Hormonal cosmetics: benefits and harms. Video
Cosmetics containing hormones have always caused a lot of controversy: to use or not, harmful or not. The fact is that hormones themselves, of course, have a strong effect on the female body, and therefore, many believe that an increase in their number due to cosmetics can affect health.
Hormonal cosmetics in many countries of the world are strictly prohibited. The very first decree on limiting the use of cosmetics with hormones was considered and adopted in the United States in 1949, in European countries such a declaration was signed in 1976, and in Russia a moratorium on use was introduced in 1998. However, before drawing conclusions, try to figure out for yourself why such an effective component that copes with a huge number of cosmetic problems is not allowed to be used in the production of cosmetics.
It makes no sense to hide the fact that for the skin cosmetics with hormones become narcotic substances: in the process of using the drug with a hormone, addiction occurs and when switching to another cosmetic product, the skin will look worse than before.
It’s all about the side effects
Hormonal drugs are drugs that, if used without medical supervision, can lead to complications.
So, for example, as:
- rosacea
- anemia
- hirsutism
- imbalance of certain hormones, which can lead to negative consequences, in some cases even to the occurrence of cancer.
Clinical experts believe that it is impossible to develop a single model for the use of hormones. And it is possible to use hormonal agents only under the supervision of a doctor, who, if necessary, will adjust the treatment.
A healthy person, in principle, does not need additional hormonal substances due to the fact that the body itself produces the necessary substances in the right amount
Most doctors believe that hormonal drugs should act at the systemic level, that is, when they enter the bloodstream, and their local action on the skin is unlikely to solve cosmetic problems. If, nevertheless, women use hormonal biologically active substances for aesthetic purposes, then only in a complex manner, as part of medicinal preparations.
It should be understood that, due to restrictions, all that manufacturers of cosmetic preparations can legally do is introduce phytoestrogens, hormone-like compounds that can be isolated from herbs, flowers, etc., into the preparation of herbal products.
These biologically active substances in their mechanism of action and their chemical structure are similar to human sex hormones (female and male).
They are found in some types of plants, such as:
- date palm seeds and pollen
- wheat germ and soybeans
- mimosa bark
- ginseng
- wild yam
- in seeds of pomegranate, alfalfa and others
Phytoestrogens can be included in anti-aging cosmetics to improve metabolic processes in the epithelial layer, to strengthen and regenerate cells. The first and main disadvantage of these compounds is that not many phytoestrogens, when applied externally, have an effect. Basically, the properties of most of them appear only when they enter the intestines, where they undergo a breakdown process with the help of beneficial bacteria.
For example, linseed oil. If it is introduced into the diet and consumed internally, the condition of the skin will actually improve, but in creams the oil simply does not work at full strength and does not bring the expected effect.
A developing direction in cosmetology is the use of steroid phytoestrogens – phytosterols. It is proven that these substances are effective when applied externally: they soothe the skin, help to retain moisture, and protect
However, the effect of these substances is approximately 5000 times weaker than the effect of true hormones. For cosmetic preparations containing these phytoestrogens to be effective, sufficiently high concentrations must be introduced into cosmetics. Consequently, good creams containing phytosterols are quite expensive.
Numerous studies show that cosmetics containing phytoestrogens do not negatively affect human health. Experts differ on the benefits.
Some of them argue that the effect of preparations containing these substances is similar to the effect of the effects of other herbal ingredients that have been used for everyday care for a long time. Other experts believe that they have an effect similar in mechanism to the action of true hormones, but they do not in any way affect the hormonal status of the human body as a whole. Therefore, if you really choose hormonal cosmetics, then only legal ones with phytosterols.
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