Skin care: Beware of the four major hackers in skin care products

Flawless skin is every woman's lifelong pursuit. Therefore, even if there are mountains of skin care products at home, they are willing to spend a lot of money to continue to buy various skin care products that claim to have new functions. However, recently a certain big-name cosmetics brand that has always been sought after by the public contained banned ingredients; a consumer used a hormone-containing skin care product sold in a beauty salon, which led to dependent hormone dermatitis and other incidents, which shocked women. How to buy skin care products safely?

Hacker 1: Hormones

Some products sold in beauty salons today that are advertised as "therapeutic cosmetics" actually contain hormones. Frequent use of cosmetics containing hormones can lead to "hormone beauty syndrome" and even serious skin reactions. Some cosmetics sold through informal channels that claim to have "anti-allergic effects" or "suitable for sensitive skin" often contain hormones. After using these products, patients with skin allergies experience relief from initial symptoms and their skin becomes delicate, but after a period of time, the allergic symptoms will reoccur. Long-term use of cosmetics containing hormones can cause capillary dilation and atrophy, and even symptoms such as hirsutism and dermatitis. At the same time, external use of hormones may also cause changes in hormone levels in the human body, resulting in symptoms such as endocrine disorders.

"Quick effect" has become the killer feature of many skin care products to attract consumers, but fast-acting skin care products may often contain hormone ingredients. Therefore, if a skin care product shows quick results after a short period of use, you must be wary. Especially products that claim to be able to immediately eliminate the symptoms of allergic dermatitis are very likely to contain hormones. This type of skin care products often have words like "quick whitening", "suitable for sensitive skin", "anti-allergic", etc. People with sensitive skin should use fast-acting skin care products with caution. Because quick results mean high risks. Patients with sensitive skin should use non-therapeutic skin care products. Before purchasing skin care products, be sure to apply a little behind the ear and do a skin sensitivity test to prove that there are no allergic symptoms before making a decision.

"Hack" 2: Whitening ingredients

Whitening products have always been very popular, but it is unrealistic to make spots disappear in a very short period of time. The correct approach is to take effective sun protection measures, choose appropriate and safe whitening ingredients according to the stage of personal pigmentation, and patiently condition the skin. If you use ingredients with dangerous side effects in order to quickly remove spots, you will definitely regret it for the rest of your life. These ingredients include: improper use of hydroquinone can cause cytotoxic reactions, and because it is extremely photophobic, it needs to be used with products with a high sun protection factor, which will burden the skin; the mechanism of action of hydrogen peroxide is like bleach and can also irritate the skin. When going to a beauty salon for full-body whitening treatments, pay special attention to whether the product contains this ingredient; lead and mercury compounds can quickly destroy enzyme activity and inhibit melanin formation, but it will also combine with fatty acids and precipitate, producing mercury spots that can only be removed by laser.

Hack 3: Preservatives

To prevent pollution, skin care products and cosmetics contain preservatives. At present, there are only a few products on the market that do not contain preservatives. Such products have very high requirements for packaging and need to be used quickly, so they are not particularly widely sold. Therefore, preservatives are added to most skin care products and cosmetics. Preservatives are also an unsafe ingredient that can easily cause inflammation such as skin allergies. However, the preservatives used by major brands have undergone long-term, extensive human testing and can be used with confidence. It is difficult to guarantee this for small cosmetics companies.

"Hack" 4: Colors and flavors

Many people like the aromatic smell and attractive color of cosmetics. In fact, pigments and fragrances are also the culprits of skin damage, which may cause health problems such as photosensitivity and contact dermatitis. "Chromium" and "neodymium" are banned elements. If used by patients with weak skin resistance, the skin will experience irritation and burning sensation, or the skin will become sensitive and red, and in severe cases, it will cause dermatitis. Chromium is a skin allergen that can cause allergic dermatitis or eczema, which has a long course and is difficult to heal.

Neodymium is highly irritating to the eyes and mucous membranes, moderately irritating to the skin, and inhalation can cause pulmonary embolism and liver damage.