February 11, 2022 - EyeClarity Blog
“Beauty is something you feel inside, and it reflects in your eyes. It is not something physical.” Perhaps that’s easy to say when you’re the stunning Sophia Loren, who coined the phrase. And her point is a timeless one. But what happens when cosmetics and beauty products literally migrate into the eyes, which they routinely do? A litany of ocular issues occurs, to varying degrees of damage or discomfort. Pain puts a damper on health and beauty.
At First Blush
Did you know that the harsh chemicals in perfumes and make-up negatively affect: our eye health (often overall wellness), the environment, and the living creatures used in tortuous laboratory research?
It’s always important to pay attention to any visible changes to the eyes, which may result directly from chemicals used. Facial products and cosmetics love to blend with the humidity in the air, the moisture and oil on the face, which cause those chemicals to morph, migrate can cause irritation of your eyes.
I suspect there are a range of effects from chronic dry eyes to styes. Many patients have legitimate concerns including chalazions, eyelid irritation and redness, and chronic inflammation around the eyes. We’ll look at some of these ailments in more detail; but first, an overview of the subject is in order.
History
Wearing makeup, by men and women, dates to about 6,000 years ago in Egypt. Then came the earliest Jewish, Christian, and Romans’ generalized negative response to makeup — and the women who wore it — for being shameless or immoral. Eastern wisdom also dictates that, no matter what challenges life presents, to never lose your inner beauty. All too often, society represses girls and women from feeling freer to go without makeup. Is makeup a necessary tool for the power of attraction? That’s one question. But most cosmetics are proven to cause a rash of eye ailments that range from dry eyes to styes. Now that’s a horse of a different color.
The health-products industry really took hold in the 60s and 70s. People who lived a naturopathic lifestyle, eating “health-food” as it was called – with little much more available than wheat germ and carrot juice – were largely misunderstood. Vegetarian menu options were nonexistent. Suddenly, as the largest group of Americans – the Boomers – began to age, the explosive growth of healthier foods and health care products really took off.
Cause and Effect
Though serious eye irritation and other maladies come with the use of mainstream cosmetics and beauty supplies, millions of women continue to remain almost hostage to the pressures of wearing makeup. Misleading, airbrushed, and often misogynistic ads flood multi-media outlets. At the root of hair coloring and other products that bring harsh chemicals on and near the face and eyes, is a multi-billion-dollar industry. According to the 13-year-old factoids database leader, Statista.com, “The revenue of the U.S. cosmetic industry is estimated to amount to about 49.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2019. Since the early twentieth century, the production of cosmetics has been controlled by a handful of (multinational) corporations.” Something to ponder while powdering your nose.
Self Magazine focuses on eye makeup as a culprit for contact dermatitis in the article linked HERE.
Warning: the following link contains graphic photos of what happened to this consumer who neglected to follow a makeup cleansing regimen, in this Cosmopolitan Magazine article, found HERE.
Cruelty-Free vs. Conventional
It’s easy to look away when you’re exposed to the horrors inflicted on living creatures – all for the purpose of determining whether certain toxins in shampoo, mascara, and other beauty products cause pain when applied directly to the eyes of laboratory rabbits and other animals. Oddly, their apparent agony does nothing to prevent countless chemicals from making their way onto the market anyway. HERE is a deeper view of the subject.
In hair dye alone, animals endure the testing of the effects of ammonia, lead acetate, arylamines, 4 APB, resorcinol, and phenylenediamine – to name a few – but who will respond to their painful screams? Consumers have the power of choice to not look away but to use this information to flex your buying power based on educated decisions.
The Environment
Chemicals making their way into the water system often go undetected in minuscule but cumulatively toxic amounts. Chemicals in the parts per trillion or parts per billion easily make their way past filtration systems and directly into drinking water.
The feel-good outcomes of choosing and using chem-free products, reach far beyond those for consumers. They overwhelmingly help protect the environment.
“You also have to think about the end of life of the product,” said Kristine Keheley, cofounder of Vapour Beauty.”When you wash something off your skin, what does it do to the water supply in your community?” This woman-owned corporation touts “skin-honoring, clean color. Activated by untamed botanicals. Energized by the mystic spirit of Taos.”
An article worth looking at is linked HERE; it reveals the personal care products (PCPs) swirling around in the environment. Honey — you’re drinking my medicine cabinet!
One to watch is Carrot & Stick, a local New Mexico business with an emphasis on “plant-powered beauty.” Laurel Skin Care describes their products as “100% whole plant organic.”
Similar companies are becoming so popular that they are becoming the mainstream.
Some of my patients express interest in making their own custom beauty products. This approach is getting traction because people then know exactly what they are putting on their skin. One example, Earth Clinic, is linked here.
