False Skincare Myths

Pores are not doors: they don't open with hot water or steam, and they don't close with cold water. When cleansing the face, steam is used to liquefy sebum, making it easier to extract impurities. With specially formulated cosmetic products, you can simply try to minimize the size of pores: it's recommended to use functional astringent substances (for example, Fomes Officinalis or burdock extract), clay masks, and salicylic acid. Pores are not doors: they don't open with hot water or steam, and they don't close with cold water. When cleansing the face, steam is used to liquefy sebum, making it easier to extract impurities.

The ingredients listed at the end of the ingredient list (also known as "INCI") of a skin care product are generally present in smaller quantities than the ingredients at the top of the list, noting that substances present in a concentration of less than 1% can be listed in random order, after those with a concentration equal to or higher than 1%.

However, this does not necessarily mean that these ingredients are ineffective. Some ingredients listed at the end of the list can have very beneficial properties for the skin but exert their activity at low concentrations. In fact, at higher concentrations, they could have the opposite effect and cause irritation: a typical example is retinol, which exerts its miraculous properties even at a concentration of 0.3%.

Also be careful when very high percentages of an active ingredient you are interested in are listed: it is always advisable to check the form of the active ingredient and keep in mind that this concentration may not be real, and the active ingredient could be "diluted".

In medicine, respiration has one sole meaning and implies that lungs or other respiratory organs are involved. So no, Skin cannot breathe.

Skin is a very important organ for body temperature regulation and maintaining water balance, and it is rich in sweat glands that produce sweat, which helps cool the body through evaporation. It receives oxygen not from air but from the vessels that supply the dermis, exchanging O2 and nutrients with them.

The word "breathe" is often used figuratively to indicate that when Skin "doesn’t breathe", it is because it is blocked by cosmetic products: blockage does not mean "suffocate Skin" but rather, in many cases, blockage helps prevent it from dehydrating, reducing the so-called TEWL (transepidermal water loss).

The cosmeceutical industry is a vast consumer-driven market that has seen strong sales growth since the early 2000s.

The term "cosmeceutical", which combines the words cosmetic and pharmaceutical, was popularized by Dr. Albert Kligman in the 1980s: it identifies a range of topical agents that offer both cosmetic properties, which improve the appearance of the Skin, and drug properties, which therapeutically alter the physiology of the Skin and/or reverse a pathological process. An example of a cosmeceutical is anti-dandruff shampoo, which is both a cosmetic (a cleansing product) and an approved drug for treating dandruff.

By definition, cosmeceuticals bring fewer clinical changes than more regulated and prescribed medications, however the term "cosmeceutical" has no legal meaning under the law.

Let's start with an assumption: the cost of a product is influenced by many factors, such as production costs, marketing, and the producer's marginal profit. Therefore, the price of a product doesn't always match its quality or effectiveness.

There are products that cost a lot, but what you end up taking home is likely to be primarily beautiful packaging that cost the company a great deal (and so does yours). The quality of a product depends on many factors, such as its formulation, ingredients, and the way it is used. Of course, there are more expensive products that contain high-quality ingredients and are very effectively formulated, but this is not the rule.

Silicones and parabens are common ingredients used in skin and hair care products. Despite public apprehension and fear that these are harmful or not "natural" substances, they have been declared safe by both the FDA and the European Commission.

But what is the difference between parabens and silicones, and most importantly, what are they used for?

Silicones
Silicones, and especially polydimethylsiloxanes, are a class of excipients for the manufacture of dermatological products for topical use. Thanks to their exceptional physicochemical properties, they offer numerous application possibilities for pharmaceutical formulations for
skin use. In addition to improving aesthetic and sensory properties, they can enhance essential properties of formulations such as their stability. The amazing thing is that most silicones used for topical use have a very low toxicity potential for humans.

Parabens

I parabens are instead used as preservatives to prevent the growth of bacteria and molds: the best thing is that they are some of the least allergenic preservatives available, with contact sensitization rates between 0.5% and 1.4% (rates that have remained stable since the 90s).

However, the reputation of these compounds is rather negative, even though product preservation is an absolute necessity to prevent particularly problematic microbes, such as gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and gram-negative Escherichia coli, from contaminating cosmetics. The most commonly used parabens are: methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben and butylparaben, generally at concentrations of 0.4% or less.

Parabens and silicones have been classified as safe by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as well as by the European Commission. The latter, through the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS), expresses an opinion on individual substances, as well as regulatory bodies that ensure the safety of all substances on the market, based on scientific literature.

Clean skincare and haircare products defined as "clean" are products that, according to their manufacturers, are free from harmful or potentially toxic chemicals. These products often contain natural or organic ingredients and are formulated without the use of substances like parabens, sulfates, or silicones. Many consumers choose to use clean skincare and haircare products because they believe these products are safer and less irritating to the Skin compared to products formulated with chemicals. 

However, we must ask ourselves whether choosing ingredients considered more natural is really better, and whether choosing ingredients considered more chemical is really worse. Many “natural products” contain high concentrations of botanical extracts, which are one of the main causes of irritant contact dermatitis, allergic contact dermatitis, photosensitization, and even intoxications. In a study conducted by the University of Ferrara, 6.22% of users of topical herbal products reported one or more adverse Skin reactions.

In addition to this, all cosmetics on the market are safe by law and no ingredient can be included in a cosmetic product if it is certified as harmful.

Parabens, for example, are some of the least allergenic preservatives available, with contact sensitization rates between 0.5% and 1.4% (rates that have remained stable since the 1990s).

We've all tried using easily available, low-cost products, hoping they would have some effect on our skin: toothpaste on a pimple, lemon for spots, avocado, pumpkins, honey, olive oil. The hard truth is that, if it were that easy, there wouldn't be science behind cosmetic products and there wouldn't be checks and tests designed to ensure that everything we put on our faces isn't harmful.

The problem is that many products we have at home, or that are easily found at the supermarket, are absolutely not good for our skin and, above all, they haven't been tested for it. Home remedies most often lead to disasters like irritations, allergic reactions, and dermatitis. The so-called “natural products” also contain high concentrations of botanical extracts, which are one of the main causes of irritant contact dermatitis, allergic dermatitis, and photosensitization. In a study conducted by the University of Ferrara, 6.22% of users of topical herbal products reported one or more adverse skin reactions.

To conclude, before you spray any citrus fruit you find in your fridge on yourself, really think whether it can be useful to you and if it can really be the best solution for your skin, better than chemical active ingredients that have been extensively studied in dermatological scientific literature.

You've surely come across the claim that after some time, your skin gets used to the products you're using, and that's why you need to change them often. This has no scientific basis, and now we'll explain why. 

Skin can’t get used to things for a simple reason: the physiological cell turnover is 20-28 days. That means within a month, all the cells of your skin have been replaced. 

If your cream no longer works as it once did, it can be due to several factors: seasonal changes, stress, or your lifestyle can interfere, and your skin may have different needs.