What Are The Best Sunscreens For Oily Skin?

HL, no worries about the double comment. I deleted it. I take it, though, you’re ok with posting our email conversation here? If not, let me know, and I’ll remove it.

H, thank you for the links. I think it’s great you’re doing your own research, but I don’t think most of those links are reliable. You accuse me of only looking at sources “promoted” by the pharmaceutical industry, but you’re paying too much attention to scaremongers like the spokespeople for the Campaign For Safe Cosmetics. Even when the writers of those articles use reputable sources, they’re quoted in a way that supports their view that cosmetics are bad. Let’s take the Cinco Vidas blog. They write:

“Chemicals can be absorbed through skin and into the blood stream, causing toxic effects,” says the Extension Toxicology Network (EXTOXNET). The Chemical Hazards Handbook from the London Hazards Centre Trust has similar information: “Although the skin acts as a protective barrier against many micro-organisms and chemicals, some chemicals can penetrate the skin and enter the blood stream.”

They say that “some chemicals penetrate”. But they don’t say which ones. They could be talking abouit vitamin C, not arsenic. And they don’t mention quantity. Had they been asked, “do the chemicals in cosmetics penetrate skin enough to enter the blood stream and cause health problems?”, they may have given a very different answer.

They continute:

Researcher Linda Chaé, writing for thehealthytruth.net, agrees, citing the danger to unborn children: “Recent studies by dermatologists at the University of California and a multiple university cooperative team confirm that skin absorption is the major route of entry [for chemicals from skin or hair products getting into the womb].” Of course chemicals from skincare products enter the body through topical absorption. We don’t eat or breathe creams! But, again, this doesn’t mean that all chemicals in our creams penetrate the body, or that those that do are harmful!

But, written in this way and in this particular context, both quotes make the situation look a lot worse than it is!

About the FDA,

“The FD&C Act prohibits the marketing of adulterated or misbranded cosmetics in interstate commerce.
“Adulteration” refers to violations involving product composition–whether they result from ingredients, contaminants, processing, packaging, or shipping and handling. Under the FD&C Act, a cosmetic is adulterated if–

“it bears or contains any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render it injurious to users under the conditions of use prescribed in the labeling thereof, or under conditions of use as are customary and usual” (with an exception made for coal-tar hair dyes);”
So no, companies can’t put arsenic in your cosmetics. I’m pretty sure that’s a poisonous and deleterious substance and so forbidden by this act.

“Under the law, cosmetic products and ingredients do not need FDA premarket approval, with the exception of color additives. However, FDA can pursue enforcement action against products on the market that are not in compliance with the law, or against firms or individuals who violate the law.” And, ” FDA is not authorized to order recalls of cosmetics, but we do monitor companies that conduct a product recall and may request a product recall if the firm is not willing to remove dangerous products from the market without FDA’s written request.” So, the FDA is not as powerless as it is seems.

All this is true for COSMETICS only, not drugs. If something can penetrate the skin deep enough to cause mutations or alterations, it’s classified as a drug, and those need to undergo rigorous testing before they can be sold. It’s true that companies try to bypass this law by labelling drugs as cosmetics, and I agree they should be punished in a harsher way when they do.

But, if companies were required to do all these tests for cosmetics as well, they’d have to spend a fortune. Giants like L’Oreal will be able to comply, but those small natural companies you love so much would disappear overnight. They don’t have the budgets to comply with all these extra tests and regulations you and the Campaign For Safe Cosmetics are so keen to implement. That means 1) less choice and options for the consumers 2) a rise in unemployment. And for what? These products are already safe! You know what’s not regulated? Food and supplements. We actually ingest those in large amounts, and, if they contain toxins, they’d kill us much faster than any cosmetics can do (even taking their accumulation into account!).

As for formaldehyde, its amount is strictly regulated. Not more than 0.2%. In that amount, they don’t cause problems. Only Brazilian blowouts contain a lot of it, and I agree those should be banned. But they aren’t not even in London. I’ve seen lots of salons offering them, but I stay well away.

No, I don’t think governments tells us the truth all the time. And I agree that most companies put $$ before anything else. BUT I don’t believe they are trying to kill us. It simply does not make sense. Let’s say company A puts a poisonous substance in cosmetics. The people who use them will start getting sick and maybe even die. That means a lawsuit and lots of bad publicity for company A. People would stop buying their products. It’ll lead to a huge financial loss and maybe even closure. Why risk that when there are lots of safe ingredients they can put in cosmetic instead?

If so many more people are getting cancer is becauise we are living longer. In the past, you were lucky if you reached 50. So many accidents and other diseases killed you before you had the time to develop cancer. Also, the air, soil, and waters are very polluted. Then there’s crime. In Italy, where I come from, criminal organizations have infiltrated the waste disposal business. They bury toxins underground near towns and villages and the people living there get sick. It has nothing to do with cosmetics. If anything, they’re the only thing that has become safer during the years. In the past, they contained high concentrations of lead and mercury on purpose. Now, that’s not the case anymore.

Remember, it is the dose that makes the poison. And those you eat are much more dangerous than those you put on your skin.

Having said that, I applaud you for comparatively shopping. And if you want to use natural products, go ahead. So many natural brands are stepping up their game and creating products that can compete with traditional alternatives. I just hope unnecessary and expensive regulations won’t put them all out of business soon.

What Are The Best Sunscreens For Oily Skin? syndicated from Beautiful With Brains
December 21, 2019 at 05:42AM