The impact of skin care products on skin chemistry and microbiome dynamics

BACKGROUND

Use of skin personal care products on a regular basis is nearly ubiquitous, but their effects on molecular and microbial diversity of the skin are unknown. We evaluated the impact of four beauty products (a facial lotion, a moisturizer, a foot powder, and a deodorant) on 11 volunteers over 9 weeks.

RESULTS

Mass spectrometry and 16S rRNA inventories of the skin revealed decreases in chemical as well as in bacterial and archaeal diversity on halting deodorant use. Specific compounds from beauty products used before the study remain detectable with half-lives of 0.5-1.9 weeks. The deodorant and foot powder increased molecular, bacterial, and archaeal diversity, while arm and face lotions had little effect on bacterial and archaeal but increased chemical diversity. Personal care product effects last for weeks and produce highly individualized responses, including alterations in steroid and pheromone levels and in bacterial and archaeal ecosystem structure and dynamics.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings may lead to next-generation precision beauty products and therapies for skin disorders.

Management of an Integrated Project (Sens-it-iv) to Develop In Vitro Tests to Assess Sensitisation

Sens-it-iv is an integrated project, funded by European Commission Framework Programme 6, the overall objective of which is to develop in vitro tests and test strategies to be used by the chemical, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries to assess the risk for potential contact and respiratory sensitisers. Such tests, once formally validated and accepted, will permit the evaluation of the sensitising potential of existing and new chemical entities and the products of the European industries for classification and labelling, as required by the new EU REACH legislation on chemicals, or for the purpose of risk assessment as required by the 7th Amendment to the EU Cosmetics Directive. Sens-it-iv involves 28 partners, representing industries, universities and regulatory bodies, including various institutes in the EU Member States and different competencies, all with the common aim of achieving a final deliverable — increasing the safety of consumer products, whilst reducing animal experimentation. This paper provides an overview of the structure of the project and a detailed description of the organisation of its management.

Cosmetic Versus Medicine: How Does Your Country Define Sunscreen?

Skin cancer (melanoma and non-melanoma) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States of America, and non-melanoma skin cancer is the most common cause of Australian hospitalisations with cancer as the principle diagnosis, having a huge cost to the country's health care system. Primary and secondary skin cancer prevention is globally inadequate, with only 3 in 10 American adults using sun protection routinely. Evidence suggests that regular sunscreen use in Australians prevents both melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers, and American research has found that daily sunscreen use reduced the incidence of melanoma - the most skin cancer deaths - by half. Despite this, in many countries and regions around the world, a major ongoing divergence remains on the classification of sunscreen as either a cosmetic product or a form of medical therapy, which in turn affects the consumers' attitudes towards the use of sunscreen. This is also affected by the increasing use of the internet, which has made the purchasing of products internationally convenient and easy for consumers worldwide, including sunscreen products, which are frequently marketed online. There is variation between each country or region and their regulations of sunscreen affect the consequent labelling claims of sunscreen products. This affects the unsuspecting consumer's choices in purchasing sun protection, which may be misinformed. Australia, Canada, and the US are the only countries to classify sunscreen as a form of medical therapy. This paper explores the current classification of sunscreen products in countries and regions around the world and discusses the impact of these discrepancies and similarities on the attitudes of consumers towards sunscreen use. Finally, we make suggestions on changes that can be made to encourage sunscreen use and safe sunscreen purchasing. J Drugs Dermatol. 2018;17(8):899-904.

A β-galactosidase-expressing E. coli culture as an alternative test to identify skin sensitizers and non-sensitizers

Although the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has adopted several in vitro methods with reasonable predictive capacity, alternative methods for identifying skin sensitizers and non-sensitizers with reliability and simplicity are still required for more efficient and economic prediction. The present study was to design an in vitro system with the use of a β-galactosidase-expressing E. coli culture for simpler but sufficiently accurate classification of skin sensitizers and non-sensitizers. A LacZ gene-containing E. coli strain that is capable of producing β-galactosidase enzyme was induced by isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside with concomitant treatment with test chemicals. After 6-hr incubation, cells were lysed and β-galactosidase enzyme activity was monitored colorimetrically by using O-nitrophenyl-D-galactopyranoside as a substrate. Following optimization of several experimental conditions, 22 skin sensitizers and 11 non-sensitizers were examined to assess predictive capacity of this method. The results indicated that predictivity was as follows: 90.9% sensitivity, 81.8% specificity, and 87.9% accuracy, when 17.3% of control activity was used as the cut-off value to separate sensitizers from non-sensitizers. Data suggested that the current bacterial system expressing β-galactosidase may serve as a useful alternative test for classifying skin sensitizers and non-sensitizers, without the utilization of animals or mammalian cell cultures.

