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Cosmetics ingredients come from a variety of sources but, unlike the ingredients of food, are often not considered by most consumers. Cosmetics often use vibrant colors that are derived from a wide variety of sources, ranging from crushed insects to rust.Schneider, Günther ''et al'' (2005). "Skin Cosmetics" in ''Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry'', Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. Cosmetics in a variety of forms date back to early civilizations, with the need to improve ones personal appearance being an important factor in attracting a mate. Over the years the ingredients have changed dramatically as we discovered how to manufacture our own scents and cosmetic formulas. The realization of the dangers of many common ingredients also greatly affected the growing industry. Ancient Egyptian aristocracy made use of minerals to provide colour and definition to their facial features. During the era of the Greek Empire it was common to use face paints, while cosmetics in ancient Rome contained starch, olive oil, beeswax, saffron, rose water, and lead.


Common ingredients

Castor oil and its derivatives are found in many cosmetics as it is "non-comedogenic" (does not exacerbate or contribute to acne).International Castor Oil Association.
ICOA Technical Bulletins - Effect on Skin
". Accessed 27 January 2007.
Cerebrosides (cells from the nervous systems of cattle or swine) were once used in some high-end skin-care products to increase moisture retention and to create a smooth skin surface, Adams, Cecil. 31 March 2000.
Does lipstick contain fish scales?
. Accessed 24 January 2007.
however the BSE controversy has put an end to this practice. In many countries colors in cosmetics are listed as numbers from the Colour Index International. The scheme covers colors used in food, personal care products, cosmetics, household products and fabric dyeing. For example, tartrazine is not normally listed as such in lipstick ingredients, but as C.I. 19140. Erythrosine will be listed as C.I. 45430, and so on. In US and Canada colors are listed as FD & C colors. Tartrazine (E102) is FD & C Yellow 5 and erythrosine (E127) is FD & C Red 3.


Visual effects

Strong red colors for eye products have been produced using the dye carmine, made from carminic acid extracted from the crushed bodies of the cochineal insect. Carmine was once the only bright red color permitted by the FDA for use around the eye. Pearlescence, also sometimes spelled as "pearl essence", is a shine or gloss effect commonly used in a wide variety of cosmetic products. The most usual source of pearlescence is the natural mineral mica covered by a thin layer of titanium dioxide. This coating causes goniochromism – the color appears through interference effects with the naturally translucent mica, and varying the thickness of the titanium dioxide changes the color.Weingrod, Carmi. 2005.
Three-Dimensional Color – Unlocking the Secrets of Interference Pigments
". Accessed 24 January 2007.
Alternatives exist, including the suspension of tiny flakes of a suitable material within the product, often a wax such as glycol distearate. A shimmery substance found on fish scales, most usually obtained from herring and one of many by-products of commercial fish processing, can also be used for pearlescent effects, primarily in nail polish, but is now rarely used due to its high cost, bismuth oxychloride flakes being used as a substitute instead.


Types of cosmetics


Facial cosmetics

The Romans and ancient Egyptians used cosmetics containing mercury.


Foundation

Women of Roman Britain used a foundation made from animal fat, starch and tin oxide. BBC News. 3 November 2004.
Roman cosmetic secrets revealed
. Accessed 27 January 2007.
Today foundations come in a wide variety of formulas and finishes, most being either water, silicone, or mineral based. Foundations on today's market come in cream, liquid, pressed powder, loose powder, or mineral form. They also come in different finishes such as matte or satin depending upon the desired look.


