Colour in Cosmetics

Many people avoid artificial colours in their foods, but don't check out the colours in cosmetics and personal care products. It is only in recent years that cosmetics have started to carry a full list of ingredients on their packaging.

Making sense of the ingredients can be difficult for the lay person. This is particularly true for colourings, which often go under the guise of numbers rather than names.

In many countries colours in cosmetics are listed as colour index numbers. C.I. numbers are allocated by the Society of Dyers and Colourists. The scheme covers colours used in food, personal care products, cosmetics, household products and fabric dyeing. So, for example you will not normally see ?tartrazine? listed in your lipstick ingredients, but it may be there listed as C.I. 19140. Erythrosine will be listed as C.I. 45430, and so on.

The USA uses a different system: the FD & C colors have been categorised by the American Food & Drink Administration for use in foods, drugs and cosmetics. So in this system tartrazine is FD & C yellow 5, and amaranth is FD & C red 2.

The ?E Number? system is used by the European Community (EC). This is a system of giving code numbers to food additives, some of which are also used in cosmetics and personal care products. This system is also used in some other countries but without the E prefix, so E102 becomes simply colour ?102?.

All this confusion for the average consumer would not be important, but for the fact that some of these colours are known to cause problems in susceptible individuals. For example, tartrazine (also known as FD & C Yellow 5, CI 1914 and EI02) can cause migraines, itching, rhinitis and agitation in susceptible individuals. Many individuals avoid its use in food, but do not realise how extensively it is used in cosmetics, such as lipstick, and personal care products.

The big worries in terms of colours in cosmetics and personal care products are lipstick, coloured lip balms, lip gloss and lip pencils, because anyone who uses these regularly ?eats? a fair quantity over their life time, but these colours also appear in skin cream, foundation, mascara and so on too. (Remember also that these colours can also be in 'natural' cosmetics and skin care products.)

Another worry is that even the 'experts' cannot agree on an international 'safe' list of colours, so that a colour may be allowed in one country, but banned elsewhere. For example, quinoline yellow is allowed within the European Community and in some other countries, but is banned in Japan, Norway and the United States.

As ever, the advice is: keep yourself informed and read the label. Here is a list of the different names and numbers that common colourings go under:

Tartrazine: E102 or FD & C Yellow 5 or C.I. 19140
Quinoline yellow or E104 or C.I. 47005
Sunset yellow or E110 or FD & C Yellow 6 or C.I. 15985
Amaranth or E123 or FD & C Red 2 or C.I. 16185
Ponceau 4R or E124 or C.I. 16255
Erythrosine or E127 or FD & C Red 3 or C.I. 45430
Red 2Gor E128 or C.I. 18050
Allura red AC or E129 or FD & C Red 40or C.I. 16035
Patent blue V or E131 or C.I. 42051
Indigo carmine or E132 or FD & C Blue 2or C.I. 73015
Brilliant blue FCF or FD & C Blue 1 orC.I. 42090
Fast green FCFor FD & C Green 3 orC.I. 42053
Green S or E142 or C.I. 44090

Jane Thurnell-Read is a writer and researcher on health, stress, alternative medicine, and happiness. Visit her web site http://www.healthandgoodness.com for tips and information on how to live a happier, healthier life no matter how busy you are.

The Swan on the Chopping Block

When Anderson wrote ?The Ugly Duckling?, he was imagining a natural transformation from awkward youth to mature beauty. His vision did not include a meat cleaver. The new network show, ?The Swan? is a travesty on so many levels that it is difficult to know where to begin. There is nothing wrong with using cosmetic surgery to correct a definitive flaw but to turn yourself over to megalomaniacs with scalpels is cause for more therapy than these women are receiving.

It is unconscionable that television should even consider anything so potentially damaging. However, the women who allow themselves to be the golden goose (to mix metaphors) are equally to blame. What sane women would with good conscience turn herself over to strangers without having any input into what is being done.

The Swan reflects society?s superficial attitude towards cosmetic surgery as a cure all for everything from natural aging to an unhealthy lifestyle. It is not enough that millions of baby boomers are already flocking to cosmetic surgeons to graft an artificial spring over a natural winter, now they are fiercely promoting the idea to much younger women even in those in their 20s who admittedly should look far better than they do but could substitute restraint for butchery to improve themselves without outside help. Taking individual responsibility is a far healthier solution to the problem

A healthy person always looks 10 to 20 years younger than her peers. While many women would give anything for beauty, there is one thing that should never be sacrificed --health. Health and beauty are connected vessels: if you steal from one, you steal from the other.

Your inner and outer body are two sides of the same coin. If the colors and forms of your body are changing outwardly, do not be mistaken, for they are also changing inwardly. If surgery is needed on the outside, it might be an indication that surgery will soon be needed on the organs inside as well. Often, the exterior flaws that can be corrected by cosmetic surgery are the result of much more serious internal problems. If the cause is not addressed, the problem will recur.

Cosmetic surgery will not make you younger. Any surgery drastically ages your body. In fact, biologically, you will get older. Facelifts and associated procedures do take years off your face temporarily but add years to your body permanently. Is it worth undergoing 10 to 12 hours of consecutive procedures, exhausting your body, and endangering your life for superficial changes that can largely be obtained through a healthy, disciplined lifestyle?

