Good Chemistry

“You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don’t expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses…”

J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997)

 

I wonder what sort of chemical goop features in this turquoise concoction. Thanks to maya picture at freedigitalphotos.net.

It was in conversations with my older sister, who studied Chemistry at university, that I first became seriously aware of the suggestion that an awful lot of the chemical goop in modern cosmetic products is not exactly what most of us would feel comfortable slathering over ourselves if we knew what it really consisted of, and the notion of writing a blog post about the issue has been hanging about in the back of my brain for some time. As fortune would have it, said older sister is staying with me this weekend, and has kindly agreed to lend her chemical expertise to make this post as accurate and informative as possible.

So with that, I’ll hand over to her for a quick tour of some common ingredients that, although they probably don’t have sinister magical properties capable of bewitching the mind and ensnaring the senses, are nevertheless dubious enough that you may wish to avoid them when choosing a lovely new shampoo in the hallowed aisles of Boots. 

Hello, I am Anne’s sister, and since studying Chemistry have become very interested in the dodgy chemicals that are used in cosmetics, and in searching out ethical, organic, and otherwise non-sinister cosmetic products. The below is my take on certain chemicals, which is based on a certain degree of research; however, these ingredients have been deemed safe for use in cosmetics, so if you do use them there is no need to fear for your ongoing safety!

1) Sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS/SDS)/sodium laureth sulphate (SLES)¹

SLS (or SDS) and SLES are similarly structured chemical compounds, and their function is as soap or detergent. They are very commonly used in shampoo (as well as various other cosmetic products) because they lather well, and they remove oils. However, they are classified as irritants. I used SLS regularly in labs at university – because I made a lot of bubbles for my research project!² I found that when it got on my hands, it dried the skin out to the point where it was cracking. While I used a greater concentration of SLS than you would find in your shampoo, it demonstrates the irritant nature of what is considered a harmless ingredient. Our skin does not actually benefit from the removal of oils – because this causes dry skin but also stimulates extra oil production to compensate, so you fluctuate between being dry and then being more oily than you otherwise would be – and I find that my scalp gets dandruff-y when I use shampoo with SLS/SLES in it.

2) Alcohol

There is a notable distinction between different types of alcohols that are found in cosmetics. Normally the word ‘alcohol’ on its own refers to ethanol, which is what is found in the alcohol that you drink (because if you drank methanol, it would turn to formaldehyde inside you and pickle your innards!).³ Ethanol (or anything that appears in an ingredients list as ‘alcohol’ or ‘alcohol denat’⁴) is very drying on the skin, and skin does need oil to be healthy! As above, this has the negative result of very dry skin and then excessively oily skin, as well as exacerbating conditions like eczema and psoriasis. If you buy products with alcohol in, generally alcohols such as cetearyl alcohol and cetyl alcohol are better because they are ‘fattier’ – they are obtained from plants and are generally considered more beneficial.

3) Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)

EDTA is an acid used widely in industry. However, it is also used in medicine and cosmetics. It is used to stabilise products because it binds well to chemicals and can reduce reactivity; without it, products may ‘go off’ more quickly. It is a low-level irritant. While this has been classed as safe for use in cosmetics because the dosage isn’t high enough to be toxic, alternatives for it may be a good idea because it takes a long time to degrade and is therefore not beneficial to the environment.

4) ‘Fragrance’ or ‘Parfum’

This is often listed on the ingredients lists of cosmetic products, but the problem is, it doesn’t really mean anything (it just means ‘smell’). Therefore the fragrance used in the product could be made from anything, and there is no way of finding out without contacting the manufacturer, which most of us aren’t keen to do when we’ve just nipped out for a new shower gel. Generally, if a product specifies what it is that causes its scent (for example, rose oil or other scented oils) then it is a safer bet than if it just says ‘fragrance’.

5) Petrol (Petrolatum, Paraffinum liquidum, Mineral Oil, Petroleum Jelly)

I was perturbed the first time I saw petrol (or one of its derivatives) in cosmetics, specifically Vaseline. It certainly sounds concerning to be putting car fuel on your face. However, cosmetic-grade petrol products do go through a very thorough purification process. Nonetheless, there is still always a small chance that some toxins (including carcinogenic toxins) could make it into the final product, and even if this is not the case, products such as petroleum jelly form a barrier between your skin and the atmosphere. This has been used in wound care to protect the wound from infection, but as regards something like a lip balm, shielding your skin from moisture is not actually going to hydrate your lips. My personal experience of petrol-based lip products is that they are not as moisturising as wax-based ones.

6) Miscellaneous

There are plenty of other chemicals which might be worth avoiding in cosmetics. There are some that have been classified as safe, but at the same time some studies suggest otherwise, and no clear conclusion has yet been reached. Some companies avoid putting parabens in their products for this reason (chemicals such as methylparaben and propylparaben), and there are other chemicals such as phthalates which I have not mentioned in detail here because they are already being phased out of most cosmetics due to the health risks.

I like using cosmetics with oils in (for example, coconut oil, rosehip oil, and jojoba oil among many, many others) because our skin likes the nourishment it gets from these. Some oils are more comedogenic (pore clogging) than others, and I generally just check the internet to find the ratings.⁵ 

Some brands that the two of us have used and liked, and at least some of whose products do not contain the above ingredients are: Faith in Nature, Dr Organic, Good Things, Pai, Burt’s Bees, Giovanni 2chic, Lush Cosmetics, Avalon Organics, Green People, Lily Lolo, and Oakwood Soaperie (although as regards this last one, you can find similar soap workshops all over the place; just have a browse of a good local gift shop!). Your best bet for tracking down most of these brands is either a well-stocked health food shop or that boundless repository we like to call the Internet.

Footnotes 

¹ Technically ‘sulphate’ is now officially spelled ‘sulfate’, but I will not yield to this linguistic monstrosity. 

² This video illustrates more or less what is involved in making bubbles for a Chemistry thesis, although with slightly less actual synthesis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9ASVgO9U6k. 

³ If you do ever accidentally ingest methanol, the best remedy is to immediately chug a large quantity of some very highly-concentrated alcoholic spirit, which will overpower the methanol. So you’ll be pickled, but at least you won’t be pickled. 

⁴ Alcohol denat. means ‘denatured alcohol’, and essentially this means cosmetics grade rather than food grade. 

⁵ A good list is available here, https://www.beneficialbotanicals.com/facts-figures/comedogenic-rating.html, although there are other, similar lists about, and it’s always good to cross-reference.