Application of Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) Questions for Sensory Characterization of Cosmetic Emulsions by Untrained Consumers

The sales potential of cosmetic products is greatly determined by skin feel and skin sensory performance. To please the target audience, it is important to gather information about consumers' perception of products' sensory characteristics. In this study, six different emulsions were formulated. Samples represented three different types of emulsions, including steric-stabilized oil-in-water (O/W), liquid crystal-stabilized O/W, and water-in-oil emulsions, providing different skin feel and aesthetics. Emulsions within the same group differed in the emollients, providing similar sensory attributes. The aim was to have 50 consumers evaluate the emulsions' sensory characteristics. Using a check-all-that-apply (CATA) survey, consumers provided information about their perception of appearance, rub-out, pick-up, and afterfeel. Consumers effectively discriminated between the emulsions. Statistical analysis showed significant differences for 15 sensory attributes in the before, during, and after phases. Our findings suggest that emulsifiers, and not emollients, have the dominant role in determining the aesthetics of a skin care emulsion, similar to previous findings. The fact that untrained consumers provided similar results as trained panelists suggests the validity of the CATA survey and its reliability as a screening tool in the product development process. CATA questions may serve as a viable complimentary to descriptive sensory analysis performed by trained panelists.

Evaluation of toxic endpoints for a set of cosmetic ingredients with CAESAR models

The randomly selected set of 558 chemicals from Cosmetic inventory was studied with internet accessible program package CAESAR. Four toxic endpoints were considered: mutagenicity, carcinogenicity, developmental toxicity and skin sensitization. The CAESAR program provides beside the predictions comprehensive information on applicability domain and the similarity between the considered compound and the compounds from model's training set. This information was used to implement for clustering and classification of chemicals. As the technique the Self Organizing Maps was applied. This technique also enables us to define to each cluster the cluster indicator, i.e., the characteristic compound, which is considered as a representative for a cluster.

HS-GC-MS method for the analysis of fragrance allergens in complex cosmetic matrices

Potential allergenic fragrances are part of the Cosmetic Regulation with labelling and concentration restrictions. This means that they have to be declared on the ingredients list, when their concentration exceeds the labelling limit of 10 ppm or 100 ppm for leave-on or rinse-off cosmetics, respectively. Labelling is important regarding consumer safety. In this way, sensitised people towards fragrances might select their products based on the ingredients list to prevent elicitation of an allergic reaction. It is therefore important to quantify potential allergenic ingredients in cosmetic products. An easy to perform liquid extraction was developed, combined with a new headspace GC-MS method. The latter was capable of analysing 24 volatile allergenic fragrances in complex cosmetic formulations, such as hydrophilic (O/W) and lipophilic (W/O) creams, lotions and gels. This method was successfully validated using the total error approach. The trueness deviations for all components were smaller than 8%, and the expectation tolerance limits did not exceed the acceptance limits of ± 20% at the labelling limit. The current methodology was used to analyse 18 cosmetic samples that were already identified as being illegal on the EU market for containing forbidden skin whitening substances. Our results showed that these cosmetic products also contained undeclared fragrances above the limit value for labelling, which imposes an additional health risk for the consumer.

GlassAllergy: a Google Glass-based solution to empower patients with skin allergies

A variety of substances contained in cosmetic products can lead to allergic reactions for certain individuals. The names of such substances are predominantly printed onto a product in small-sized expert language. For this reason, consumers often have difficulties to assess whether some of the ingredients might be harmful for them. Consequently, patients are exposed to a risk of buying a cosmetic product that might cause a minor to severe allergic reaction. A Google Glass-based software solution for consumers suffering from skin allergies is presented. It enables users to check cosmetic products in a mobile context and empowers patients to make informed buying decisions. In particular, the solution could help to avoid or reduce the risk for allergic reactions.

Moisturizers for patients with atopic dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease with epidermal barrier defects which leads to dry skin that is easily disturbed by external exacerbating factors. It is now well established that moisturizers play an important role in preventing skin inflammation in AD, including reducing the amount of topical corticosteroid use. Thus, the use of moisturizers is currently recognized as one of standard treatment for AD. This review summarizes the role and classification of moisturizers. We also review some ingredients that are commonly added in moisturizers which are claimed to have an anti-inflammatory effects in AD.

