Cosmetics and Acne

There is a great delusion spread by commercials and mass media that if you use cosmetics your skin is protected from anything that could happen to it. But this statement is far away from the truth.

One thing is for sure – cosmetics contain chemical compounds that are not always harmless to our skin. On the contrary, some of them cause allergies and are directly related to acne. Actually acne caused by cosmetics which is therefore called acne cosmetica is a wide spread mild form of acne.

 It is not connected to processes taking place inside our bodies like other acne types but is caused by topical outside sources and this is the reason why even people who are not susceptible to acne sometimes suffer from it.

The good thing about this one is that when the irritation from the outside chemical substances stops, the acne cosmetics disappears without any additional treatment.

And the question here is how to recognize acne cosmetica? It is small, rashly, pink bumps or tiny whiteheads clustering on the cheek, chin and forehead and develops over a period of a few weeks or months and may persistently stay on your face for a long time.

It can be stopped by ending the use of the particular cosmetic which causes it. And you should remember that although make-up may not cause true acne it is one of the factors that can worsen the existing acne condition.

Some of the natural skin and hair care products can induce comedones which is a basic form of acne. This acne inducing ability is called "acnegenicity" and refers to both comedogenicity and papule and pustules formation.

Comedogenicity includes causing both types of comedones - whiteheads and blackheads. What is different between the other kinds of acne and acne cosmetics is that with the latter papules and pustules which are pus filled pimples appear first and comedones appear later.

Although most cosmetics are guaranteed to have been tasted for acnegenicity and being noncomedogenic but people suffering from acne should be on the alert even when they are using these cosmetics.

The reason for this is that when you are not sure which is the specific effect of cosmetics that damages your skin in particular, you can’t risk using it. Results may be disastrous.

It might be the presence of excess oil or chemicals like Stearic acid and Myristate replicating natural sebum in the cosmetics. Or sometimes in their efforts to produce”oil free” products companies use oil substitutes which are synthetic and much more harmful than the excess sebum.

On the other hand, not all the oils are harmful for acne condition. There are the so called non-penetrating oils such as mineral oil and sunflower oil which do not penetrate the skin and don’t cause comedones.

You have to be careful with substances like Lanolin, which is found in various lotions and sunscreens , Isopropyl Myristate, which is used in many foundations, D & C dyes and blushers because all of them are known to worsen the acne condition due to their comedogenous nature.

Unfortunately, people are not aware of this "action and reaction" relation between acne and cosmetics, they get no benefits and end up worsening their infection (may even get scars) by using more cosmetics to hide acne.