They say that our eyes are doors to our soul. Women's beauty is incomplete without beautiful eyes. Eye Cosmeticsplay an important role in our daily grooming and dressing up.
In today's blog I am going to talk about the various ingredients are used in the formulation of eye cosmetics. While most of them may be non-allergic for our skin, there are still some ingredients which can cause possible damage to the eyes.
Our eyes while using cosmetic products can come in contact with harmful ingredients According to a study approximately 12% of cosmetic reactions occur on the eyelid, mainly due to the eye shadow.. Mascara is the most commonly used eye cosmetic. The scariest adverse effect of mascaras is the infection, particularly due to Pseudomonas aeruginosawhich causes corneal infections.
Kajal and surma are made up of carbon compounds, but surma also contains lead and mercury which causes serious health problems.
Most commercially produced formulations likekajal contain high levels of heavy metals like lead. Studies have revealed that kajal comprises of, lead oxide (Pb3O4), amorphous carbon, magnetite (Fe3O4), and zinc oxide (ZnO).
While the rules of mentioning the ingredients in a product on the label are rather strict in the Western countries but in India, they are a little relaxed.
Cosmetics are regulated under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 and Rules 1945 which state that there is no need to mention allthe ingredients label on cosmetic packs of less than 60 ml for liquids and 30g for solids and semisolids. This poses a problem for eye cosmetics as they generally come in smaller packs.
There are several properties that one should look at in a eyepencil / liner/ kajal
It should be Rich in natural oils
Should not have lead, nickel and mercury
Should not have synthetic waxes
Should not have zinc oxide and amorphous carbon
I will conclude by saying read the label carefully, don't go with cheap and fake products. A color cosmetic has to contain color and pigment so there is no thing like natural color cosmetics. Though the base of formulation can be natural or organic . One must carefully read the pigments added confirm with US FDA standard and are safe to be applied on human skin.
