Dorothy FarrarCosmetics
Cosmetics are the collective term for nourishing and decorative substances that are applied to the skin and applied to the face. They are subdivided into care cosmetics without a decorative function and decorative cosmetics for pure beautification.
What are cosmetics?
The term cosmetics summarizes care and decorative-beautifying products that have no medical indication, but are considered necessary by large parts of the population. More women than men consume cosmetics. Caring cosmetics usually have no decorative effect or at least this is not superficial. Rather, caring cosmetics are about supplying the skin with nutrients and making it appear healthy.
Rejuvenating or anti-aging effects are also in demand. Decorative cosmetics, on the other hand, care only marginally, but they are mainly responsible for aesthetic changes, especially on the face. Decorative cosmetics include mascara, kajal, eye shadow, self-tanning lotion or nail polish, while care cosmetics tend to include day cream, body lotion or hyaluron ampoules. A special field of cosmetics are so-called cosmeceuticals, which contain medically active substances, or natural cosmetics made from purely natural ingredients.
Effect and medical application
Only a few cosmetics have a medical application. In the context of plastic surgery, cosmetics are sometimes used for aftercare, which are particularly high doses and are therefore not available commercially. They are often located in the anti-aging area. In addition, care cosmetics tend to rely on ingredients that are said to have an effect, but the individual product can usually not prove any study results about its effectiveness.
However, some cosmetics have already undergone series of tests in cooperation with market research institutes, which asked users whether they felt the advertising promise of the cosmetics was correct. However, ingredients such as hyaluronic acid or various vegetable oils can be assumed to work as described. Decorative cosmetics, such as those used for make-up, are not considered medicinal products. There are overlaps between medicine and cosmetics in individual products such as nail polishes to treat nail fungus or to prevent nail biting .
shapes and groups
Caring cosmetics are usually sold in the form of creams, lotions, lipsticks or nail polishes without a decorative effect. Decorative cosmetics, on the other hand, are provided with pigments and, depending on the area of application, are sold as creams, sticks or with a special applicator such as mascara. In addition to caring and decorative cosmetics, they can also be subdivided according to area of application.
There are day and night creams, anti-wrinkle treatments, body lotions, skin-tanning cosmetics, lipsticks, nail polish, eye shadow, mascaras and peelings. Furthermore, cosmetics can be divided according to the type of ingredients. Cosmeceuticals rely on medically active ingredients in relevant concentrations, organic cosmetics pay attention to organic certification, and vegan cosmetics do not contain any animal products.
dosage
Since, with a few exceptions, cosmetics usually do not contain any medicinally active ingredients, they cannot be overdosed in a way that is harmful to health. However, it is possible to use them in too large a quantity or incorrectly, which can lead to the opposite of the desired change. A moisturizing skin cream can lead to skin that is already well supplied with too many nutrients and reacts with impurities. Only with very effective cosmetics (“cosmeceuticals”) does the dosage play a role and should therefore be carried out by a trained beautician. In this area there are aggressive but effective fruit acid peelings, which would cause burns to the skin in too high a dose.
Herbal, natural and pharmaceutical alternatives
Commercially available cosmetics usually rely on ingredients that are neither natural nor vegetable, but achieve a certain effect and satisfy the customer. Therefore, alternative branches of cosmetics such as organic, natural or vegan cosmetics have developed, which follow principles that often come from nutrition or correspond to a lifestyle.
The alternative to bought cosmetics would be to produce them yourself, and a lot can also be achieved with a healthy diet , such as healthier skin. Various aesthetic problems that cosmetics promise to solve, on the other hand, can also be solved by plastic surgery or treatment by a doctor with much more effective drugs. For example, the contraceptive pill is often prescribed to young women for skin blemishes, tight skin can be corrected surgically and wrinkles can be injected.
Interactions and side effects
Cosmetics can lead to intolerance in some people. Allergies to certain ingredients or poor tolerance of artificial ingredients in particular can occur. For this reason, cosmetics must also bear information about certain allergens they contain if they are used. Components that have hardly been researched are particularly risky because little is known about their tolerability. Some cosmetics from the decorative area only damage the body with long-term or permanent use, such as UV nail polish. They attack the nail structure, making nails more susceptible to fungal infections , which starts with permanently painted nails appearing transparent, thin, and brittle.
Severe reddening of the skin , impurities or visible allergic reactions complete the risks. As a rule, however, cosmetics do not interact with other medications unless they are also applied directly to the skin. Medical ointments or creams should of course not be used together with cosmetics for the skin, and a doctor’s recommendation always goes beyond the beauty program with the cosmetics normally used.
Hello and welcome to my Health Guide & Encyclopedia! My name is Dorothy Farrar, and I'm the founder and main author of this platform.
My passion for health and wellness started at a young age when I became interested in the connection between the food we eat and the way we feel. This fascination led me to study nutrition and dietetics in college, where I learned about the importance of a balanced diet and the impact of various nutrients on the body.