Hello guys!!
Well we have another guest post here at Layla's Make-up and I have to say that I LOVE hearing from bloggers and companies who would like to write posts as I feel the blog is reaching people in different ways which is really nice to know!
Even though I review products that are sent to me you ALL know how much I love natural and organic products as over the years there has been such an increase in products using more and more chemicals and knowing that a lot of women out there use these products daily is quite scary!
This is why I wanted to bring you products which are luxurious yet affordable and are natural, organic and completely chemical free!
Here is our guest post by the lovely Niqui who is explaining to us what to look out for in products.....
How Safe Are Your Cosmetics?
98% of you say that you could not live without your make up bag, but how many of you would be willing to die for it? If you looked at the ingredients that went in to the food you ate and found lots of chemicals, some of which are possibly carcinogenic, you wouldn’t even think of eating it! So why would you put it on your skin?
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are the people who regulate the ingredients of all food, drink drugs and cosmetics, but unfortunately they are not that concerned with what goes into our make up. Here are some examples of the damage you could be doing to yourselves.
Hair Dye
The sins we commit to our hair whilst trying to get the perfect look- endless heat styling, dying and bleaching, chemical straightening, going for months without a good haircut because you know that this month is the month your hair will start growing, even though it is in such bad condition it has done nothing but fall out for the past 4 months…. it’s a wonder any of us have any hair left!
One of the major dangers is hair dye, and the news is never short of stories of women who have ‘used hair dye for 20 years’ but one day, for unknown reasons, they have a severe allergic reaction to it. Just last year a 29 year old had a horrific reaction to hair dye; first her head ballooned in size, then her head started to ooze pus, then burns developed and she went to A&E no less than 3 times before she was taken seriously.
Every time she went to A&E she was told her injuries weren’t that severe, and that bout of medical negligence could have cost her her life. It is thought that the chemical which is causing the problem is para-phenylenediamine (PPD), which is the chemical that covers grey hair. Henna is a natural hair dye, which is less likely to give you a reaction as it does not contain PPD, but that does not mean that it will DEFINITELY NOT react with everyone.
ALWAYS do a patch test, it is better to be safe than sorry.
Chemical Straightening
A relatively new craze that has taken off is the use of chemical straightening or ‘Brazilian Blowout.’ It was found that the treatment contained high levels of formaldehyde (the substance used to preserve dead bodies for years at a time for medical students, also the liquid you see in jars with body parts or organs in) which is potentiality carcinogenic. Salons offering this kind of treatment were not warning their customers that the product could be harmful so new laws have been put in place to stop the false advertising of the Brazilian Blowout.
Mascara
It was found that mascara is the most dangerous beauty weapon in your make up bag; this is because of the amount of us that manage to jab ourselves in the eye with it.
When this happens you may get little scratches on your eye, which may get infected, leading to conjunctivitis (the more glamorous name for pink eye.)
The mascara tube is also the perfect breeding ground for bacteria after it is a few months old, even more so if you share your mascara with friends. Easy way to avoid all this drama?
Don’t try to do your mascara on the move (car, bus, train,) buy a new one every 6 months and don’t let your friends borrow it, not matter how much they beg.
Eyeshadow and Eyeliner
Your eyelids are made up of very thin, fragile skin and if you use make up on then on a regular basis then you can irritate this skin. This may take the form of a rash that goes away when you stop using the culprit cosmetic, or may turn into something more sinister such as eczema, which can be painful and difficult to get rid of. Give your skin time to breath; have a few make up free days every week, and always take off all if your make up.
Face Cream
Even if you don’t wear make up it is likely that you will at least wear a face cream.
A lot of chemicals that go into anti-aging or anti-wrinkle cream have been found to cause skin irritation, and the usual culprits are Alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs.)
If you buy a product with AHAs in make sure you do a patch test before you put it over your whole face. AHA’a have also been linked to a doubling of UV-induced skin damage, along with Beta Hydroxy Acids (BHAs.)
Propylene Glycol is another chemical which is found in a lot of liquid products that we like to put on our face, including foundation. It is there to help keep the liquid fluid so we don’t have to shake it, and it also stops the products from freezing during shipping because it is ANTI-FREEZE. Long term use can actually induce wrinkles, dry out your skin and cause it to become dull.
Brushes and Sponges
So you use a brush or a sponge to put your make up on every morning, then leave it around all day all moist- the perfect breeding ground for bacteria, and then the next morning you spread that bacteria all over your face! The truth isn’t pretty. Wash your make up brushes in make up remover of brush cleaner once a week.
Lipstick
It is no secret that lipsticks contain lead which is toxic, and with regular exposure it can build up in the body causing damage to your blood and brain.
Recent tests by the FDA showed that over 400 of the lipsticks tested were shown to contain lead; with Maybelline’s Colour Sensation containing more than 275 times the amount of lead that was in similar products!
So use sparingly….
The moral of the story is not to stop wearing make up, I wouldn’t suggest that for anyone!
Make up makes us more confident in ourselves, and generally makes us happier! Just have a few days off from it now and then?
Try switching some of your products to ones that are made from 100% natural ingredients, because they are less likely to be harmful.
medical negligence
There you are guys!!
Some information from Niqui explaining the harm you can be doing without knowing it!
I think all of us should start using natural/organic products....It's better to pay a little bit extra and be safer knowing that the products you are using daily are chemical free!
What do you all think?? Did you know that the majority of products people use every day are this harmful??
COMMENTS below!!! :)
Layla xxxx
