Thursday, May 26, 2016

NEW FDA LABELING GUIDELINES FOR SKINCARE PRODUCTS CAN HELP CONSUMERS

New York Times editorial today has important message for ensuring public health. The new guidelines for the labeling of food products will help consumers to make informed choice. They could control their calories intake by looking into the new labels the realistic serving sizes, among other changes.
The new serving sizes, along with calorie counts in a large, bold font, are likely to make the new labels easier to read and more helpful. A category for added sugars will help consumers distinguish between sugar from fruits and vegetables, which comes with nutrients, and sugar that provides only empty calories.
With long experience in the skin care industry, Herbally Radiant has been recommending that guidelines for labeling skin care and cosmetic products should also be revised. This will help consumers take good care of their skin, and prevent such disorders like skin allergies, eczema, skin damage from harmful chemical ingredients.
The present packaging and labeling practices do not help consumer to learn the possible health risk from pharma-based products.  For example, most of the skin care products contain parabens for increased shelf life, though parabens, a petroleum by-product pose health risks.  Many branded cosmetic formulations have potentially dangerous elements like mercury and lead. The risk is more serious in the case of online suppliers which are selling unsafe items more due to aggressive marketing and unverifiable claims.
In a recent article in Huff Post by Dr. Aklan Dattner, Founder of Holistic Dermatology.com explained how petroleum jellies – by-product of the oil industry – that are being used in beauty products extensively, can suffocate pores, aggravate acne and even cause a rare form of pneumonia, if inhaled.
Apart from common Vaseline brands, Dr. Dattner warned, there are probably several other petroleum jelly imitators being used in chemical-based cosmetics. More celebrities and make-up experts (like Kately Denno) now strongly recommend that only those products should be put on skin which can be absorbed into it.  
Like Dr. Dattner, Ms Denno claims, if used too often, the petroleum gel can irritate the skin because of its thick texture that merely 'seals in the dirt.' She recommends always washing and cleansing the skin before applying any form of moisturizer to avoid breakouts.
Giving his verdict, Dr. Dattner says it is best to opt for more natural products. His top skin healing ingredients include beeswax, coconut oil, olive oil, shea butter and cocoa butter.
'Remember that some of these products are absorbed into the skin, so it's nice to use something that you wouldn't mind putting into your body.'

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