Lipstick

Lipstick is known to have been used around 5000 years ago in ancient Babylon, when semi-precious jewels were crushed and applied to the lips and occasionally around the eyes. Ancient Egyptians extracted purplish-red dye from fucus-algin, 0.01% iodine, and some bromine mannite, which resulted in serious illness. Cleopatra had her lipstick made from crushed carmine beetles, which gave a deep red pigment, and ants for a base. The red color of modern lipstick can come from synthetically derived pure iron oxide (common iron rust), however most leading brands use the more economical synthetic colors. In the United States, every batch of synthetic dye and pigment must have a sample sent to the US FDA for testing and certification that the batch is pure and its contaminants are below the levels specified by law. Synthetic colors are listed in the ingredients as a code (e.g.: F &D red no 6) and may contain up to 10 parts per million of lead / 3 parts per million of arsenic. There is some controversy over the presence of these trace ingredients, especially since makeup worn on the lips is not just absorbed through the skin, but also swallowed with drinking and eating. Since lowering these levels would make the production and sale of practically all lipstick illegal, and since the FDA has determined that the existing levels are safe, the cosmetic industry continues to produce and sell lipstick. Typically, the pigment is crushed very finely (7 to 10 micrometres) while being mixed with castor oil and is then mixed with a wax base to form a finished lipstick. Lipsticks may be sheer or dense, matte or shiny. In their thinnest and most fluid consistency they are given their own category, lipgloss.


Perfume

Islamic cultures contributed significantly in the development of western perfumery in both perfecting the extraction of fragrances through steam distillation and introducing new, raw ingredients. Both of the raw ingredients and distillation technology significantly influenced western perfumery and scientific developments, particularly chemistry. As traders, Islamic cultures such as the Arabs and Persians had wider access to different spices, herbals, and other fragrance material. In addition to trading them, many of these exotic materials were cultivated by the Muslims such that they can be successfully grown outside of their native climates. Two examples of this include jasmine, which is native to South and Southeast Asia, and various citrus, which are native to East Asia. Both of these ingredients are still highly important in modern perfumery. The Crusaders brought alcohol-based perfumes back to Europe from the Middle East in the 13th Century.Ad*Access. 1999.
Brief History of Beauty and Hygiene Products
". Accessed 27 January 2007.
The first modern perfume, made of scented oils blended in an alcohol solution, was made in 1370 at the command of Queen Elizabeth of Hungary and was known throughout Europe as Hungary Water.
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
quickly became the European center of perfume and cosmetic manufacture, cultivating vast amounts of flowers for their essence.


Deodorants and antiperspirants

Perfume has been used to mask body odor for many hundreds of years, but in the late 19th century the ability to reduce such odour was developed. The original active ingredient of antiperspirants was
aluminium chloride Aluminium chloride, also known as aluminium trichloride, is an inorganic compound with the formula . It forms a hexahydrate with the formula , containing six water molecules of hydration. Both the anhydrous form and the hexahydrate are col ...
but complaints of skin irritation led to the increased use of aluminium chlorohydrate as an alternative. Aluminium has been established as a
neurotoxin Neurotoxins are toxins that are destructive to nervous tissue, nerve tissue (causing neurotoxicity). Neurotoxins are an extensive class of exogenous chemical neurological insult (medical), insultsSpencer 2000 that can adversely affect function ...
and has been shown to adversely affect the
blood–brain barrier The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is a highly selective semipermeable membrane, semipermeable border of endothelium, endothelial cells that regulates the transfer of solutes and chemicals between the circulatory system and the central nervous system ...
, cause
DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
damage, and have adverse
epigenetic In biology, epigenetics is the study of changes in gene expression that happen without changes to the DNA sequence. The Greek prefix ''epi-'' (ἐπι- "over, outside of, around") in ''epigenetics'' implies features that are "on top of" or "in ...
effects. Research has shown that the aluminum salts used in antiperspirants have detrimental effects to a number of species such as non-human
primates Primates is an order of mammals, which is further divided into the strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and lorisids; and the haplorhines, which include tarsiers and simians ( monkeys and apes). Primates arose 74–63  ...
,
mice A mouse (: mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...
,
dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...
s and others. An experiment with mice found that applying an aqueous solution of aluminum chloride to the skin resulted in "a significant increase in urine, serum, and whole brain aluminium." Other experiments on pregnant mice showed transplacental passage of aluminum chloride.


