Interesting facts about cosmetics: the past, present and future of beauty products

How many beauty products are on your dressing table? Definitely not a dozen. And what do we know about makeup, other than that it helps us look better? What price was paid for beauty before, and what "tomorrow" in the beauty industry? In this article, we will look at interesting facts about decorative cosmetics of the past and learn the state of affairs in modern cosmetology, and look into the future: what else beauty brands are ready to offer us.

• Victims of Beauty: Horrifying Historical Facts About Cosmetics
• Our Progressive Age: Has  Makeup Safer
• Chemistry in cosmetics: interesting facts about the future of cosmetology

Beauty Victims: Horrifying Historical Facts About Cosmetics

As soon as women realized the power of their attractiveness, they immediately began to look for opportunities to emphasize beauty. As a result, such familiar products as hair masks, creams, decorative cosmetics appeared. But how how long and and sometimes painful was this path.

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Below are some incredible facts about cosmetics in the ancient world:

• In Egypt already in the third millennium BC we knew how to "make eyes". To do this, women instilled belladonna juice into their eyes: the pupils dilated, the lacrimal glands were blocked, which caused the eyes to shine feverishly. In the Middle Ages, an ointment was made from this plant, which was rubbed into suspected witchcraft. Under the influence of alkaloids, the defendants raved and hallucinated, confessed to all sins.

• In ancient Greece, it was considered aristocratic to have pale skin, so the face was abundantly rubbed with a mixture of chalk and plaster. gives off toxic fumes.

• Perhaps, the ancient Romans went the furthest in the pursuit of beauty. So, for example, they found that ammonia has cleansing properties, and also that ammonia is found in urine. Having added two plus two, they, without thinking twice,

  began to collect evening urine in order to brush their teeth with it in the morning. Also, urine and animal excrement were mixed with oil and fat and used as masks facial.

It would seem that progress should have touched on cosmetology, and                the s s s s s s s s s s would not smear with calf urine. Yes, they refused it. Since we found the best lifting agent — vitriol (sulfuric acid). In combination with lead white, such cosmetics quickly led to poisoning with toxic substances.

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And how is the hair? For example, the fashion for a high forehead forced the ladies to remove the "extra" vegetation with the help of quicklime. After the hair (sometimes along with  skin) dissolved, ash soaked in vinegar, or a mixture of bat blood and hemlock juice (a poisonous plant that causes epileptic seizures and convulsions) was applied to the epilation site.

In addition to the horrors of cosmetology, one should not forget about the requirements for clothing and shoes, which sometimes disfigured the figure (not for the faint of heart: ask what a "lotus leg" is in China). Even the flourishing of chivalry and service to the Beautiful Lady did not soften the requirements for female appearance. How good that we live in an era of progress and development of technology. We we we definitely will put our health on the altar of beauty... Or not?

Read also: Female beauty standards: TOP 12 shocking beauty trends of the past

Our progressive age: has cosmetics become safer

Now the production of cosmetic products is strictly regulated by the rules and norms of both the manufacturer's country and international communities. Before being on the shelves, a product must pass clinical trials to confirm its safety and effectiveness. Some fun facts about cosmetics are associated with these tests, for example, comedogenicity was previously tested on rabbit ears. They smeared it, left it for the night, then looked at it — Did  blackheads appear.

Most countries have already abandoned testing on animals and conducting their studies on cell cultures. Does it guarantee the safety of cosmetics? Alas, but no. And below some sad examples:

• Johnson & Johnson was accused of containing asbestos (a carcinogenic mineral) in their baby powder. The court recognized the legitimacy of the accusations and ordered the company to pay compensation to the victims.

• In the same year, the Japanese company Kanebo withdrew its entire line of skin whitening care products from sale.

  Products caused pigmentation disorder resulting in clear white spots (leucoderma) on skin.

• In 2016, about 100 000 plaintiffs sued L Oreal. One of      —

  hair straightener — caused burns, irritations and rashes on skin. The representative of the company stated that this was caused by improper use, but the concern is ready for out-of-court settlement of the issue.

• The Korean company Amore pacific in 2016 recalled 11 toothpastes containing banned preservatives: Methylisothiazolinone and Methylchloroisothiazolinone. Due to toxicological effects on the  reproductive system and  pulmonary allergic reactions, they should not be used in products that come into contact with mucous membranes.

All this, of course, is a thing of bygone days, but these facts indicate that it is better to understand the compositions and potential danger of the ingredients. Are you sure that, for example, your sunscreen is absolutely safe? Meanwhile, cell culture studies have shown that these filters produce free radicals, are toxic, and microscopic traces of them have been found in breast milk (i.e., they penetrate through the stratum corneum). And everything the manufacturers say is just that the benefits outweigh the potential risks.

Chemistry in  cosmetics: interesting facts about the future of cosmetology

Is it really so sad with cosmetics, is it and will be? Not at all. In fact, millions are invested in research and new developments, and the fact that in the future cosmetics will be multifunctional, useful and effective —    more fact than speculation.

It can already be seen that cosmetics are increasingly divided into conditionally "chemical" and organic. In the future, this division will only intensify, as prohibitions on the use of animal materials force us to look for options to synthesize the necessary component in a test tube. So, for example, everyone's favorite hyaluronic acid used to be made from the combs of roosters, and now it is produced in industrial volumes with the help of bacteria. And that's right, otherwise it's scary to imagine how many roosters would be left on the planet with the current demand for this substance.

Read also: Expired Cosmetics: Don't harm your skin

Organic cosmetics won't disappear, some of it will be produced, but standards will become more stringent. Eco-friendliness is paramount, and only a very small number of companies produce truly natural cosmetics. Why? Here are interesting facts about natural cosmetics and its manufacturing:

• Manufacturers are required to post information about the method of obtaining ingredients, indicate the full composition of cosmetics, provide information about its production and storage.

• 95% of the ingredients must be obtained by physical methods, that is: grown, harvested, processed without auxiliary means (preferably by hand).

• It is forbidden to store such cosmetics in plastic containers.

• The production process must not harm the environment.

Can you name a lot of companies willing to invest in the production of such products? Real organic cosmetics — it is very expensive and in      the future it will only become more expensive. But there is a request for such products in society, which means natural beauty products will be created, albeit not on an industrial scale.

For those who don't care about the prefix "eco" also quite promising products. For example, cellular cosmetics that will start the renewal processes in our skin. Biofermentation apparatuses have already been created, which make it possible to obtain biointegral cells identical to embryonic ones. Such cells are able to start the process of tissue revitalization, making the skin younger not visually, but actually.

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And we will also be able to try products with lamellar emulsion, nanocosmetics are developing with might and main, beauty gadgets are replacing entire beauty salons. Biocellulose masks, growth factors, cellular rejuvenation technologies, artificial skin... It seems that in the future we'll all look the way we want, and not the way age dictates. And  perhaps the cosmetic products familiar to us today will cause the same horror as lead white and mercury blush.

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