[Safety of cosmetics use for infants and children]

The skin of youngest children, especially newborn and infant skin, has a different reactivity to exogenous factors in comparison to skin of older children and adults. The anatomical and functional distinctions of infant skin, and the risk of use of inappropriate cosmetic ingredients and other xenobiotics are discussed, as well as the most common adverse eff ects of cosmetics use in children. The paper moreover, provides an extensive overview of the ingredients used in cosmetics for children.

[Cosmeceuticals today]

The main properties of cosmeceuticals, a new category of intensive care cosmetic products intermediate between traditional cosmetics and medicines are considered. Special care is needed when carrying out studies for the validation of the safety and efficiency claims of these products. The place of cosmeceuticals among modern restorative and aesthetic medicine technologies are discussed along with the main causes behind their appearance on the market including rapid accumulation of knowledge about stratum corneum and aspiration of senior citizens for better looks and quality of life.

[Review of current situations and prospects of research and development on traditional Chinese medicine cosmetics]

The definition, history, classification and advantages of traditional Chinese medicine cosmetics (TCMC) were summarized in this article. The domestic and foreign current situations of research and development of TCMC were particularly introduced. The application and authorization of TCMC in China were also briefly mentioned. Finally, the developmental prospects of TCMC in China were discussed in two aspects of the strategy of the R&D and the problems facing when it was marketed.

[Spectroscopic analysis of sun protection factor (SPF) of sunscreen cosmetic]

Sunscreen index is the primary indicator of the protection effect of sunscreen cosmetics. A handheld spectrometer was used to study the relationship between sunscreen index and reflectance spectra. Three kinds of Dingjiayi brand sunscreen cosmetics, which is SPF15, SPF20 and SPF30, were chosen as experimental material. The sunscreen cosmetics were divided into 75 samples, and 60 of them were used as calibrated samples, while the other 15 samples were used as prediction samples. The reflectance spectra data were collected by the spectrometer. The data from the wavelength range between 400 and 960 nm were processed by principal component analysis method, and the results showed that the cumulate reliabilities of PC1 and PC2 (the first two principal components) reached 91%. Then partial least square analysis method was applied to build prediction models, and the remaining 15 prediction samples were disposed by this model. The results show that the prediction correlation coefficient is 0.967 7, and the prediction precision is good. So the spectral analysis method proposed in the present paper has good performance in classification and discrimination of sunscreen cosmetics, and is a new approach to test the SPF of cosmetics.

Comparative study of red blood cell method in rat and calves blood as alternatives of Draize eye irritation test

INTRODUCTION

Red blood cell assay (RBC) is used to estimate potential irritation of tensioactive agents and detergents. Cell membrane lysis and cell protein denaturation are measured photometrically. This study was aimed to determine if rat blood cells can be used to predict eye potential irritation in the same way of calves blood cells in RBC assay.

METHODS

We evaluated 20 cosmetic formulations using rat and calves blood according to INVITOX protocol No 37. Data of media hemolysis concentration, denaturation index and the ratio of both parameters were compared with in vivo data of eye irritancy.

RESULTS

There was a significant difference (p<0.01) between H50 value when evaluated the standard SDS with red blood cell method in rat and calves blood. According to the exact probability of Fisher taking as approach the acceptance or rejection of the substance there are no significant differences between in vitro assay with calves blood and in vivo results. Not happening the same way for the RBC assay with rat blood where significant differences were obtained (p<0.01) among the classification of in vitro and in vivo test.

DISCUSSION

The RBC assay using calves blood showed better results. Several test substances were false negatives with rat blood. This high false negative rate would be correctly identified by the animal test but it may also lead to increased animal consumption. For that RBC assay with calf blood cells is preferable to the employment of rat blood as screening method with a reduction and refinement strategy.

