May 16, 2007 - Read Your Beauty Product Labels, Cautions Dr. Nicolette Picerno
Avoid the risk factors associated with ingredients in some everyday products
By Betsy Martin
Decibel Communications
You wouldn’t think of leaving an antifreeze spill on your garage floor where a beloved pet might ingest it, so why would you put the same ingredients on your face? It sounds horrific and it happens every day.
The big offender is propylene glycol. The major ingredient in antifreeze, propylene glycol is used in skin care treatment products to facilitate the absorption of other ingredients and to prevent the product from melting or freezing in extreme heat or cold. Propylene glycol is known to cause liver and kidney damage, respiratory toxicity, skin toxicity, immunotoxicity and neurotoxicity, according to Dr. Nicolette Picerno (www.nicolettepicernomd.com), Denver’s only double-board certified female facial plastic surgeon who performs surgical procedures and non-invasive cosmetic treatments from the neck up.
Propylene glycol and petroleum found in petroleum, petroleum jelly and mineral oil are among the most commonly used ingredients in skin care treatment products. Often they’re labeled as being “natural.” If you have these products in your possession, even if they’re not stale-dated, discard them immediately, says Dr. Picerno.
“Many studies have verified these ingredients to be dangerous. For example, a hospital study showed that infants are 11 times more likely to get systemic candidiasis from the use of petroleum-based skin care products. The candidiasis stopped when the hospital discontinued use of the products,” Dr. Picerno warns. “Another study found that the breast tissue of women with breast cancer contained significantly higher levels of petroleum than women without breast cancer.”
Mineral oil is a byproduct of the distillation process that turns petroleum into gasoline. Nonetheless, it is the most popular moisturizing ingredient in commercial hand and body lotions, face creams, suntan creams, shaving creams, lipsticks, and all kinds of ointments and moisturizers. It forms a film over the skin that gives the illusion of softness without actually changing anything about the skin. Like petroleum, it simply masks the skin’s actual condition while clogging the pores, preventing the absorption of oxygen and moisture, and inhibiting the process of expelling toxic wastes.
Dr. Nicolette Picerno is a practicing partner at Faces First Center for Cosmetic Surgery with offices in Denver at the Centura-Porter Adventist Campus and in Lone Tree, Colorado. As one of only three female facial cosmetic surgeons in Colorado to be double-board certified, Dr. Picerno is certified by both the American Board of Otolaryngology and the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
Contact Dr. Picerno at 303-744-2300 or visit her website at www.nicolettepicernomd.com.