Allergy to cosmetics: who is to blame and how to determine it?

Perhaps, there is no woman who at least once in her life has not bought some kind of cosmetic product, from which her eyes began to itch, a rash appeared on her skin, or even her face was swollen. And now, a beautiful jar of cream or a tube of mascara is gathering dust on the far shelf, and a woman is sadly thinking – either the cream was found to be of poor quality, or its manufacturer was smart with the components, or maybe you should completely abandon cosmetics, since you are allergic to it.

Let's try to figure out whether cosmetic products that cause such an unpleasant reaction of the body are really of poor quality? And what can actually cause allergies when using cosmetics? & nbsp; We talked about this with Tiina Orasmäe-Meder.

So, what is the myth about cosmetic allergies?

T.O. Now is the time to talk about my allergy to cosmetics.

if I'm allergic to cream – the cream is definitely bad;
if I am allergic to any cosmetic product – I need to get my money back;
I don't need a doctor to say – I'm allergic to cosmetics!

Let's start with simple examples. Many Americans are allergic to peanuts. So many in fact that American food manufacturers are required to indicate on the packaging whether there is at least a trace of peanuts in the product. Why? Peanut – bad nut? No, it's just that many Americans have such a feature of the body - the substances contained in peanuts cause them to develop a specific reaction. It can manifest itself, for example, by rapid swelling of the mucous membranes – it becomes difficult for them to breathe.

T.O. There may be swelling of the soft tissues of the face – the face will swell as if the person had been bitten by bees. Difficulty breathing may occur – due to bronchospasm. But all this does not make peanuts a bad, low-quality or unhealthy product – it contains a sea of useful substances.

Everything that you now know about peanuts can be safely transferred to your relationship with cosmetics. In fact, an allergy can occur in any individual person to any ingredient that is in a cosmetic product. There are ingredients that more people are allergic to. As this becomes known, they are used less. There are those that are very rarely allergic. By the way, an example of such substances – demonized parabens.

It is important to remember: Allergy to cosmetics and how to deal with it

T.O. That is, for every new cosmetic product, even the best, high-quality and proven one, you may experience an allergic reaction. It can appear immediately – within a few hours, and may develop within a couple of weeks (at least a week). Everything that appeared later than a day after the last application of the remedy, and earlier than a week later, is most likely not an allergic reaction to this particular remedy.

Your allergy – your personal idiosyncrasy. It says nothing about the quality of the drug to which the allergy has arisen, just as an allergy to a food product says nothing about the quality of the food product. If you are allergic to black caviar, this does not make caviar bad and dangerous.

Do you have to get a refund for cosmetics to which you are allergic

T.O. To be honest, I myself am allergic to Armani's wonderful Maestro Foundation. It's a shame because it's beautiful and not cheap. I am also allergic to every mascara I have tried in my life except Kanebo Sensai 38°. This is unpleasant, because it usually turns out ten days after the purchase – I have a delayed allergy to mascara, but it develops immediately to Maestro.

It never occurred to me to go back to where I bought cosmetics and demand money back, because I am a doctor and I understand that in this case the manufacturer is not to blame for anything – this is my feature. I don't know if it's customary to go to the store and ask for money back, for example, for a chocolate bar if you're allergic to it, but I suspect it's not.

T.O. In addition, by law, purchased cosmetics cannot be returned or exchanged. No one has the right to take cosmetics from you and return your money. Yes, in some countries the seller returns the money to the dissatisfied customer – just to avoid dissatisfaction and worsening reputation. But in general it's not too legal and it's not called "return" – it's more of a compensation. That is, of course, you can make a claim.

Interesting: Do hypoallergenic cosmetics really do not cause allergies and how to deal with it

You can threaten to tell everyone what bad cosmetics you were sold. You will even get your money back – it is quite easy for a large manufacturer to do this, the level of profit allows him to write off losses without problems. But the money will be returned to you not because you are entitled to compensation, but solely as a gesture of goodwill.

Can you self-diagnose your allergy?

T.O. Forced to upset you – no. You can assume that the skin problems that have arisen are of an allergic nature. But to be sure of this, an examination by a doctor is necessary, who will make a diagnosis.

I worked for several years as a doctor-expert in a laboratory preparing dossiers for a cosmetics safety committee. The essence of the work is that the doctor-expert contacts the person who has problems and tries to find out what happened.

T.O. Since I was dealing with Russian-speaking clients, I had to regularly explain to the head dermatologist of the laboratory that the next victim did not have a certificate from a therapist, there was no certificate from a dermatologist, he did not go anywhere, there are no photos, and if there is – in the photographs it is impossible to identify a person and it is impossible to identify the date and time. I must say that in most cases it turned out that the situation is somewhat more complicated than the victim himself sees it. For example, I remember the analysis of the case of "mascara allergy".

After applying mascara, the woman experienced severe swelling of the eyelid, redness, peeling, etc. In the process, it turned out that before making up her eyes, the woman curled her eyelashes with a new metal device. She had nickel dermatitis, the new device was made of a nickel-containing alloy. The ink was useless. A dermatologist (a competent dermatologist) would have told her this as soon as he saw the rivets sealed with a plaster on jeans.

Remember: Types of allergic reactions. Causes and methods for their detection

Т.О. When using new cosmetics, not only allergic reactions to a new product are possible, but also cross-reactions as a result of a "collision" on the skin of two or more products of different brands at the same time. Matches are possible. Drug and food allergies are possible. Therefore, your impression and even one photo with a mobile phone is not enough to make a diagnosis.

The manufacturer is required to report every reliable case of an allergic reaction. For registration, a medical document is required, in which the diagnosis of allergy to a particular cosmetic product is confirmed by a doctor. So, if you have an allergy to cosmetics and you plan to inform the manufacturer about it (I only approve of this) – first go to a dermatologist or therapist and get help. This is important.

I once saw a patient who was severely allergic to her husband's hair and dandruff. He, the poor fellow, shaved his head and treated his scalp several times a day. Here is the real problem. Allergic reaction to food or cosmetics – part of life, and this part should not be dramatized.