Why is the world moving away from chemical cosmetics

Take me back in time!!  

Younger me believed with all her heart that mothers were the only ones who possessed the exclusive rights to good skin. Have you noticed how mums just have the most supple, soft and glowing skin? 

Whenever I ask my mother/my grandmothers the real reason behind this glowing skin of theirs, they all seem to almost brag about their generation and of the simpler times. A time when all these so called revolutionary age defying creams and treatments weren’t a part of their main skincare routine. They focused on purely organic and clean living as opposed to now, when most of us prefer to use the fanciest treatments and gadgets to help us with our daily needs.

Cosmetics and skincare for them was homemade, a little makeshift rouge (made with roses and beetroot) for the lips and cheeks, kohl for the eyes and they were good to go. And of course hair dye was always mahendi, for those classy red tresses. 

This really got me thinking, as millennials have we complicated things too much for us? 

No doubt, the world has changed and there is much more research done in the field of skincare, as a result of which we’re spoilt for choice when it comes to skincare solutions. 

There is also my generation that believes in quick fixes, a little zit shows up on our face and instead of treating it with patience we immediately cover it up with some concealer and get going with our day. Now being a young adult myself, I’ve had my fair share of skin troubles, I’ve treated these with products that claimed to cure my skin within hours of application. 

They say, good things take time and patience and this holds true for almost everything (I’ve learnt this the hard way). Our body needs patience, respect and love for it to breathe and grow gracefully. We go through a number of hormonal changes and this is just one of the many factors that affect the quality of our skin and hair. To top that, we have a whole sea of products out there to choose from. There are a million products out there that talk about showing results in a minute and more often than not, these products are made with chemicals that are very harsh for the skin. We need to be aware of these, a few chemicals that we must look out for in the products we put on our skin are sulphates, Parabens, phthalates, talc, synthetic colours and lead. 

Most chemicals in cosmetics pose little or no risk but some have been linked to serious health problems, including cancer, reproductive and neurological harm, and developmental delays.

Research shows that “endocrine disrupting” chemicals such as parabens and phthalates may pose the greatest risk during prenatal and early postnatal development, when organ and neural systems form. Exposure to these chemicals has been linked to endocrine diseases and some types of cancer. For example, endocrine disruptors are known to affect how women’s bodies use estrogen and thus have been linked to breast cancer. 

Please read this article to know more about the terrible effects these chemicals have on our bodies. 

But things are changing slowly. Over the years the world of cosmetics and skincare has taken a positive turn. The new customer is aware now, they’re investing more time and money in figuring out what actually works for their skin. I suppose in some way we are going back in time, to those simpler times. Skincare and cosmetics have to be  uncomplicated and cruelty free. The Indian way has always been connected to nature and is truly organic. 

There are so many homegrown organic brands that are doing some great work in this industry. The world is truly moving towards a more organic and less chemical free cosmetic industry and we couldn’t be happier!!