Cosmetics free from alcohol are a common preference for customers since most of them believe that the alcoholic ingredient ethyl alcohol (also known as ethanol, or grain alcohol) is responsible for drying out hair and skin. For quite a few decades, cosmetic makers have been extensively marketing such products that are made without ethyl alcohol, labeling them as “alcohol-free”. However, such claims do not have any scientific basis because these products can well contain other alcoholic compounds including lanolin alcohol, cetyl, stearyl, or cetearyl. Unfortunately, these are also alcohol (known as fatty alcohol) and can affect the consumer’s skin in a different manner from that of ethyl alcohol. Hence, technically speaking, such products are not ‘alcohol-free’.
Interestingly again, there are many cosmetic companies that claim their products to be ‘Vegan’, ‘Cruelty Free’ and/or ‘Not Tested on Animals’. However, in many cases, such advertising and labeling claims on cosmetic products (whether acceptable or not) apply solely to the finished products, and might not hold good for the ingredients used, or for the making process, since these companies often need to rely on the suppliers or contract laboratories and can give no assurance whether any kind of animal testing have been performed therein.
At times, both manufacturers and consumers face different questions in their minds about the term ‘cosmeceutical’, its definition, acceptability/unacceptability, etc. In fact, such a term is enough to make situations misleading and confusing since a product can be a drug, a cosmetic or even both, and the term “cosmeceutical” refers to such group of products that possess the property for both. But yes, the term has no meaning legally, and has not been defined by the FDA, nor it has any substantiation or specific guidelines, nor did the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) recognize the term or officially approved it. It’s only the cosmetic industry that uses the word cosmeceutical to refer to products that have cosmetic, as well as, drug with medical or medicinal benefits.
Cosmetic products that are claimed to be Hypoallergenic are products that are meant to give you no or fewer allergic reactions compared to other cosmetics. This means, a consumer whose skin is hypersensitive, or even normal, are often influenced to believe that such non-allergic products leave a mild effect on the skin than the rest of the cosmetic products that are non-hypoallergenic.
There are several fragrant products available in the market, viz. “essential oils” that are often marketed with the claims of “aromatherapy”. They even claim that such products are effective in the treatment of health issues, including damages and injuries, as also improve general health. This, naturally, makes people believe that since ‘essential oils’ are extracted from plants and flowers, it must be safe for use.
However, the fact lies somewhere else. Not all plants are supposed to be safe since several plant species do contain toxic materials that, when applied to the skin, can be irritating, or result in allergic reactions, or even situations worse than that.
As for instance, cumin oil can safely be used in food items, however, if applied to the skin, might give you blisters. There are also some types of citrus oils that can well be used in food, but can prove to be harmful when used in cosmetics, especially to parts of skin that remain exposed to the sun.
As we discussed in our other articles, the Food and Drug Administration did not have its own legal definition of the terms “natural” or “organic”, nor have they set any specific regulations for using such ingredients in cosmetics. In general, the cosmetic companies are required to abide by the same safety requirement, irrespective of their source. However, in order to promote more awareness, FDA has published its ‘Poisonous Plant Database’.
The safety of a cosmetic product is not determined by the source of its ingredients. For instance, as discussed earlier, there are several species of plants, even if grown organically, might contain chemical compounds that can well be allergenic, poisonous or toxic. As stated by the United States Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), all kinds of cosmetic ingredients and finished products are subject to the same safety requirement in general. The act states: “They must be safe for consumers under labeled or customary conditions of use (FD&C Act, section 601(a). Companies and individuals who market cosmetics have a legal responsibility to ensure that their products and ingredients are safe for the intended use.”
