Mascara is one type of makeup product that many females cannot be without. This cosmetic item is necessary for providing females with thick and luxurious eyelashes that they desire. When a woman “puts on her face”, she will use mascara as a part of her own personal beautification process. Since this is the case, a woman has to make to make sure that she is wearing the best makeup product that will make her look attractive and will not break out her face. Here is some useful advice that will help a female to determine if she using the best mascara. 

Common Ingredients that are used in Mascara Products 

Mascara is an ancient product that has been used by women for thousands of years. In the past women used ash and soot to darken and thicken their lashes. In modern times, the FDA prohibits these two materials from being included inside of cosmetic products. After all, both of these ingredients come from substances such as tar and coal and they have the ability to cause a rash to a person’s skin or to affect their health. 

Currently, the FDA allows cosmetic companies to use ingredients by making specific compounds. Most mascara products typically contain compounds such as carbon black or iron oxide pigment. The darkening effect that mascara provides are usually derived from these substances. 

A polymer is used to coat lashes once the mascara product has been added to a person’s face. Thickening waxes or oils are also used within this product. These ingredients vary and they include substances such as mineral oil, paraffin, petrolatum, carnauba and/or candelilla wax. All of these ingredients are typically safe to use on a person’s face and they usually will not cause a problem to the skin once it comes into contact with these substances. 

What is a Good Mascara Product? 

A good mascara product will not harm a person skin once it comes into contact with this substance and it will not cause them health problems after long term use. It will also be easy to wipe off at the end of the day before a person goes to sleep. 

Mascara that is hard to take off a person’s face is not a good eyelash enhancing product because it will ultimately ruin a person’s lashes and/or eyebrows. When a person has to take a lot of effort to wipe off their mascara they will end up pulling out more of their lashes. Over the long run it will cause a person lose more lashes since this process removes them from the eyelids. 

About Waterproof Mascaras 

Waterproof mascara is designed to stay on a person’s face even when it gets wet. This product should not run off in the shower, bathtub, sauna or swimming pool. The best way that a person can tell if they have a good waterproof mascara product is by reading the ingredients. If water is included high up on the list of ingredients then it will probably wash out once it comes into contact with a liquid. 

Watch out for these Ingredients in Mascara 

While the FDA endorses the ingredients that are used in most mascara products; they still should be closely evaluated. Ingredients such as parabens, aluminum powder, propylene glycol and retinyl acetate are safe to use but have been known to cause some health issues. 

Parabens are added to makeup to prohibit bacteria growth. This product has the ability to limit the production of the hormone estrogen. This ingredient is also found, in relatively high amounts, inside of tumors. Keep in mind that this does not mean that a mascara use will cause cancer but this substance does have a tendency to get into a person’s breast at a high efficiency. People should be mindful of this effect that mascara will have on their body. 

Propylene has been known to irritate the skin. This ingredient is also a neurotoxin. In other words, propylene has the ability to interfere with a person’s cellular process. Retinyl acetate has the ability to make changes to a person’s body at the biochemical and cellular level. This means that a person’s genes “could be altered” when it is exposed to long term use of this substance. 

Realistically, people do not mutate into hideous creatures once they put on their mascara; however, people should make sure that they are not being exposed to a great deal of this substance. Ultimately, natural mascara is probably the best type to use in terms of safety. Most of these products contain plant based ingredients and nontoxic to the skin.