A couple of weeks back I had an exchange of comments with a fellow blogger about preservatives. She was optimistic that developments in science will soon produce safer preservatives for the cosmetic industry. This started me thinking about preserving methods currently in use and where new developments may come from.

There are three broad methods of preservation in use by the cosmetic industry today:

1.      Going water free

This is the most straightforward preservation method – where there is no water there is no life. Simple.

This is how granny used to make her ointments. Today we are benefiting from a much wider choice of vegetal oils and butters than granny ever had, so it is possible to make combinations that feel lighter and quicker to absorb into the skin.

There is no guarantee that a water-free product will be also free from preservatives. Some manufacturers add preservatives anyway, in case the product gets mixed with water during use. But if you check the labels you will be able to find oils, balms and ointments with no added preservatives.

Over the last few years, consumers have been gradually getting more used to water-free, oil-based cleansers and moisturisers and it possible these products may continue to increase in popularity.

2.     Preserving with substances that kill microbes (biocides)

It’s everywhere, from candies to paints, to toothpaste, sunscreens and mineral foundation. Is it safe? And does titanium dioxide (TiO2) equates to nanoparticles?

For years I entertained the reassuring idea that most TiO2 applications involve fairly large particles of this substance. After all it’s only sunscreens that require invisible, nano-form TiO2. The food industry uses this mineral as a colouring agent – to make the milk look  whiter and the marshmallows shimmery. If it’s opacity and coverage you’re after, nano particles, being transparent, are useless. The same applies to most cosmetic applications – mineral make up, toothpaste and many other toiletries. So manufacturers don’t need TiO2 in nano form for anything except sunscreens. Right? Well, not quite. Although nano TiO2 is not useful as a colouring agent, recent research has nevertheless found that about 36% the particles in food grade TiO2 is nano size. Research info

In view of this find, the question about nano TiO2 becomes even more important.

TiO2 nanoparticles in food

There is conflicting research data on the effects of ingested TiO2 nanoparticles. A few experiments have shown that ingested titanium dioxide does not get absorbed from the guts into the bloodstream. These are the experiments which have informed the decisions of food industry regulators to approve TiO2 as a colouring agent. More info

However, a more recent study has concluded that ingested nano TiO2 induced DNA damage and genetic instability in mice. Research info 

They smell good, they are extracted from plants, so pretty much everyone would agree essential oils are natural. How good are they for your skin?

Despite their name, essential oils are not actually oils – they are not composed of lipids like the vegetal or mineral substances we class as oils. They are, in fact, aromatic volatile substances made of chemical compounds responsible for the distinctive fragrance of the plant they originate from.

Essential oils have been used for hundreds of years in aromatherapy. Their effects are largely due to their smell - relaxing, refreshing, uplifting etc, although some physiological effects have been observed. E.g. linalool, one of the main compounds of lavender essential oil has been shown to decrease systolic blood pressure and slightly lower skin temperature, but these effects were too slight to be noticed by the subjects in this research. More info about this research

The use of essential oils in skin care is a matter of heated debate, with essential oil manufacturers and aromatherapists strongly defending them, while a number of skin care experts argue against all fragrance ingredients in skin care products, essential oils included.

There is no universally agreed definition of sensitive skin. The one definition that I came across which does not overlap with problem skin definitions (e.g. rosacea, eczema etc.) is based on the  relative thickness of the outermost skin layer, called the stratum corneum. This is the definition I will use in this post.

Stratum corneum is made of dead skin cells embedded in a mesh of  fatty molecules called the intracellular matrix. Yes, it is odd to think that our entire bodies are covered in dead skin cells (the average adult caries about 2 kg of them) but they’re really important – a barrier between the living tissue underneath and the outside world. Sensitive skin has a thinner stratum corneum than average. To this it owes its beautiful fine texture and supple look. It also means that people with sensitive skin are less able to tolerate cleansers and moisturisers containing harsh chemicals like preservatives and alcohols. Mineral particles in make-up may feel gritty on sensitive skin, as nerve endings are closer to the skin’s surface.

