt in their shampoo in order to thicken and better preserve the mixture and did not take into account that salt can damage hair. Many companies are now creating research and development teams so that they can make products better after gathering feed back from salons and consumers who use their products. The research and development teams are usually constantly working on new products.
“A new product goes through rigorous stability testing, including freezing and thawing, and is used on mannequin heads before it is tested in a small network of salons. It takes about a year to develop a new product.”
One Canadian company now uses only high-quality ingredients and nothing that is unnecessary in their products. This arose out of a demand for natural products with no synthetic chemicals. An example of replacing an unnecessary ingredient is using VegelatumTM instead of Vaseline. The product then becomes less greasy and resists higher temperatures, resulting in a longer shelf life, and has a protective and smoothing effect. To read more on this, you can find the article here.

The Composition and Reactions of Lipstick

Lipsticks are made of waxes, oils, and pigments in different concentrations to produce lipstick. Lipstick made to stay on for a long period of time is made up of a large amount of wax, a little oil, and huge pigment concentrations. For a smooth feel, it is made up of a little wax and high oil concentrations. There are many different waxes that are mixed together to get the right melting point. Then different oils are mixed in to make a film that is easy to apply and separate the pigments on the lips. To achieve the exact color, there is indelible coloring, or lip staining, where bromo acids are used which is made of fluoresceins, halogenated fluoresceins, and other water-insoluble dyes. Other pigments are made of insoluble dyestuffs and lake colors. There are other lake colors based on calcium or barium salts.

For sensitive people, some ingredients used in lipstick can cause reactions. Castor oil is a common ingredient found in most lipsticks since it easily dissolves bromo acid dyes, but it is rare that it will cause an allergic contact dermatitis. Eosin, which was used in the indelible red lipsticks in the mid-1920s, is now used for long-wearing lipsticks. It is now a big deal about what ingredients are put in the lipsticks because the ingredients may be ingested. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) placed the certified colors into three groups, FD&C colors, D&C colors, and External Drug and Cosmetic colors. Only FD&C colors and D&C colors can be used in lipsticks. The other group can only be used when the cosmetic will not be ingested. To find out more about the adverse reactions in lipstick and other cosmetics, you can go here.


Kristine Javier

Who's Testing Your Cosmetics?

"FDA cannot require companies to do safety testing of their cosmetic products before marketing."
The cosmetic industry is a 35 billion dollar industry that makes its way into the homes of millions of Americans. However, how safe are the chemicals in our cosmetics? According to this article, Toxic Makeup Chemicals under Scrutiny by EWG by Geoff Goldie, the FDA is not responsible for regulating the chemicals used in cosmetics. Nor has the FDA required any forms of testing for chemicals in cosmetics before they are released to the public. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) panel does test some of the cosmetics and their chemicals for toxicity and other ailing effects, but their efforts are coming far short of making people feel more comfortable with the composition of their cosmetics. Goldie found that 89% of the 10,500 ingredients in cosmetics are not being tested by the CIR, and being that statistically the average American uses upwards “9 personal care products daily” this is not an issue that can be overlooked. As a solution, Goldie offers the Environmental Working Group’s efforts, which have resulted in the assessment of over 10,000 cosmetic products and posting results on the internet. To learn more about the screening efforts of cosmetics look at Goldie’s site here.

The Chemicals in Nail Polish

After recent allegations of poisoning from nail polish, Tan Thiam Hock decided to explore the chemical make-up of nail polish and see if the allegations are true. Hock explains that esters such as ethyl acetate and butyl acetate are the main component of nail polishes. Ethyl ethanoate can cause problems, but only in very large amounts and when in contact with sensitive parts of the body such as the eyes or throat. Further disproving the allegations is the fact that esters have an enjoyable scent, and are often used in perfumes and fragrances. Thusly, the esters have been approved to be used in fragrances which are used more directly and in larger quantities than nail polishes, so these smaller amounts of esters are much less of a danger. Hock argues that due to the law ‘like dissolves like’ ethyl ethanoate and the organic solvents in nail polishes, they dry fairly quickly to pose even less of a threat. In conclusion, Hock states that:
“Flammability of the substance is more of a concern than its toxic effects.”
To learn more about esters’ chemical make-up and their role in nail polish, check out Hock’s site.

The Evolution of Modern-Day Lipstick

There have been many variations of lipstick before it came to be used everyday. Lipstick application began in primeval times. In ancient times lipstick was made of colored clay or berry juice. However, it is unclear what the use of lipstick was used for, if it was used to attract or scare men. Early rock carvings and cave drawings that were discovered in Africa and Western Europe showed that the women of ancient times did, in fact, apply lipstick.

A mix of natural pigments and animal fats were the original ingredients of the modern lipstick in Ancient Egypt. It was also composed of ferrous oxide, which is red lead, and it smelled like rust. Then, to improve the scent, they added more fragrances. Archaeologists found these mixtures in noble Egyptian women tombs.

There is some proof found that women used acrid plant juice for color. This substance caused blood to flow to the lips which caused it to stay red for long periods of time. Some say that this method is still used today. As shown above, many natural pigments were used it ancient times, such as henna. The use of natural pigments causes color to stay on for a longer time than usual. To find other uses of natural pigments round the world, such as Latin America and Europe, you can go to this site.