Reconstituted human corneal epithelium: a new alternative to the Draize eye test for the assessment of the eye irritation potential of chemicals and cosmetic products

The aim of this study was to evaluate the interest of a new three-dimensional epithelial model cultivated from human corneal cells to replace animal testing in the assessment of eye tolerance. To this end, 65 formulated cosmetic products and 36 chemicals were tested by means of this in vitro model using a simplified toxicokinetic approach. The chemicals were selected from the ECETOC data bank and the EC/HO International validation study list. Very satisfactory results were obtained in terms of concordance with the Draize test data for the formulated cosmetic products. Moreover, the response of the corneal model appeared predictive of human ocular response clinically observed by ophthalmologists. The in vitro scores for the chemicals tested strongly correlated with their respective scores in vivo. For all the compounds tested, the response of the corneal model to irritants was similar regardless of their chemical structure, suggesting a good robustness of the prediction model proposed. We concluded that this new three-dimensional epithelial model, developed from human corneal cells, could be promising for the prediction of eye irritation induced by chemicals and complex formulated products, and that these two types of materials should be tested using a similar protocol. A simple shortening of the exposure period was required for the chemicals assumed to be more aggressively irritant to the epithelial tissues than the cosmetic formulae.

Ranking of hair dye substances according to predicted sensitization potency: quantitative structure-activity relationships

Allergic contact dermatitis following the use of hair dyes is well known. Many chemicals are used in hair dyes and it is unlikely that all cases of hair dye allergy can be diagnosed by means of patch testing with p-phenylenediamine (PPD). The objectives of this study are to identify all hair dye substances registered in Europe and to provide their tonnage data. The sensitization potential of each substance was then estimated by using a quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) model and the substances were ranked according to their predicted potency. A cluster analysis was performed in order to help select a number of chemically diverse hair dye substances that could be used in subsequent clinical work. Various information sources, including the Inventory of Cosmetics Ingredients, new regulations on cosmetics, data on total use and ChemId (the Chemical Search Input website provided by the National Library of Medicine), were used in order to identify the names and structures of the hair dyes. A QSAR model, developed with the help of experimental local lymph node assay data and topological sub-structural molecular descriptors (TOPS-MODE), was used in order to predict the likely sensitization potential. Predictions for sensitization potential were made for the 229 substances that could be identified by means of a chemical structure, the majority of these hair dyes (75%) being predicted to be strong/moderate sensitizers. Only 22% were predicted to be weak sensitizers and 3% were predicted to be extremely weak or non-sensitizing. Eight of the most widely used hair dye substances were predicted to be strong/moderate sensitizers, including PPD - which is the most commonly used hair dye allergy marker in patch testing. A cluster analysis by using TOPS-MODE descriptors as inputs helped us group the hair dye substances according to their chemical similarity. This would facilitate the selection of potential substances for clinical patch testing. A patch-test series with potent, frequently used, substances representing various chemical clusters is suggested. This may prove useful in diagnosing PPD-negative patients with symptoms of hair dye allergy and would provide some clinical validation of the QSAR predictions.

The benefits of the 3T3 NRU test in the safety assessment of cosmetics: long-term experience from pre-marketing testing in the Czech Republic

We have introduced the 3T3 NRU cytotoxicity test for methodological, economical and ethical reasons as a regular part of tier pre-marketing testing to assess local tolerance of raw materials for cosmetics, household chemicals and final cosmetic products. Using the 3T3 cell line according to the standard INVITTOX protocol No.64 (NRU Assay) the borderline concentration, relevant to the highest tolerated dose, is determined for each material. The toxic effect is reached at different concentration levels specific for individual cosmetics categories, depending on their chemical characteristics. Typical ranges of cytotoxicity for specific categories of cosmetics were established after testing of hundreds of materials. The range lies between 1 microg/ml (anti-dandruff shampoos), up to 2000 microg/ml (toothpastes and mouthwashes). The 3T3 NRU cytotoxicity test is a sensitive tool able to identify more aggressive products, that are also more likely to evoke irritation in human skin. It was even possible to detect protective effects of one natural herbal ingredient. The comparative study of cytotoxicity test results and human patch test results from a group of essential oils is presented. Cytotoxicity tests represent a highly ethical approach for estimation of irritancy. On the basis of in vitro test results suggesting low risk we can proceed to confirmatory tests in human volunteers.

