Making Up and Breaking Out?

Makeup doesn’t cause acne . A. cosmetica (see the previous post) is the traditional name for the type that cosmetics supposedly cause. I realize that some reactions to cosmetics can sometimes look like inflammatory acnegenic lesions , but it’s really just your skin reacting negatively to one or more of the ingredients found in your makeup that makes already-existing

get redder and look worse.And between you and me — I don’t believe that cosmetics have
much to do in the development or worsening of acne!! There, I’ve said it.I generally tell my patients, “If you’re happy with your cosmetics,stay with them; if you feel that your cosmetics are causing or worsening your acne , just stop using them for a few weeks and see if the
bumps go away!”
Testing, testing: What’s up, Doc?
The ear of the rabbit is very sensitive. Besides bringing good luck (oh, that’s the foot,
isn’t it?) and warding off danger, the rabbit’s ear, for decades, has been used to test
cosmetic ingredients to see whether they cause comedones (blackheads and whiteheads). Substances known to be acnegenic in humans will rapidly produce comedones in rabbit ears.
However, the rabbit ear differs from human skin and may not be an accurate model of the human face, because humans and rabbits don’t necessary respond in the same way to cosmetics application.Because of these difficulties, more recent approaches used by cosmetic compa-
nies often test makeup on the upper backs of male volunteers who have acne. Again, it may be difficult to relate a man’s back to a woman’s face.By the way, when was the last time you saw a rabbit wearing makeup?However, there areplenty of folks who disagree with me, some of mwhom are fellow dermatologists. In the next sections, I tell you what others have to say. I present the information to be inclusive and present the traditional belief that makeup and cosmetics are very important issues when it comes to the acne lesions.
Reading the ingredients
Nowadays, most cosmetic products boast of being non-poreclogging and “oil free.” And most of them have a label that states that the product has been tested and verified as being
noncomedogenic. It’s on virtually every label on every cosmetic product.However, some skin-care products are considered to be comedogenic, which means they cause whiteheads and blackheads. The damaging effect of cosmetics has been attributed to
the presence of excess oil in such cosmetics.What ingredients in the leading cosmetic products are believed by some dermatologists to cause acnea? The following three are con-
sidered to be the leading candidates:
Lanolin: This is oil from the skin of sheep. It’s similar to the
fatty acids found in human skin.
Isopropyl myristate: This substance adds “slip,” which makes
a product go on the skin smoother and causes a slick sheer
feel. There are a number of chemicals similar to isopropyl
myristate, including isopropyl isostearate, butyl stearate,
octyl stearate, and laureth-4.
D & C red dyes: These dyes derived from coal tars are also
believed to be comedogenic.
Although some experts believe these ingredients are acnegenic,I don’t personally believe they are. However, if you seem to get worse when wearing cosmetics, look for these
ingredients on the label of your current products. Try new products that don’t contain them to see whether your skin condition improves.