Only in 1915 lipstick started to look like modern-day lipstick, which is a stick of lipstick in a tube. And a few years later, lipstick became popular and started to be used by women everyday. Elizabeth Arden said,

“Girls with lipstick on their lips stood a better chance in getting a job than those who had no makeup at all.”

This motto made lipstick popular which led to its everyday use. Because of the ancient discoveries of lipsticks around the world, there is now a wide variety of lipsticks that include medical improvements, moisturizing elements, and even resistant lipsticks. These present-day lipsticks were improved from the early ages produced.


Kristine Javier

Get a Rash or Cancer...You Decide

Allergic reactions to some cosmetic products occur because of added chemicals such as fragrances or preservatives. The unintended effects from these chemicals can be inconvenient, for example, skin allergies. While not being allergic to specific ingredients, people can still have bad reactions to these products and develop irritated patches of skin as a result. In order to find out to what someone is allergic in a cosmetic, they should have an allergy test called a patch test. A patch test involves individual chemicals that are applied separately to the skin and then the skin is observed for reactions over a few days. After finding out which chemical is affecting them, the person can then avoid those products that contain the irritant by checking the label. Skin irritation, however, is not the only effect of beauty products that concerns users today.
“A recent US study found that many cosmetics and toiletries used worldwide contained chemicals that were either known cancer-causing agents (carcinogens) or were untested for their effect on human health. More research into the safety of cosmetic chemicals is needed.”
Without this research, people could be applying carcinogens to their skin and not know it. This is a health risk that is surprisingly not being addressed with much urgency for people seem to care more about how the product makes them look then what is in it. It would be best for people to care a bit more about what they are applying to their faces and bodies in order to prevent health complications. To read more on this topic and get links to more information, go here.

~Chelsea

When Your Perfume Smells Deadly

Pamela Lundquist’s article Fragrance in Perfumes and Cosmetics proposes that not only can fragrances be harmful to the person wearing it, but to others as well. Volatile organic compounds make up perfumes, and include substances like formaldehyde, ethanol, and di-limonene. Lundquist argues that these VOC’s can cause sinus problems, and can even cause cancer (formaldehyde is considered by the EPA to be a probable carcinogen. However, the danger in today’s fragrances, spanning soaps and cosmetics to deodorants and perfumes, is not restricted to the person wearing the fragrance. Lundquist states, “And children, since they are closer to the ground, are more likely to inhale VOC’s as they fall through the air.” So, small children, as well as people of small stature, are at a high risk of being contaminated with a ‘falling VOC’. Furthermore, Lundquist provides an experiment to substantiate her claims. The Environmental Health Network commissioned a testing of Calvin Klein’s Eternity. The results were shocking, the perfume contained over 800 compounds, including a hormone disrupter that penetrates the skin called diethyl phthalate. For more information on the danger your fragrance poses for you and the people around you visit Lunduist’s provocative site.

danielle grompone

The Expansion of Lipstick Technology

Lipstick and colors have been around for quite some time now. It is shown in archaeological discoveries of the early Egyptian, Babylonian, and Sumerian civilization paintings that the women used formulas composed of hematite and red ochre in vegetable oil or animal fat. Also, Syrians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans used lip and other cosmetics for beauty, medical needs, and rituals. In ancient times, girls in Athens would use extracts of vegetables, seaweed, and mulberry focus to add color to their cheekbones and lips and they used rouge and powder for their face. Today’s lipstick, made up of a base of oil and wax with suspended colorants. Eosin, which is known as D & C Red No. 21, replaced carmine because of its popularity. After, other fluorescein-based stains came after such as tetrachlootetrabromofluorescein (D & C Red No. 7) and dibromofluorescein (D & C Orange No. 5). Now, there are different lipsticks with water-soluble stains and mold figurations and even different lipstick holders. There are stick, pot, paint, and even lip glosses that are derived from the lipstick. There are different functions to modern ingredients added such as moisturizing and texture. Lipstick has come a long way since ancient times. To read more about the different functions of modern day lipstick, you can go here.

By: Kristine Javier

Carcinogenic, Yet Preserved, Cosmetics

There are preservatives in everything nowadays, and makeup is no exception. In makeup, preservatives are used in order to keep the oils and plant products from going rancid and to help keep the amount of bacteria down. Minute amount of preservatives are used in cosmetics but there is still enough to cause skin reactions from them. Many potentially harmful preservatives are used today because the complete affects upon the human body are not known. Some of these potentially harmful preservatives are formaldehyde-releasing preservatives, such as DMDM hydantoin, that combine with other ingredients in order to form nitrosamines. While lab rats only developed cancer from these combinations through having them orally, the fact that they are marked carcinogenic makes people think twice about it as an ingredient in their makeup. After being linked to breast cancer, people began to worry about parabens in cosmetics, too. They were linked to breast cancer because they have weak estrogenic activity and they can be found in breast-cancer tumors. While the link is remote at best, the reality is that one or more is present in most all cosmetics. “In fact, parabens are the most widely used group of cosmetics preservatives in the world because of their efficacy, low risk of irritation, and stability.” Mostly the worry about parabens applies to deodorants, but the threat has been extrapolated to the entire industry. Parabens are used in foods, too, so many people are not only checking the labels of their cosmetics today but also their foods for these carcinogens. Studies on whether or not it is the consumption of or the application of the parabens that causes cancer are being conducted, so for now no one is quite sure what the results of the human body’s reaction will be to contact with parabens in this manner. One recent study, however, that attempted to define a link between deodorants and breast cancer turned up not apparent correlation between the two. To read more about these preservatives in cosmetics, the article can be found here.

