Cosmetology: Facial Make UpThe Good, The Bad and The UglyMakeup. People has a love and hate relationship with it. A lot of women and males of course, nowadays are obsessed with it, including me.

Whether it is used to make you look the best version of yourself or look like a makeup artist gone AWOL. Make up is like an unstated rule a girl’s got to have. With all kinds of makeup trends going viral in this century, you can’t just help it but to be part of it. Makeup artist’s and beauty guru’s calls it a masterpiece. But looking your best may be as much Science as it is an art. Take a glimpse at your local beauty store or catalog when you shop. You’ll find lipsticks, powders, foundations, mascaras, face creams and all that! Let me tell you something. Every one of these products is a chemical concoction.

Of course all the men and women who make these must know science. These types are people are called cosmetologists, the engineers and chemists who make these beautiful addictions. Every day they try to invent new formulations and products. They also try to improve old ones. Every tube of lipstick, face powder, and cream lotions contains a finely tuned mixture of ingredients—the product of intensive research with advanced technologies.We will be tackling on that one later, for now let’s head on to history! It is believed and certified by scientist that cosmetics have been around for thousands of years like the women in the sixth century women made their faces paler by bleeding themselves, either directly or with the help of leeches. During the Italian Renaissance, women coated their faces with toxic chemicals including arsenic, lead and mercury. And in the 19th century when tuberculosis is considered a “romantic” disease.

Women of that era emphasized the circles under their  eyes  and used rouge or blush to look flushed with fever. People in the past (even at this present moment) would do anything for beauty. Don’t do this at home kids.

Nobody is exactly sure when make up is first used. The first archeological records of clear makeup use come from Ancient Egyptian and Sumerian tombs dating as far back as around 3500 BC. They used soot and other natural ingredients to paint their faces, and even had specialized tools to apply their makeup like make up brushes we use today. However, paints and other means of self-decoration date back tens of thousands of years.  Even our closest relatives, the Neanderthals, may have worn makeup.

But the real question is, not why do we use it. Why does it work?Well, that’ll be an easy answer for an easy question. In the animal kingdom, females advertise sexual availability and quality through physical signals. Whether it’s red rumps also known as the rear ends, or elaborate behaviors like how a black widow eats its male right after they mate, these wild women make it well known to potential mates that they’re interested in, ready for and capable of producing healthy babies. We humans lack these flagrant signals—it’s almost impossible to tell if a woman is fertile.

  Almost.If you take a look at make up from different cultures and eras, a puzzle is solved. In theory, one could put color anywhere on the  face.

But all cultures have independently agreed on certain beauty principles; Makeup is used to even the complexion, darken the eyes, pinken the cheeks  and redden the  lips all those basic make up guidlines, no matter if you’re a doll-like Japanese Geisha, an Ancient Egyptian or a modern American woman primping for a Saturday night out.  “The maintenance of youthful features and the exaggeration of female typical traits can be found in almost every culture,” says Dr. Bernhard Fink, a professor at the University of Gottingen who studies the evolutionary psychology of human mate preferences. Makeup works because it exaggerates (or completely fabricates) our natural signs of youth, fertility and sexual availability, thus making a woman seem more appealing. In other words, it works because it’s a darn good illusion and a could also be a great lie.Next is the face of my lecture. The ugly side of beauty.

The pretty lies and the ugly truth behind makeup. We have tackled or you might have known that make up accentuates your natural facial feature and structures. Make up has many benefits to your skin as well. Salicylic Acid is probably the most basic ingredient I find behind every makeup bottle or its packaging. Especially makeup products in this era are widely vast. Salicylic Acid is best known for preventing acne. It penetrates pores and reduces blackheads and whiteheads with less irritation.

Natural make up ingredients are obviously really good for your skin too. Argan Oil helps make up products like satin foundations apply smoothly on your skin. It also helps that argan oil doesn’t clog your pores. Panthenol , commonly used on mascaras. A Pro vitamin of B5 that is a component of honey. When internalized, it becomes Vitamin B5. Panthenol helps facilitate smooth application. Glycerin, is most found in makeup primers and setting sprays.

A Skin repairing ingredient. Glycerin is also found naturally in skin, so it is skin-identical. Glycerin helps to maintain the outer barrier of the skin.

 Time for the stuff that’ll make you fear cosmetics.Have you ever used fake makeup products before? I have but it wasn’t intentional. Fake products are really dangerous on your skin if apply it. It can cause severe acne, allergies and harsh rashes. One of the many harmful chemicals that are put in fake products is Lead. According to Daily Mail, some of the counterfeit makeup products have up to 19 times the legal limit of lead in them. Lead can build up in the human body over the months, leading to lead poisoning. In adults, lead poisoning can cause memory loss, joint and muscle pains, and headaches.

Pregnant women risk miscarriage or premature birth if they are exposed to too much lead.Arsenic. Arsenic is a toxic element that can cause abdominal pain, shock, and even death. If you can recall what the woman from the Italian Renaissance, these were the sickness they must have gotten.Aluminum. High levels of aluminum have been found in some counterfeit cosmetics. While many people are turning away from traditional deodorant because of the aluminum found in it, criminals are putting dangerous amounts of the stuff in their knockoffs. Described as a neurotoxin, ingestion can lead to bon e disease, fatigue, memory loss, dementia , and numerous other problems.

Mercury.  While mercury is found naturally in the earth’s crust, it is highly toxic and  it can harm the heart, kidneys, immune system, lungs, and brain. It can also cause skin rashes, muscle weakness, headaches, and insomnia. In eye makeup, it can permanently damage your vision.

Now that was my brief review about makeup. I had always been a fanatic of cosmetics, more on makeup to be . From what I have researched, cosmetics aren’t always pleasing to the eye. It can cause eye infections as well. People my age, specifically girls are into makeup products like lip tints, foundations, and mascaras but they don’t see how harmful or deadly these products can be when you have bought them in an unregistered store that claims that they’re products are high quality, natural, vegan friendly and original. So moral of my brief summary, never use counterfeit products no matter how cheap, alluring to the eye or if the saleslady says that it is safe to use. Ask for their cosmetology licenses or health codes to avoid any appointments with a dermatologist.