Allergy | Causes, diagnosis, treatment

Have you ever thought that cosmetics can be dangerous, as they hide a potential for developing allergic reactions?
According to The American Academy of Dermatology, Americans use at least seven various cosmetics or cosmetic products every day. Can you imagine starting a day without using an antiperspirant, or toothpaste, shower gel or perfume?

All kind of cosmetic products like soaps, shampoos, perfumes and colognes, deodorants, moisturizers, face creams, hand or nail creams and other cosmetics are considered a necessity today, being a symbol of civilization.

Cosmetics are also part of our lives, as many females use mascaras, lipstick, powder blush or eyelid colors for enhancing their beauty. In order to make the cosmetic and beauty products last longer, producers use preservatives. Fragrances are also used, with the purpose of triggering the purchase.

Fragrances and preservatives in cosmetics are potential allergens, as they may trigger occasional allergic reactions from sensitive persons, or from persons who used them for a long period of time. Cosmetic allergies are not so common, but some studies have shown that about 10% of the USA people is expected to develop a type of cosmetic allergy sooner or later.

Due to the heavier usage habits of cosmetic products, women are more prone to experience cosmetics allergy than men.

Cosmetic allergy symptoms

The symptoms of cosmetic allergy are mainly happening at the skin level. Allergic contact dermatitis and irritant contact dermatitis are the two major ailments which could trigger an alarm signal and send you to have an allergy testing done.

Usually, cosmetics dermatitis shows its symptoms in seconds or minutes after putting the skin in contact with the allergen in the cosmetic product used. In this way, you’ll be able to notice immediately which particular cosmetic product is giving you pains, so you can replace or eliminate it from your daily hygiene.

Cosmetic allergies start with inflammation of the skin which has been exposed to the allergenic substances. Then redness and swelling will occur, and sometimes the subject may experience a persistent itching.

Symptoms for cosmetic allergy will be stronger in case of applying the cosmetic substance on already irritated or scratched skin. Many young girls use face powder to mask their acne, and if the pimples are torn, the skin may suffer an allergic reaction when coming in contact with the make up.

Likewise any other form of allergies, cosmetics allergy is not a disease and it shouldn’t be considered as such. It is just a normal reaction of the immune system to neutralize and reject what it perceives to be harmful for the body.

How to treat cosmetics allergy

You can get skin allergy medication, like ointments and creams from the pharmacy, and usually those products are sold without medical prescription, so you can ask your pharmacist for advice on what product to use for treating your cosmetic allergy.

Most of these medications contain cortisone in the form of hydrocortisone acetate and hydrocortisone. Cortisones help curtail redness, swelling and itching during the onset of cosmetics allergy symptoms.

In case your allergy symptoms are exacerbated, like blisters on the skin surface, you should see a doctor, as you would probably need also some antibiotic treatment to prevent or cure eventual infections at the skin level.

Cosmetics allergy preventive measures

You can take a few measures to keep yourself cosmetic allergy free:

• When you get a new cosmetic products you’ve never used before, consider making a test before applying it in large quantities: take a small amount and put it on your wrist. Then wait for 24 hours: if you experience redness, inflammation or any other kind of symptom, do not use the product, because you may have an allergy to some of its ingredients.
• If you already know that you are allergic to some substances, look at the labels when you buy cometics, in order to avoid getting products which include that specific allergen.
• Do not apply perfume directly on your skin. You can obtain the same effect by putting it on your clothes. Beware though, some perfumes may leave ugly spots on textiles, so you’d better test them on some old shirt before ruining your best ones.

Precautions are never harmful. Why suffer, when it can be easy to avoid getting cosmetics allergy.

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