Final report on the safety assessment of aluminum silicate, calcium silicate, magnesium aluminum silicate, magnesium silicate, magnesium trisilicate, sodium magnesium silicate, zirconium silicate, attapulgite, bentonite, Fuller's earth, hectorite, kaolin, lithium magnesium silicate, lithium magnesium sodium silicate, montmorillonite, pyrophyllite, and zeolite

This report reviews the safety of Aluminum, Calcium, Lithium Magnesium, Lithium Magnesium Sodium, Magnesium Aluminum, Magnesium, Sodium Magnesium, and Zirconium Silicates, Magnesium Trisilicate, Attapulgite, Bentonite, Fuller's Earth, Hectorite, Kaolin, Montmorillonite, Pyrophyllite, and Zeolite as used in cosmetic formulations. The common aspect of all these claylike ingredients is that they contain silicon, oxygen, and one or more metals. Many silicates occur naturally and are mined; yet others are produced synthetically. Typical cosmetic uses of silicates include abrasive, opacifying agent, viscosity-increasing agent, anticaking agent, emulsion stabilizer, binder, and suspending agent. Clay silicates (silicates containing water in their structure) primarily function as adsorbents, opacifiers, and viscosity-increasing agents. Pyrophyllite is also used as a colorant. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has ruled Attapulgite fibers >5 microm as possibly carcinogenic to humans, but fibers <5 microm were not classified as to their carcinogenicity to humans. Likewise, Clinoptilolite, Phillipsite, Mordenite, Nonfibrous Japanese Zeolite, and synthetic Zeolites were not classified as to their carcinogenicity to humans. These ingredients are not significantly toxic in oral acute or short-term oral or parenteral toxicity studies in animals. Inhalation toxicity, however, is readily demonstrated in animals. Particle size, fibrogenicity, concentration, and mineral composition had the greatest effect on toxicity. Larger particle size and longer and wider fibers cause more adverse effects. Magnesium Aluminum Silicate was a weak primary skin irritant in rabbits and had no cumulative skin irritation in guinea pigs. No gross effects were reported in any of these studies. Sodium Magnesium Silicate had no primary skin irritation in rabbits and had no cumulative skin irritation in guinea pigs. Hectorite was nonirritating to the skin of rabbits in a Draize primary skin irritation study. Magnesium Aluminum Silicate and Sodium Magnesium Silicate caused minimal eye irritation in a Draize eye irritation test. Bentonite caused severe iritis after injection into the anterior chamber of the eyes of rabbits and when injected intralamellarly, widespread corneal infiltrates and retrocorneal membranes were recorded. In a primary eye irritation study in rabbits, Hectorite was moderately irritating without washing and practically nonirritating to the eye with a washout. Rats tolerated a single dose of Zeolite A without any adverse reaction in the eye. Calcium Silicate had no discernible effect on nidation or on maternal or fetal survival in rabbits. Magnesium Aluminum Silicate had neither a teratogenic nor adverse effects on the mouse fetus. Female rats receiving a 20% Kaolin diet exhibited maternal anemia but no significant reduction in birth weight of the pups was recorded. Type A Zeolite produced no adverse effects on the dam, embryo, or fetus in either rats or rabbits at any dose level. Clinoptilolite had no effect on female rat reproductive performance. These ingredients were not genotoxic in the Ames bacterial test system. In primary hepatocyte cultures, the addition of Attapulgite had no significant unscheduled DNA synthesis. Attapulgite did cause significant increases in unscheduled DNA synthesis in rat pleural mesothelial cells, but no significant increase in sister chromosome exchanges were seen. Zeolite particles (<10 microm) produced statistically significant increase in the percentage of aberrant metaphases in human peripheral blood lymphocytes and cells collected by peritoneal lavage from exposed mice. Topical application of Magnesium Aluminum Silicate to human skin daily for 1 week produced no adverse effects. Occupational exposure to mineral dusts has been studied extensively. Fibrosis and pneumoconiosis have been documented in workers involved in the mining and processing of Aluminum Silicate, Calcium Silicate, Zirconium Silicate, Fuller's Earth, Kaolin, Montmorillonite, Pyrophyllite, and Zeolite. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel concluded that the extensive pulmonary damage in humans was the result of direct occupational inhalation of the dusts and noted that lesions seen in animals were affected by particle size, fiber length, and concentration. The Panel considers that most of the formulations are not respirable and of the preparations that are respirable, the concentration of the ingredient is very low. Even so, the Panel considered that any spray containing these solids should be formulated to minimize their inhalation. With this admonition to the cosmetics industry, the CIR Expert Panel concluded that these ingredients are safe as currently used in cosmetic formulations. The Panel did note that the cosmetic ingredient, Talc, is a hydrated magnesium silicate. Because it has a unique crystalline structure that differs from ingredients addressed in this safety assessment, Talc is not included in this report.