Here are a few tips for looking after sensitive skin:

When “mineral make-up” first appeared on the market, that phrase meant 100%  mineral and water-free foundation, blusher or eye-shadow. Mineral make-up products were innovative in leaving out potentially harmful conventional ingredients like preservatives, mineral oils, chemical dyes and perfumes, thus offering consumers a genuine healthy alternative.

Sadly, as the term “mineral make-up” has become more popular, manufacturers have started to apply it to more conventional products, many of them containing the less-desirable ingredients that mineral make-up originally left out.  These days, simply buying an item labelled “mineral make-up” doesn’t guarantee you will get the kind of new generation product you might expect. The good news is  that there are ways to tell a genuine new generation product from a re-labelled old one. Here’s what to look out for:

You friends may tell you how well they get on with this face cream or the other, but if you have sensitive skin, you may find that most water-based moisturisers you’ve tried are causing more problems that they solve.

Here’s why: in order to create a water based-cream, cosmetic manufacturers have to use two categories of substances that are not exactly skin-friendly: emulsifiers and preservatives. They often add a third type of additive called penetration enhancer  – a solvent that makes the product penetrate the skin faster.

What is rosacea?

A condition affecting blood vessels in the skin.

What are its symptoms?

Depending on the type of rosacea, the symptoms are:

• Redness and flushing on the cheeks, nose, forehead and/or chin. This is called “Erythematotelangiectatic” rosacea  -  it’s a mouthful, but all it means is superficial reddening (erythema) and dilated or congested blood vessels (telangiectasia). The redness is aggravated by food triggers, intense physical activity and sun exposure (basically everything that increases blood flow and makes blood vessels dilate). In advanced cases burning and stinging sensations occur.
• Facial reddening with papules and/or pustules that come and go (called “Papulopustular” rosacea). This type of rosacea looks similar to acne and it is sometimes called acne-rosacea. The difference is that rosacea does not present with whiteheads and blackheads like acne.
• Thickening of the skin, affecting the nose in most cases, and sometimes also the cheeks, forehead, chin, eyelids and ears. This type is called “Phymatous” rosacea (from the Greek work Phyma = tuber, tubercle or swelling), and it is caused by the swelling of sebaceous glands (tiny glands that produce the oil-like substance which protects and lubricates our skin)
• Bloodshot, irritated and watery eyes – this is “Ocular” rosacea, which occurs at the same time as, or sometimes before, rosacea symptoms affecting the skin. The eyes feel gritty, dry and/or itchy, and sensitive to light.

These buzz words have been around for years now, but market research after market research shows many of us are not all that clear about their meaning. So here are some clues for the curious.

“Natural” seems to be the easiest to define, as most people would agree that it applies to a substance taken from nature i.e. not-man-made. We trust natural because the human species had plenty of time to figure out what is safe and what is not in the natural world, what is edible and what is poisonous, what is good for us and what harms us. Not the sort of thing somebody creates in a lab, puts on the market with great advertising fuss and then years later we may find out it has undesirable side effects. Plant extracts and naturally occurring minerals are substances most of use would consider natural.
But what do cosmetic manufacturers mean by “natural”? Well, the answer to that question is a lot less straightforward. “Natural“ being so popular a concept with consumers, cosmetic companies often take liberties with the word. In marketing jargon, natural can mean “natural-derived-processed”, “partly natural” or “almost natural”.

“Free from un-necessary chemicals”  – that is what naturally-minded skin care companies say in support of  their “natural” claims. it’s not a very enlightening statement – “How many synthetic chemicals are there in the product?“ we may rightly ask, but I do like its honesty. These companies are basically telling us “we have tried hard to bring down the amounts of synthetic additives in our products and this is as far as we could go. The artificial additives that are still there are necessary.”

Which brings us to this question: Necessary for what? For the health of our skin? Well, no. Not at all. These additives are used to produce the oil and water emulsions we got used to buying as moisturisers. But they are not all motherhood and apple pie. Far from it.

Ranking skin care ingredients would be a close to impossible task, but if I tried really hard to do it, I reckon sea-buckhorn extract would be within my top five favourites. Not only do I add it liberally to moisturisers, I also keep some pure extract at hand in my kitchen to dab on rough skin patches after those little cooking accidents. And its healing power has not gone unnoticed: “My burn has gone! What was that you put on it earlier on?”