CHENNAI: If the beauty industry had its very own horror movie, it might go a little something like this: A pretty girl walks into a bathroom, chops her bangs using stationery scissors, scoops out moisturiser our of a jar using her fingers (gasp!!) and applies it on her face. She walks away, and a host of flesh-eating bacteria start growing in her moisturiser. Dramatic soap-opera music fills the air, she wakes up the next day and her skin is being eaten alive by said bacteria: all because she dipped her grubby hands into the jar. The moral of the story here, (apart from the glaring fact that I should never get into screenplay writing) is that any hygiene advice is timeless.
Sort of like “Wash your hands during a pandemic” and “Don’t touch/share your cosmetics.” Maybe researcher Elizabeth Brooks can explain this to you better. A study in 2004 involved her analysing tester bottles in stores to see what was growing inside. She found staph, strep and E.coli growing inside most of them. Samples tested on days with most foot traffic had a contamination rate of 100%. I hate that you might feel like projectile vomiting right now, but that basically means that every single bottle was contaminated with some kind of bacteria. I don’t even want to think about the tubes of mascara. So let’s try to stay away from testers in general.
The dynamic obviously changes when it comes to private consumption: it’s your jar and you in general have a lot more control over what grows in your products. Yes, finger-dipping is unsanitary, but the vast majority of products made by good brands are made keeping finger dipping in mind. Products are made to be able to go through a lot of crap. This is what preservatives are for and why I actually like parabens in my skincare. They are effective in keeping bacteria, yeast and fungus away, and aren’t as dangerous as they’re made out to be, really. Natural and home-made products without preservatives are likelier homes for bacteria parties.
This is where the brand also comes into the picture: a good label runs their products through possible “lifestyles” and everything a product could go through with an average customer. It’s called Stability and Challenge Testing: and includes accidentally leaving the lid off, shifting temperatures, finger dipping. (Note: most “good” brands do this. Imperative to do your research!) Sigh, I’m also always a little amazed by people freaking out about using clean and washed hands in their own products while most of them are using nasty unwashed brushes for weeks on end. My dear readers, be young and carefree, do reckless things! Stay up late, make a new friend, eat five bowls of ice cream. Stick your fingers into open jars (only yours) go live your best life. Sounds like a great weekend project.
SAUMYA R CHAWLA @pixie.secrets
The writer loves to over-share, drink wine & watch period dramas