~Chelsea

The Great Changing Color Lipsticks: Secret Revealed

In addition to the waxes and oils essential to maintaining the shape and smoothness of lipsticks, another essential is the color. There are many different colors available today to the public because there are many more pigments which can be used. These dyes cannot just be food coloring, they must be a bit stronger in order to remain on someone’s lips for a long period of time.
“The dyes have to be insoluble in water, so the color will last. Soluble dyes are first 'laked', that is, converted to insoluble particles by treatment with metal oxides. Eosin is a commonly used red dye in lipsticks.”
When it comes in contact with the skin it reacts with NH2 groups on the surface and becomes a deeper red. Certain lipsticks that are supposed to change with a person’s mood actually change because of how basic or acidic their lips happen to be when they apply it. It changes based on this factor because it has an indicator in it which is usually a weak acid that has a conjugate base with a noticeably different color. The pH of skin is determined from a number of factors, some examples of which are stress, physical activity, and diet, so the color varies making it appear to change with your mood. Every application of it probably produces a slightly different shade due to the pH or it could also be the skin tone of the person. To read more about the dyes in lipsticks you can read the article here.

The Chemistry of the Fake, No-Bake, Tan

Actors, athletes, and singers alike are infamous for their flawlessly golden skin, and since the 1960’s there have been products available to create that bronze without the burn. Coppertone released the first artificial tanning lotion, Quick Tanning Lotion (QT®), which gave an orange tint to skin. Since then chemists have perfected the chemistry of imitation tans.

“Perhaps the most effective sunless tanning products are lotions and sprays containing dihydroxyacetone (DHA) as the active ingredient. These products chemically react with the skin to change its color. DHA is a colorless sugar that interacts with the dead cells located in the upper layer of the epidermis. As the sugar binds with the dead skin cells, a color change occurs. The 'tan' usually lasts five to seven days. (Helmenstine, Ph.D.)”

The sugar, dihyrdoxyacetone, is in the majority of today’s sunless tanning products, giving the skin a temporary tint. Other products include bronzers in the forms of powders, creams and lotions, all of which are make-up and can be washed away. The downside of sunless tanners: most do not provide UV protection, and must be used with sun block to prevent sun damage. Although these superficial tanning forms do not threaten health, tanning pills have been found to cause hepatitis and canthaxanthin retinopathy. These devastating health risks are due to the fact that tanning pills include large amounts of canthaxanthin, food coloring additive. Canthaxanthin spreads throughout the body, not only giving skin an orangey-brown tint but can spread to the liver, brain and eyes. Learn more about the different forms of fake-tans at this site.

What is Lipstick Made Up Of?

Lipstick was not always accepted in society. Before, younger women had to sneak their lipstick to school to avoid their moms from seeing it. Nowadays, lipstick is more common and women are used to it and some feel like they cannot go on without it. In history, it says the ancient Egyptians used henna to paint their lips, however in Ragas and Kozlowski’s book, Read My Lips: A Cultural History of Lipstick, a plant due called fucus–algin, 0.01% iodine and bromine mannite– was used for lip rouge. However, the ancient Egyptians did not know this could be poisonous. Also, in this book, there is a quote where a pastor said that face paint was the work of a devil, and that women seducing men could be tried for witchcraft. Queen Victoria even declared that makeup was impolite. Makeup had a bad reputation for almost a century. Later, it begins to get more common in movie productions and so forth.

Lipstick is made up of different waxes, oils, pigments, and emollients. The wax is used for the shape and ease of application. One wax used is beeswax, which is made of esters of straight-chain monohydric alcohols with even-numbered carbon chains from C24 to C36 and straight-chain acids also having even numbers of carbon atoms up to C36. There is also carnauba wax, an exudate from the pores of Brazilian wax palm tree leaves, and candelilla wax, coming from the candelilla plant produced in Mexico. This is made by placing the plants in boiling water mixed with sulfuric acid that skims off the wax that goes to the surface.

The oils and fats are olive oil, mineral oil, castor oil, cocoa butter, lanolin, and petroleum. More than fifty percent of lipsticks made in the United states contain large amounts of castor oil. It makes a strong, shiny film when it dries up after use. But, when large amounts of castor oil are consumed, it causes the need to urinate. However, other moisturizers like vitamin E, aloe vera, collagen, amino acids, and sun screen are put in lipstick. This keeps the lips soft, moisturized, and protected.

To find out more about other ingredients and chemicals added into lipstick, such as the color from pigments, you can find them here.


By: Kristine Javier