Awareness and education are keys to proper skin and beauty products
Have you ever tried to figure out the difference between
beauty products you can purchase at places like Walgreen’s, Sephora, Macy’s,
Avon, Mary Kay or Merle Norman, the product lines you would find at a spa or
wellness center and what a doctor might prescribe?
Here at The
Healing Station, we often explain the differences between over-the-counter (OTC) products,
cosmeceuticals and pharmaceuticals
so that our clients know what they are using from the moment they (or we) apply
something to the largest organ on
their bodies – their skin.
OTC beauty and skin products
are those found at supermarkets, drug stores, department stores,
brick-and-mortar cosmetics outlets and through multi-level marketing
companies. Many of these product lines
are owned by parent companies whose focus may be food or cleaning supplies –
not necessarily specializing in what’s best for your skin.
With anything you buy OTC no prescription is necessary, no
training is required by the sales personnel (well, perhaps a department store
clerk may have had some training on the “glories-only” of a particular
manufacturer’s product…), so if there were any possible drug interactions or
allergies that could occur, you would not be told. OTC is definitely a “buyers beware”
proposition, since product manufacturers are not required to disclose all the ingredients contained within
them – just the major ones. In the end, you can check out this website from the
State of California
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/cosmetics/Documents/chemlist.pdf
for a list to make sure they do not contain any of the eight hundred
potentially harmful ingredients.
Cosmeceuticals
are those product lines predominantly dispensed by licensed estheticians and
cosmetologists, often experienced for the first time while having a facial or
another spa-type procedure performed.
These products are much more concentrated in nature, meaning less
quantity is required to make a difference to your skin. Even here, however, it’s wise to ask
questions. Again, American standards do not require disclosure of every
ingredient. For products developed and sold worldwide, the labeling
requirements are much more robust. Most
European and all Australian product
lines list every ingredient (even
traces) on its packaging. So if you were allergic to, say, peanuts or
fragrances, you would know precisely what products to avoid.
You’ll want to beware of buying cosmeceuticals online as
well. Some of the best Internet deals
you get may not reveal that the products are either counterfeit or already
expired, meaning that if you bought last year’s sunscreen and relied on it for
this year’s sun, you would be putting yourself at risk. And because these products are so
concentrated, without a licensed practitioner guiding you on the proper use and
quantities after evaluating whether the product is appropriate for your skin
type, you may be risking the unknown. California estheticians, who have
completed a minimum of 600 hours of instruction, will have determined the
appropriate products by having evaluated your eating habits, talked to you
about your allergies or having learned about potential hormonal imbalances.
Dermatologists
and other physicians also dispense corrective skin and anti-aging
pharmaceuticals, which are even stronger than the two we've just
discussed. And even though the medical
community usually has its patients best interests at heart, they may spend
little time counseling you.
A personal story: I
can remember having taken my son to a dermatologist for an acne condition. As
the doctor entered the examination room, he stopped dead in his tracks just
inside the door, looked at Josh, then looked at me.
“Are you his mom?” he asked.
I acknowledged that I was. “All I can do is prescribe Accutane,” he
said. And with that, he left the room without even examining my son’s
condition.
Then a nurse came in gave me something to sign. I began looking it over. “Where is the booklet it talks about here?” I
asked her. “Oh, I gave it to your son.
Why haven’t you signed?” Duh. I told her
the form said I was to read it and understand it before signing. She looked a little exasperated.
Once I had the booklet in my hands, my eyes fell upon an
intimidating list of possible side effects of this powerful drug. Females were
advised to be on birth control because of the possibility of birth defects of
future offspring. Blood tests were required every 30 days to check for liver
damage, and the list went on and on. In
retrospect, back in those days they hadn't yet determined that the drug could
also cause depression and even lead to thoughts of suicide. I grabbed my son and left in a hurry.
This is not to say that physicians can’t be trusted for many
kinds of skin problems. But with the
Internet at your fingertips, there is no reason not to perform due diligence on
the drugs being prescribed and discuss them in detail with your physician.
The bottom line? Whether you opt for OTC, cosmeceuticals or
pharmaceuticals, you won’t regret being the sticky wicket, doing your homework
and asking lots of questions. After
all, the products you apply to your skin are
just as important as the drug you take orally! For more information about this topic, give
The Healing Station a call at (916) 294-9980.
