Would you ditch your make up bag for your health?

Andile Tshuma on Health
Could your daily beauty regime be killing you slowly, and softly?

That’s a recent article that I read online after it was recommended by a friend. It spoke about the dangers of beauty products that men and women use on a daily basis all in the name of beauty and grooming.

The piece left me with so many questions than answers and I thought it was worth deliberating on something similar in our Zimbabwean context. There is so much going on in the country as far as beauty and cosmetics are concerned, and one of my observations is that a lot of skin lightening creams and other forms of make-up are sold on the streets. Growing up, I fancied dolling myself up and dressing up when I get older and so on. During high school years my mother did not allow make up but at some point I would try on face powders and lip colour from friends in school bathrooms.

I would unfortunately often react, trigger my sinuses and be sneezing all day followed by a puffy face the following day. Even though I had that childhood fetish, doing my varsity years there was a paradigm shift in my thoughts. I don’t know what to call it, feminism or being Afro-centric. I am not a person who likes conforming to labels as I do not like the idea of being confined to a particular ideology.

There is a new form of feminism which supports the idea of empowered women wearing bold make up to make particular statements. While this may be good, or not so good for some, that is not the subject of the day as we may end up delving into toxic feminism and non-toxic feminism and patriachism.

My point is that the issue of make up is rather sensitive against women and it is very easy to pen a piece that may offend thousands of them. I would say use or non-use of make-up is a personal choice, informed by personal reasons. But ladies do we really take time to read the ingredients of some of the cosmetic products that we use?

Could we be killing ourselves slowly with our daily beauty regimes?

Vast numbers of women endure the daily routine of applying make-up. First goes on the moisturiser, then spot concealer, eyeliner, mascara, blush, lip liner, lipstick and powder. Some men have joined the make-up bandwagon and go through a grooming regime with powders and creams before walking out of the house.

My morning routine is quite quick and simple. The only thing that goes on my face after my shower is moisturiser and sometimes a vanishing cream as I have oily skin; within 20 minutes from waking up, I am ready to leave the house.

I have one friend who needs a full 90 minutes from start to finish to get ready, during which she totally transforms her appearance. “How can you leave the house without putting your face on?” she once asked me. I answered that I already have a face.

With the economic factor some women who cannot afford original tested cosmetic products sold in pharmacies or departmental stores would still use what is within their reach and often may go for the lower range products, often sold in streets and dingy shops around town.

Some of these products are sold displayed exposed to excessive sunlight for days, or even weeks, displayed by street vendors, before the client comes to buy, and who knows what would have happened to them, as far as chemical composition and reactions is concerned. Some would be counterfeit and bear the name of reputable products, yet in actual fact are just plain fake. But because we want to look and feel pretty but cannot afford that designer label we would just sacrifice our health and buy what we afford, often oblivious of the repercussions to come.

Some of these products have special instructions on how to apply them, some need a full kit, yet when we buy we may use an incomplete kit, further exposing our skin to damage and potential harm. For instance, some products come with a primer to be used underneath foundation, and other layers of makeup, while some need finishers with the correct sun protection factor (SPF) for ultra violet protection. However, during my interviews most women did not even know about it but just used powder and foundation of whatever brand as long as the colour shade blended with their skin tone.

Other people are now substituting the real make up with some substances that are not meant for the face. For example, people now use fabric softener on their skin.

I went to a local boutique during the week and spoke to a lady who identified herself as Lizzy. Apart from selling clothing, she sells a variety of cosmetics from facial care perfumes, slimming supplements and general body care.

In the brilliant book Drop-dead Gorgeous, exploring the harms of cosmetics, Kim Erickson looks at the scientific research on the poisonous effects of chemicals in everyday cosmetics. She points out that women expose themselves to more than 200 synthetic chemicals during their “beauty” regime. The harms are well documented but largely ignored. Women that regularly use lipstick, and reapply throughout the day, will swallow a whopping four-and-a- half kilogrammes of it during their lifetime.

From birth to death, females are pummelled with the message that we are not good enough as we are. We are told to look younger, sexier, taller, thinner, darker, lighter, smoother and just better. Once women start to wear make-up on a daily basis, they are told they look older and less attractive, and even that they have “let themselves go”.

Your lipstick contains heavy metals and chemicals that are also used to manufacture rubber and plastics. That personal care and beauty products that make you look pretty, are mostly carcinogenic. That there are no strict laws governing the quality and production standards of the cosmetics you use as a rule every day.

From the innocuous looking toothpaste that you go to the first thing in the morning to the eyeliner that you just cannot do without, you are exposing yourself to dangerous chemicals everyday with what you choose to use.

I think nowadays with an influx of products from all over the world, with our borders being porous, some products find themselves in shops without being checked or tested first. The onus is on us as individuals to first check what’s in it before using. Your health is more important than all the beauty that you can buy in a bottle.

Some products are safer so just be careful what you use and do check out the labels and research on all those listed chemicals. – @andile_tshuma