Dermatologically Tested, Recommended and Approved - Terminologies Explained

Makeup is an important part of a woman's life. After all everybody have a right to look good, but is it acceptable at the cost of damaged skin. Most of the beauty products in the market are labelled as "Dermatologically Tested", "Dermatologically Recommended" or "Dermatologist Approved". After reading these scientific terms, especially reading a term with "dermatologist", we assume that it is well tested on skin by a team of doctors and will definitely not harm. Is this assumption correct ?

Dermatologically Tested / Recommended / Approved

These terms often confuse the end user. If you even just google these terms, you will find that these terms have no scientific ground. There are no fixed laws about the standards of the scientific study to be conducted before labeling a product as Dermatologically Tested. Even if a dermatologist has seen the list of ingredients and found that all ingredients are OK as per his/her knowledge, then the manufacturer can easily label the product as Dermatologically Approved or Recommended. These are no laws to govern the testing of these products, and no rule to test these products on a minimum number of users for a minimum period of time.

Note: Even if there are some laws and rules then they vary greatly from country to country. So if you are using an imported beauty product, then you don't know if complies with laws of your country. 

Some beauty products are even tested only o animal skins, while they are meant to be used on human skin as the final product. Lack of laws to test these products on humans saves a lot of money and increase the profits.

Most of the manufacturers spend more on advertisements rather than testing. The actual testing is done on customers skin. If it harms the skin, then actual dermatologists in the market earn by treating the infections and the sale decreases, and thus the manufacturer goes for some other product. But if the sale goes up then it means that testing on customers skin is successful and thus production is increased. So both way either beauty product manufacturer is earning or the dermatologist is earning.

Kind to skin, Mild for skin, Safe for skin

These are some other common terms written on beauty products just to please the customers, as they are equally delusional. There are no norms for usage of these terms as well.

How to choose a good beauty product ?

If you are really health conscious then never buy a beauty product just by getting impressed by its packaging. Instead take a look at the ingredients and compare those ingredients with other creams. If you are going to try a new cream, then make sure that the ingredients are not at very high concentration, so go for a milder version to test if its OK for your skin and then if it suits then gradually go for upper versions. 

Whenever you have some free time, take a look at the ingredients of the beauty products that you have got. Google those ingredients to find their pros and cons, and check if you have faced them. Every cream is not meant for everybody, as we have different skin types. So a product which suited your friend might not suit you. Be a little curious about the beauty products that you use and hopefully you will be an expert for your skin type. It is also possible the most of your beauty products will land into a dustbin and you will opt for some natural homemade beauty therapy.  Our looks should always be secondary, first is our health.

Note : A happy mood is the best ingredient to make you look better. So stay happy and stay healthy. 

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How Skin Creams are being used to fool Customers

You must have seen advertisements of skin creams where they claim that it penetrates deep into your skin and provides nourishment with a number of active ingredients. Frankly saying, they are trying to fool you, and millions of consumers are successfully getting fooled. These cosmetic companies are utilizing the greed in the minds of people to look fairer. Some researches have found proofs that all claims made by such advertisements are false and are based on some past researches that are proved wrong with the help of modern technology.

How Skin Creams are being used to fool Customers

Cosmetic companies make some claims based on some previous researches that are now proved wrong. One of such claim is that skin cream penetrates deep into the skin.
During year 2012, scientists at the University of Bath conducted research on skin creams using confocal microscopy. The results of their research concluded that even the tiniest of nanoparticles in these skin creams can't penetrate the skin surface. However the cream can get deposited into creases in the skin. One of the jobs of our skin is to act as a barrier and it  works perfectly. Even the particles which are 100 times smaller than thickness of human hair can't penetrate the skin. The nano-particles in skin creams can't even penetrate the outer layer of skin known as stratum corneum.

None of the cosmetic skin creams can penetrate skin, but customers are fooled by advertisements in which celebrities say that "IT WORKS". Another misguiding thing in the packaging, which is intentionally made so good to look at that customer gets mesmerized with the photoshop images of a model getting fairer skin tones within a few weeks. Both of these things are enough to make the customer believe in the false claims.

As our team researched on this topic of skin penetration by skin creams, we found a question being asked about this research. If skin creams can't penetrate the skin, then how does Nicotine Patches work ? The answer to this question is simple. Nicotine is a molecule, not a nanoparticle, and it is much smaller.

No makeup or skin cream can penetrate skin, that is why it is recommended that you wash your face properly before going to bed, if you have used makeup in the day. It is to properly wash off the remainder creams from the surface of skin. If it is actually absorbed by the skin, then there is no way to wash it off.