Regulation

Legislation varies from country to country but most countries have some sort of formal legislation that either restrict or prohibit certain ingredients or products. There are two main sources for cosmetics safety: the EU Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009 and the Canadian Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist. Regulation in the United States by the FDA is particularly weak. A new version of the EU's Cosmetics Directive was adopted by the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
, 24 March 2009. It includes new rules concerning the use of
nanoparticle A nanoparticle or ultrafine particle is a particle of matter 1 to 100 nanometres (nm) in diameter. The term is sometimes used for larger particles, up to 500 nm, or fibers and tubes that are less than 100 nm in only two directions. At ...
s in cosmetics and includes stricter rules on animal testing of cosmetics. In the European Union, all cosmetic products must be notified through the Cosmetic Products Notification Portal (CPNP) before being placed on the EU market. The presence of a nanomaterial in a cosmetic product must be explicitly stated in the notification to the European Commission. A list of nanomaterial cosmetics ingredients was published by the European Commission, and the European Union Observatory for
Nanomaterials Nanomaterials describe, in principle, chemical substances or materials of which a single unit is sized (in at least one dimension) between 1 and 100 nm (the usual definition of nanoscale). Nanomaterials research takes a materials science ...
(EUON) provides further information on these ingredients, including information derived from the application of the REACH regulation on chemicals. Cosmetic colorants, with the exception of hair colorants in the United States, are highly regulated. Each country or group of countries has their own regulatory agency that controls what can go into cosmetics. In the United States, the regulating body is the
Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respo ...
. Aside from color additives, cosmetic products and their ingredients are not subject to FDA regulation prior to their release into the market. It is only when a product is found to violate Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) and Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA) after its release that the FDA may start taking action against this violation. The FDA may request a recall if the company refuses to remove an unsafe product from the market, work with the Department of Justice to remove contaminated or misbranded products, request a restraining order to prevent further shipments of contaminated or misbranded products, and take action against the company violating the law. A company may use any ingredient, other than color additives and those ingredients banned from use in cosmetics through regulation, as long the completed product and its ingredients is safe, is properly labeled, and isn't contaminated or misbranded under the FD&C Act and the FPLA. FDA can and does perform inspections.


Potential dangers

The search for new ingredients and products often brings controversy, typically over ingredients whose function is unproven or disputed. There are a few potential dangers regarding the use of cosmetics. One such danger is the use of old mascara. Some mascaras contain an ingredient that breaks down to produce
formaldehyde Formaldehyde ( , ) (systematic name methanal) is an organic compound with the chemical formula and structure , more precisely . The compound is a pungent, colourless gas that polymerises spontaneously into paraformaldehyde. It is stored as ...
. The formaldehyde prevents the growth of bacteria. Aged mascara, however, may no longer be producing formaldehyde, allowing bacteria to proliferate. For this reason, it is often recommended to replace a tube of mascara every few months. In one well-known case, Buddy Ebsen was originally cast as the "Tin Man" in '' The Wizard of Oz''. Aluminum dust was used to create a tin effect. As the result of an allergic reaction, he was hospitalized and Jack Haley replaced him. Aluminum dust was, instead, added to a paste.


See also

* List of cosmetic ingredients *
List of vegetable oils Vegetable oils are triglycerides extracted from plants. Some of these oils have been part of human culture for millennia. Edible vegetable oils are used in food, both in Cooking oil, cooking and as Food additive, supplements. Many oils, edible a ...
*
Palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from o ...
*
International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients The International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients (INCI) are the unique identifiers for cosmetic ingredients such as waxes, oils, pigments, and other chemicals that are assigned in accordance with rules established by the Personal Care P ...
(INCI) *
Testing cosmetics on animals Cosmetic testing on animals is a type of animal testing used to test the safety and hypoallergenic properties of cosmetics, cosmetic products for use by humans. Since this type of animal testing is often harmful to the animal subjects, it is o ...


References


External links


Cosmetic Safety Databasebeauty skin care products
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ingredients Of Cosmetics History of cosmetics