Consumers’ demands are resulting in an onslaught of local, farm-raised and organic products directly from farmer’s market vendors (or the local business that offer their products.) This trend is gaining popularity because people like to talk directly to the producer about what is in the products and how they are produced.
What’s That on Your Eye?
Why, is it really a stye? The American Optometric Association (AOA) points out that a “A chalazion often starts out as a very small, red, tender, swollen area of the eyelid and is generally not an infection. In a few days, it may change to a painless, slow growing lump the size of a pea and can often be confused with a stye (or hordeolum), which is an infection of an oil gland in the eyelid.”
Whereas, ” a stye produces a red, swollen, painful lump on the edge or the inside of the eyelid and usually occurs closer to the surface of the eyelid than chalazion. If left untreated, a stye can result in the formation of a chalazion. Do not attempt to squeeze or drain the chalazion (or stye) as it may require treatment for proper healing.”
The AOA suggests: The best way to prevent a chalazion is with good hygiene.
- Wash hands before touching around eyes or removing contact lenses.
- Wash face at bedtime to remove dirt and makeup.
- Remove eye makeup before going to bed and replace mascara, eyeliner and eye shadow every 3 months.
- The doctor may recommend gentle eyelid scrubs to prevent chalazions from recurring.
But these recommendations omit the wellness practice of replacing conventional makeup altogether with natural cosmetic products. The Mayo Clinic suggests that one ailment commonly caused by skin irritants is “contact dermatitis.” When skin is agitated, this occurs. Again, before self-diagnosing any negative eye or skin event, see a professional in the field – ideally one with a holistic focus.
Exquisite detail on every ingredient in any cosmetic you might use is shown here in terms of their precise likelihood to cause cancer, reproductive illness, allergies, or other serious conditions, thanks to the detailed work of the research and education data by EWG.Org. (HERE is one example.)
The “Natural” Argument
What’s natural and what’s not? No single answer is correct at the moment: the FDA has not defined the term “natural” and has not established a regulatory definition for the term in cosmetic labeling. FMI, click HERE. On the same token, the FDA also does not have regulations for the term “organic” for cosmetics. So what’s happened is a market that’s become super-saturated with products from companies making claims of “natural” and “organic” products which are in fact far from being truly natural. Whether or not synthetics are present, finding cosmetics, perfumes, skin and hair enhancers, or even many clothing fabrics — which are in fact 100% natural — is like finding a needle in a haystack.
But, you can find the list of FDA’s suggested precautions at the close of this article.
Solutions
* Entrepreneurs like THESE are working to bring plant-based ingredients to the vanity table.
* Nonprofit groups like PETA promote vegan, cruelty-free hair dyes, for one.
* One New Mexico company that’s really making a difference in the plant-based industry is featured HERE.
* On the national level, the FTC has started cracking down on false “all-natural” claims. Link HERE for the run-down (and some interesting consumers’ replies).
* Internationally, ECO-Cert is a leading inspection body. To gain certification is a lengthy and laborious though worthy process, required for individual ingredients as well as the final product and even packaging. The focus is on renewable, plant-based ingredients. Specialists then conduct an on-site audit before granting the certification. The recipient must sign an agreement with ECO-Cert promising compliance with their requirements. More audits happen over the next 3 years, and then it’s up for renewal. Based in France, ECO-Cert info is linked HERE.
FDA Report: What precautions should you take when using eye cosmetics?
If you use eye cosmetics, FDA urges you to follow these safety tips:
- If any eye cosmetic causes irritation, stop using it immediately. If irritation persists, see a doctor.
- Avoid using eye cosmetics if you have an eye infection or the skin around the eye is inflamed. Wait until the area is healed. Discard any eye cosmetics you were using when you got the infection.
- Be aware that there are bacteria on your hands that, if placed in the eye, could cause infections. Wash your hands before applying eye cosmetics.
- Make sure that any instrument you place in the eye area is clean.
- Don’t share your cosmetics. Another person’s bacteria may be hazardous to you.
- Don’t allow cosmetics to become covered with dust or contaminated with dirt or soil. Keep containers clean.
- Don’t use old containers of eye cosmetics. Discard mascara three months after purchase.
- Discard dried-up mascara. Don’t add saliva or water to moisten it. The bacteria from your mouth may grow in the mascara and cause infection. Adding water may introduce bacteria and will dilute the preservative that is intended to protect against microbial growth.
- Don’t store cosmetics at temperatures above 85 degrees F. Cosmetics held for long periods in hot cars, for example, are more susceptible to deterioration of the preservative.
- When applying or removing eye cosmetics, be careful not to scratch the eyeball or other sensitive area. Never apply or remove eye cosmetics in a moving vehicle.