Think about the images of how the skin was separated from the underlying tissue; how it was lifted back and tightened; how excess skin was trimmed away; and the ear-to-ear incision was closed with surgical staples. Once seen, it is impossible to forget the sight of how the skin was torn or burned, how fat was sucked up, and how foreign materials were implanted.

Since beauty in its natural state requires no force or coercion, the procedures are so gross that it?s difficult to perceive the final result as artistic. Beauty is incompatible with pain and horror. No matter how widely accepted cosmetic surgery is, it will never be separated from the terrible ordeal the subject endured.

Facelifts do not last forever and the negative effects cannot be completely undone. I am asking you to give a new lifestyle a try. You might be surprised how few faults you see in yourself that you are willing to allow someone else to correct. The results will be so astonishing, you just might like yourself the way you are about to become. Beauty, health, and youthfulness are all connected. Your guide for deciding if you are doing the right thing should be--when you gain one, are the others victims?

There is no natural beauty without 100% natural food. The lack of beauty, especially in people over forty, is the result of the consumption of devitalized and denatured foods. Cooked food depletes the body's enzyme reserves and damages its rejuvenating power. On the hand, the Rawsome Diet of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds in their raw state will help your body to make the most of its revitalizing abilities. By restoring the integrity of every cell and by facilitating the operation of every organ, it will bring your weight to its ideal mark, refine your features and add delicacy to your face.

? 2004 Tonya Zavasta

About The Author

Tonya Zavasta is the author of the book ?Your Right to Be Beautiful: How to Halt the Train of Aging and Meet the Most Beautiful You? and of the soon to be published its sequel ?Beautiful on Raw?. In these books Tonya comes across as an ambassador for plain looking women in their quest for physical beauty. Tonya knows firsthand what it is to be humiliated, face adversity and meet the complex obstacles of daily living with a congenital disability. In her forties facing several reconstructive hip surgeries to enable her to walk, she sought a way to offset the devastating effects of anesthetics on her health and appearance. She became convinced that the solution to her quest for health and beauty was to be found in the raw food lifestyle or the Rawsome Diet as she calls it.

To learn more about how you can uncover your Rawsome beauty, visit: www.beautifulonraw.com

Tonyazavasta@hotmail.com

Beauty Today: All Smoke and Mirrors?

Did you ever notice that the bar is continually being raised on exactly what physical characteristics define beauty? As I sit in front of the TV, I am bombarded by beauties with pouty lips, perfect bone structure, flawless skin, more voluptuous upper regions, size 2 waists, and hair that resembles spun silk. Take these same beauties and plop them back in time 20-30 years, when the advent of modern cosmetic technology had not even begun to reach its full potential. Do you think they would have had those same attributes you find yourself longing for when faced with these images? My guess is probably not, or at least not to the same extent.

True, genetics play a role in physical beauty, but with the likes of total extreme makeover reality TV (The Swan, Extreme Makeover, Dr. Beverly Hills) and abundant publicity, we see that beauty and cosmetic improvement can now be achieved by a few thousand dollars and a good plastic surgeon. Not only that, but cosmetics in general are now so technologically advanced, you can improve your looks by personal makeup application and home treatments.

There are now do-it-yourself cosmetic treatments such as home microdermabrasion kits, chemical peels, botox creams and gels, teeth whiteners, hair removal treatments, cellulite treatments, professional hair straighteners and colors, self tanners, lip enlargers, acne treatments, and the list goes on and on. Cosmetics marketers and science have joined forces to give women everything they ever wanted to be their most beautiful, and feel better about themselves. Women are benefitting by so many companies competing for a piece of these fairly new markets by lower, more competitive prices.

Not only are there new breakthroughs in the world of cosmetic science, but there are constantly new studies and discoveries in the field of nutrition, fitness, and wellness. Combine this with the new wave of technologically advanced cosmetics, supplements, and treatments, and you've got a recipe for a healthier, longer, more satisfying life for those of us who decide to take advantage of the advanced knowledge of our time.

So, does your desire to be your best and most beautiful self make you shallow, less credible, or somehow jeopardize your feminist agendas? Unless you've somehow compromised your integrity, morals, or core beliefs along the way, the answer is ABSOLUTELY NOT! As long as you are not putting yourself at high risk for physical harm, obsessing endlessly, or spending your life savings, investing time and money into your beauty ultimately is an investment in your well being, self esteem, and many times, mental and physical health. Feeling beautiful is part of what makes us women. Come on, it's just plain FUN to experiment with different looks and different products! It feels good to be noticed, and when you feel beautiful, you tend to radiate confidence and power. It is inherent in our nature to want to feel feminine and look and feel our best, and there is nothing wrong with it, as long as it is not all-consuming.

As a self-proclaimed product junkie, I can attest that many of these newly engineered products really do work, as I have tried nearly all of them in the quest to look and feel my best. I can't wait to see what they'll come out with next, as every new product seems to top the last. Hey, women have come a long way, and we deserve to feel sexy and confident - beyond smoke and mirrors!

Danna Schneider, Webmaster
Provides unbiased cosmetic and beauty product reviews, along with sophisticated beauty and makeup advice, through her website CosmeticsGalore.com Cosmetic Product Reviews and Comparisons