The "Other" Labels

Reading labels can be time consuming, confusing, frustrating, bewildering, boring and energy draining. So, like most people, we don't like to read them, or don't want to read them at all. Some people want to know what's in the product, others don't care because they were "told" that it works and have the "out of sight, out of mind" attitude, and still others avoid them like a plague, most likely because the list can be lengthy, very confusing, and looking up those long chemical terms can be a waste of time.

Polyperfluoromethylisopropyl ether. This PFAS has been used in cosmetics for decades and even banned around the world, but we still find it in products today. Perfluorodecalin is also still used in cosmetics which is a fluorocarbon that is a derivative of decalin with all hydrogen atoms replaced by fluorine atoms (claiming it enhances oxygen delivery to the skin). Wait. WHAT? Aren't fluorocarbons toxic and dangerous to humans? Yet another one for the "word salad" is behentrimonium methosulfate, is used in hair and skin products to help emulsify oils and water-based ingredients in the formulas, and, it is derived from rapeseed oil (canola oil), natural vs industrially made which is toxic, which they failed to mention. So all these ingredients listed on many labels make one feel they are back in chemistry class again. It may have been confusing then, and it certainly can be confusing now. At NuVisage, we try to keep labels simple, easy to understand, and in most part pronounceable.

There is plenty of controversy about "safe" synthetics and are low on the toxicity ratings, but try to find long-term studies done on these synthetics, on human skin tissue, and they are difficult to find or don't exist at all. It's also how the synthetic ingredient was developed and processed. How did they achieve the final product? Many haven't shown significant benefits to the skin and the processing may include harmful ingredients that could irritate, damage or be absorbed into the bloodstream. One such ingredient still being used is monochloroacetic acid which is produced by the chlorination (chlorine) of acetic acid (vinegar), which is a toxic substance and can cause severe skin burns, eye damage, and respiratory irritation. It is also harmful to aquatic life. It is most commonly used for industrial development of herbicides, plastics, pharmaceuticals, flavors, cosmetics and other organic chemicals. It's a very strong acid. Chemical peel, anyone?

One serum's label (below) shows that they use tranexamic acid, which is an antifibrinolytic used to prevent hemorrhagic episodes, especially in the context of hyperfibrinolytic disorders. Tranexamic acid is a synthetic derivative of lysine used as an antifibrinolytic in the treatment and prevention of major bleeding.

The following examples of labels are from various products available to consumers, many of them are very popular and others are from high end designers, as observed by one of the last labels showing a 15 ml bottle of eye cream for $290.00 (15 ml is 0.5 oz.).

It can be quite overwhelming trying to read through some of the labels and understand the list of ingredients.