The contributions of the European cosmetics industry to the development of alternatives to animal testing: dialogue with ECVAM and future challenges

COLIPA (the European Federation of the Cosmetics Industry) represents 24 international companies and 2000 small and medium-sized enterprises. Together with ECVAM, COLIPA has been involved in the development and validation of alternative methods since the beginning of the validation efforts. The work of the Steering Committee on Alternatives to Animal Testing (SCAAT) is based on collaboration between companies, but also with academia, trade associations, the Scientific Committee on Cosmetics and Non-Food Products (SCCNFP), European Commission Directorates General, and ECVAM. Some success has been achieved, but some validation efforts have failed. One lesson is that the search for alternatives requires a lot of humility.

The seventh amendment to the cosmetics directive: what does DG enterprise want from ECVAM?

A short overview is given of the current situation regarding the draft seventh amendment to the EU cosmetics directive, Directive 76/768/EEC. Future perspectives are discussed.

Allergic contact dermatitis from cosmetics. Retrospective analysis of 819 patch-tested patients

BACKGROUND

Cosmetics have been used since the oldest known civilisations, and nowadays almost everybody resorts to beauty products.

OBJECTIVE

Considering the increasing incidence of contact dermatitis, the aim of the study is to determine the impact of allergy to cosmetics.

METHODS

From January 1998 to December 1999, 819 patients were subjected to epicutaneous tests for suspicion of allergic contact dermatitis (ACD). The results were analysed retrospectively in the total population and in that of children under 16: the interest has been focused on cosmetics.

RESULTS

297 patients (36.3%) with ACD to 1 or more cosmetic ingredients have been detected. 34 (48.6%) out of 70 children patch tested showed an ACD: cosmetics represented the first cause.

CONCLUSION

For two decades, the incidence of ACD has been rising; two main reasons can be put forward: a rising product consumption and a more exhaustive allergen research in patch testing.

[Cosmetics: definition and legal aspects of the term]

Classification of cosmetics, which are more and more similar to topical therapeutic agents, is getting increasingly difficult for dermatologists. Their definition within the EU and the respective European directives, replacing national laws step by step, will be briefly presented. The problems of distinguishing cosmetics from medicinal products will be discussed in detail by examples from clinical practice. Finally, we will review the various active substances which tend to be added to cosmetics following the global trend in the cosmetic industry towards developing "medicinally" active cosmetics, and in the pharmaceutical industry towards "cosmetically" oriented medicinal products as part of a current "life-style" ideology. In some clinical dermatological fields these active substances may allow the dermatologists to use cosmetics as topical therapeutic agents.

Different element ratios of red cosmetics excavated from ancient burials of Japan

Marker elements of red cosmetics, collected from ancient burials of Matsuyama, Tokushima and Nara Japan, were determined by emission spectrometry (ICP/AES). The mass ratios of Hg, Fe, Cu, and Zn were different between samples. Element levels were compared with reference to relative amounts of sulfur. Of the possible contaminants from the bone and sand of burials, the relative amounts of Hg and Fe to S were most commonly available to evaluate the difference between the cosmetics. The cosmetics were divided into four groups; type I (high Hg with less Fe), type II (both moderate Hg and Fe), type III (moderate Hg with high Fe) and type IV (less Hg with high Fe). The main constituents of cosmetics are mercury sulfide (cinnabar) or ferric oxide mixed with trace metals. Zinc contents differ between the Fe and Hg amounts for the three areas. Cosmetic compositions varied with each burial site, suggesting that they were derived from different mines of ancient Japan.

Cosmetics in the postsurgical patient

The application of colored facial cosmetics is an important part of patient postsurgical rehabilitation. Careful cosmetic selection can avoid surgical complications while providing necessary camouflaging until healing is complete. Dermatologic surgeons should provide guidelines to their patients on postsurgical cosmetic use.

Cosmetic camouflaging techniques

Cosmetic camouflaging techniques can be used to minimize the appearance of facial scarring due to trauma and/or surgery. Facial pigmentation defects are minimized through the application of facial foundations of complimentary colors. Principles of high-lighting and shadowing are used to conceal surface contour defects by combining opaque facial foundations with colored cosmetics.

Facial moisturizers and wrinkles

Facial moisturizers are part of the cosmetic category known as skin care products, which also includes other facial products such as astringents, toners, soaps, and bath products. This article describes the composition and pharmaceutics of currently marketed moisturizers, the use of fragrances and preservatives in these products, how cosmetic facial moisturizers work on wrinkles, sunscreen-containing facial moisturizers, and the Food and Drug Administration's record regulating drug claims for anti-wrinkling products.