How do celebrities start to glow after a few years of being a celebrity if the skin creams can't penetrate ?
There are various reasons behind that. The major reason is that celebrities come in front of camera after makeup. Second reason is that some of them go through surgical processes to be fairer. Third reason is that they use regular skin treatments that washes off minor impurities from skin. The fourth reason is the diet. If you eat balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables and also remain hydrated by drinking lots of water, then your skin will definitely be better after sometime.

The best way to provide nutrition to your skin is not by rubbing skin creams, but by eating natural nutrients through your mouth. Healthy diet is the best way to nourish you skin and whole body.

If cosmetic companies start adding chemicals in skin creams that can penetrate the skin, then these creams will no longer be a cosmetic product, they will be a medicine which can only be prescribed by a doctor.

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Know your Skin to get the right Skincare

Knowing your skin becomes important when it comes to skincare. To choose best skincare, you should be aware of your skin tone, complexion, milanin and skin type. Our skin type is the most important factor which decides how we should treat our skin. Some people think that skin type can't be changed but the truth is that apart from our genes there are a number of other factors which decide our skin type, such as climate, hormones (they fluctuate a lot during a lifetime), medications (yes ! side-effects), diet and our allergies. While choosing a skincare product you should consider your present skin type and take your time in reading the description on the box to check if it is meant for your skin type.

Most people think that skin complexion is same as skin tone, while the truth is that skin tone (also known as undertone) resides under your skin and can't be judged just by your complexion. Skin tone is either warm, cool or neutral. To know your skin complexion, you may look at the color chart given on right. Milanin present in our skin plays an important role in deciding our complexion, as its presence make our skin complexion darker.

You may know your skin better by answering some easy questions.

Check your Skin Type

Question : How do you feel after washing your face and leaving it intact for an hour ?
Answer :

Feel itchy and tight with some patches Shiny and greasy, especially T-zone (forehead, nose and chin) Oily on T-zone but normal cheeks and jawline Feels good, neither too oily nor too dry Sometimes gets red or itchy or inflamed

Check your Skintone / Undertone

Question : What is the colour of veins inside your wrist ?
Answer :

Green Blue / Purple Green / Blue

Check your Skin Melanin

Question : How does your skin reacts when exposed to sun ?
Answer :

tan easily and rarely burn skin burns and doesn't tan

After answering the above questions, you might have got an idea about your skin. It can help you in finding the right skincare products for you, but we will suggest you to also take advise from some expert as sometimes self interpretation can go wrong.

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Dry Skin in Winter : Best Skin Care Tips

Dry Skin is most common problem during winters and most of us use a number of moisturizers to fight it but don't get the appropriate results. It is because we avoid the basic need of our body, i.e water. Water is must to keep the skin hydrated from inside, but avoided as we don't feel the thirst due to cold weather. Cold winters steal the humidity from air and it affects our skin badly. The air with no humidity steals the humidity of our skin which makes our skin dry. There are a few tips that you may use to help yourself in not letting your skin dry due to lack of humidity in air.

How to save your skin from drying in winters

Don't due hot water for bathing or hand-wash : Yes ! Hot water is the worst enemy of your face and hands, which usually remain open even in winters. Hot water strips away the oils present on our skin. These oils actually act as a barrier between our skin and outer air, and helps in keeping the water inside our skin. But as we wash our hands, face or body with hot water, it washes away these oils and makes our skin prone to dryness. So instead of using hot water, use lukewarm water. Usually we bath just once in a day but wash our hands and face multiple times in a day, which makes them more prone to dryness.
Don't use heating systems too much : Heating systems are a necessity in extreme winters, but the side-effect of using them is that they further steal the humidity from less humid winter air. This effect increases the opportunity for that air to make our skin dry.
Use Humidifiers : Humidifiers are basic necessity in your bedroom during winters, so that the humid air no longer steals the humidity from your body. Some good humidifiers are shown below.

Check Price of best humidifiers available.

Avoid irritating fabrics : Some fabrics are irritating for our skin, such as wool, which can be allergic if it touches our skin directly. Our skin become more sensitive during winters, so save it from any allergy due to irritating fabric.
Drink more water: Hydrating our body from inside is necessary. During winters we usually tend to drink hot drinks like tea or coffee and forget to drink water. But forgetting it costs our skin too much, so drink lukewarm water at regular intervals.
Use appropriate cleansers: Some cleansers are not good for skin during winters as they dry you skin too much. So use a good appropriate cleanser to clean your skin.

Check Price of best skin cleansers for dry skin.

Dead skin cells : As skin cells die on the outer layer of skin, they don't let a moisturizer do it work as moisturizer is not absorbed by dead cells and further not let it reach the living cells underneath. Removing the dead cells from face can be done by an exfoliating face mask.

Check Price of best exfoliating face masks.

Dry hands are the worst thing that happen to a person during winters. Apart from the above tips you can put a good moisturizer on every wash-basin in your home and apply it on your damp hands after washing your hands every time and never use too hot water for washing hands.

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