- Don’t use any cosmetics near your eyes unless they are intended specifically for that use. For instance, don’t use a lip liner as an eyeliner. You may be exposing your eyes to contamination from your mouth, or to color additives that are not approved for use in the area of the eye.
- Avoid color additives that are not approved for use in the area of the eye, such as “permanent” eyelash tints and kohl. Be especially careful to keep kohl away from children, since reports have linked it to lead poisoning.
OR, if this list and the ramifications for not following it seem daunting, maybe it’s time to try on the truest natural cosmetic of all, a smile that will light up your eyes, from the inside out.
Holistic skin care schools and training can be found HERE. Practitioners take 300- or 600-hour courses in providing healthy, radiant skin to clients. Holistic experts and naturopaths practicing in the field of healthy beauty abound. Instagram searches, like this one, bring up more than can be named in this article.
Fame and Glamour
The great, beloved beauty, Betty White once said that “aging isn’t for sissies!” Yet she maintained a great inner beauty and wholesome-ness that lasted right up to her recent passing, just 17 days before her 100th birthday. She had a point: whereas aging gracefully is the key to contentment and peace, it’s a heck of a lot of work. Folks become more “high maintenance” with age. So using natural, simple and healthful beauty products should be part of the process.
Another example is Anne Lennox’ (formerly of the Eurythmics), decision to go “bare” (faced) for her Bare album which came out nearly 20 years ago. In a shocking and then-revolutionary statement, she quite “uglified” herself with white powder, stark lighting, and barely any makeup. She wrote about her reasons on the album cover. The NY Times, Washington Post, everyone sat up and took notice. In an interview found on ABC news, she sums it up:
(Then), “At 48, Lennox is drawn to the conflict between women and true beauty — in a struggle against what sells. That’s apparent in the artist’s sounds and images: she takes risks other commercial artists wouldn’t dare.
“I think, in a way, it is the antithesis of glamour,” Lennox told Primetime’s Chris Cuomo as she previewed her photo exhibit in New York.
The exhibit features 30 self-portraits. Lennox says she became so fed up with celebrity that she swore she’d never do another photo shoot, so she started taking photographs of herself.
“I’ve been very interested in aesthetic beauty, and most women are,” she says.
“Even young girls — children — we are encouraged to look pretty. So I thought, ‘Do I try to compete with this youth market culture that I’m in, or do I go the opposite way and show my fragilities, expose the fact that my skin is getting older?'” ‘I Write What I Write’
The photos project an almost unthinkable degree of honesty for a woman who has sold millions of albums. But perhaps that’s why so many women are drawn to her music and identify with her struggles.
“I write what I write,” she says. “If I wanted to be a professional songwriter, I’d be writing for Celine Dion, wouldn’t I?”
Still, she’s not so comfortable being thought of as a feminist hero.
“I’ll read something that says women identify strongly with me and I go, ‘Oh, maybe they do, OK,” she says.
“I just feel that the odds are stacked against us. And that we need to empower ourselves. But in doing so, we threaten men. And there’s a bit of difficulty there. Venus and Mars. Tricky.” A Red Flame of Hair Captures the MTV GenerationFrom the moment she burst on the music scene as a major recording artist in the 1980s, Lennox aspired to more than just making music. She wanted to make waves. . .
“And it certainly did make people react. It made people discuss.”
You Tattooed Your What?!
Permanent eye make-up and eyebrow tattoos, for example, are also gaining widespread popularity, mainly with middle-aged and older women. The eye problems that these facial alterations cause run the gamut. This peer-reviewed scholarly article on the severe, unexpected, adverse effects after permanent eye makeup . . . confirms that “Permanent makeup is a cosmetic tattoo that is used to enhance one’s appearance.” And that “cosmetic tattoos bear the same risks as other tattoo procedures.” The authors report on adverse effects including scarring, fading, fanning, inflammatory reactions, allergic contact dermatitis, phototoxicity, hypomelanosis, infections, unintended hyperpigmentation and dermatochalasis.
Full Circle
Again, so many women are motivated by misleading ads in the media that they don’t realize that the vast majority of men really don’t care about the difference in your lashes before and after you glued them on, or how thick your artificial eyebrows are. In fact, most men prefer the look of natural beauty over that of excessive, artificial and toxic applications. Just like they did thousands of years ago, across the ages, across the globe.
Research on young girls wearing make-up and using hair products and how it affects their reproductive health
(I don’t feel comfortable writing about this topic. It completely changes the spirit of the article.)
At the beginning of article when you discuss Skin Deep can you say more of what Skin Deep does?
(This is just the name for this article that I suggested, and the angle that I took to hook the readers’ attention.)