Although the concept of beauty differs in every period of human history, hair, eye, skin and nail care and adornment have never lost their importance, and the urge to have a healthy, well-groomed, beautiful and smooth skin increases one’s self-confidence and positively affects physical and mental health. emerged as a factor. In this context, I would like to inform you about the dermatological properties of cosmetic products that have become very popular in our country recently.
Cosmetics, which comes from the Latin word “cosmos”, is a word meaning “ornament, beauty”. In the current Turkish dictionary of the Turkish Language Association, the word “cosmetic” is defined as “any substance that beautifies the skin and hair and keeps it alive”. According to the American cosmetic law, cosmetics are defined as the substances applied to clean the body or any part of the body, to beautify it, to make it attractive and to gain a different appearance, and as the raw materials or substances used to obtain them.
Despite the fact that millions of dollars are spent on cosmetic products each year and widespread cosmetic applications, the number of research published in this area seems to be quite limited. This is due to the fact that the FDA’s perspective on drugs and cosmetic products is different.
As it is known, before being put on the market, medical drugs have to go through a long and expensive phase studies process that takes years, and at the end of this process, they have to prove their efficacy and safety. However, in this way, they can be approved by the FDA. In cosmetic products, such a process is not in question, since FDA approval is not required, except for medical applications such as botox. Therefore, it seems much easier, much cheaper and much more attractive to put a product on the market as a cosmetic. This results in the fact that double-blind placebo-controlled studies based on scientific data on cosmetic products are quite inadequate despite the size of the sector.
The big boom in the import of cosmetic products in recent years has brought up the need for a new legal regulation on cosmetic products, and the new cosmetic law was published in the official gazette dated March 30, 2005. To mention a few important points about this law; the purpose of this law; To determine the principles of notification before the products are placed on the market, market surveillance and inspection, and inspection of the production sites of these products in order to ensure that cosmetic products reach the public in a safe, effective and high quality manner.
(Article 1). This Law has been prepared to be applied to different external parts of the human body such as the epidermis, nails, hair, lips and external genitalia, teeth and oral mucosa, with the sole or main purpose of cleaning these parts, giving them fragrance, changing their appearance and/or correcting body odors. and/or all preparations or substances intended to protect or keep in good condition.
(Article 2). It is obligatory to notify the Ministry of Health before the cosmetic product is put on the market for the first time. It is obligatory to notify the changes that occur in the product or the manufacturer after the notification. According to the provisions of this law, a notification containing incomplete information and documents shall not be deemed to have been made. The inspection of the production sites of the cosmetic products supplied to the market and the market surveillance and inspection are carried out by the Ministry of Health.
(Article 3). A natural or legal person who produces, manufactures, improves a cosmetic product or introduces himself as a manufacturer by placing his name, trade mark or distinctive sign on the product; If the manufacturer is outside of Turkey, the representative or importer authorized by the manufacturer; In addition, a natural or legal person in the supply chain of the product or whose activities affect the safety features of the product is considered a manufacturer for the implementation of this law.
(Article 4). Ministry of Health to take and implement all measures related to warnings regarding cosmetic products that are found to be incompatible with the principles set forth in the provisions of this law and the regulations and other regulations enacted in accordance with this law, the procedures required for recall and destruction from the market, and the rehabilitation and, if necessary, closure of the cosmetic product production site. is authorized
(Item 5). Cosmeceuticals are preparations that exert a cosmetic effect by positively changing the structure and functions of the skin and its appendages through a biophysiological effect. These are a group of preparations between drugs and cosmetics that do not fully comply with the definition of classical cosmetics. These are called ‘cosmeceuticals’ or ‘active cosmetics’. In recent years, new cosmetic products have emerged with the addition of cell regenerating, nourishing, microcirculation regulator, anti-wrinkle, thinning and weakening agents to these formulations applied to the skin surface. These products act on different target points on the skin. Moisturizers for the skin that prevent epidermal water loss by penetrating the stratum corneum (the outermost layer of the skin), those that affect the melanocytes in the lowest layer of the epidermis (antipigmentogenic), agents that affect the lipid layer (antiseborrheic), those that affect the microcirculation of the skin, antiperspirants that affect the sweat glands, and those that affect the hypodermis attenuating or Thinning agents can be given as examples. In this context, products containing alpha hydroxy acids, antioxidants, vitamins, herbal products, biological substances, hair cosmetics, natural moisturizing factors, protein-containing substances, ceramides, retinoic acid are among the products that can be evaluated as cosmeceuticals.
Considering the side effects that may occur due to the use of cosmetic products, these products must be selected by the dermatologist and given to the patient and the possible side effects to be evaluated by the dermatologist. These side effects are mainly known as irritant and allergic contact dermatitis and are characterized by redness, scaling, edema and watery skin lesions along with symptoms such as itching and burning in the applied skin area. Fragrances, preservatives, paraphenylenediamine (hair dye content), lanolin, glycerylthioglycolate (perm solution content), propylene glycol, toluenesulfonamide (nail polish) can be counted among the agents responsible for such side effects. Apart from this, paraaminobenzoic acid (sunscreens), cocoa butter, petroleum jelly, sesame oil, some vegetable oils, lanolin, sodium lauryl sulfate, mineral oils are among the agents that have the potential to form comedones (blackheads) on the skin.
As a final word, the points that should be known and paid attention to about the use of cosmetics: Correct and conscious use of cosmetics due to the risk of harming the person, correct guidance of cosmetic users, not ignoring the importance of dermatologist in cosmetic counseling, skepticism about products offered as miracles, being in favor of natural beauty and being at peace with ourselves. be summed up.
