Exposure of skin to chemicals can happen at home work place, ponds and lakes, traffic lanes and laboratories. They can enter your body through air, water or soil. The food you consume may also be laced with chemicals from the used fertilizers. Cosmetics and beauty care products can also contain skin harming chemicals.
You need to know about the types of chemicals and skin absorption from these sources and their probable effects on your skin. It helps you in avoiding such elements from your everyday life.
The skin damages caused by chemicals could be temporary or permanent in nature. Common sources of temporary damages are water, chemical solvents and gasoline. The effects go away when your skin is out of contact with them. Permanent impacts like chemical induced burns, scars, discoloration, skin dryness corrosion and skin cancer.
However not all types of chemicals are considered bad for your skin. Dermatological methods use some mild and harmless chemicals like lactic acid, salicylic acid, glycolic acid and trichloracetic acid. They help in treating sun damaged skin layers, wrinkles and hardened skin parts. The following section introduces some such techniques.
Effects Of Chemicals On Skin Treatment
Before opting for any of the skin treatment methods explained in the following sections you need to contract your dermatologist to check the aptness and risks associated with them. Some of the treatment methods may not be specifically approved by FDA explicitly.
- Chemical peeling treatment is one of the methods which help in improving the texture and tone of your skin. When it is done using alpha-hydroxy-Acid your skin gets collagen boosting. The process also helps in removal of acne, skin scars, inflammation and black spots. Discoloration of skin is reduced to by considerable levels.
- Using salicylic acid for chemical peels helps in the treatment of rosacea, blackheads, skin blemishes and other forms of white spots on your skin.
- If your skin is allergic to any of the chemical ingredients you need to stop the treatment immediately and contact your dermatologist to get advice.
- You can prepare homemade peels for acne, wrinkles, dry skin and other types of cosmetic skin problems. For example the recipe for wrinkles removal consists of almond, honey, milk and lemon syrup. You can mix them in 1:1:2:o.25 proportions to prepare a fine lotion. If you wish to make a paste out of it and make it more effective, you can add a teaspoon of turmeric powder. Apply the preparation onto the skin area and let it soak your skin for about 20 to 30 minutes before washing it off. This method is suggested to be the better alternate to using chemical peels.
Use Of Chemical Peel On Broken Skin
Chemical peels for treatment of broken skin can be prepared at your home for removing the deposition of dead cells from the surface layers of your skin. In most cases they are used in the form of facials.
- Glycolic acid is one of the most powerful agents for removal of acne, broken skin layers, dead cells and dryness. You can prepare glycolic acid at home by following a simple procedure.
- Take about 4 to 5 tablespoons of cane sugar in bowl and add equal proportion of lemon concentrate. The combination produces the effect of glycolic acid on your skin without any negative side effects.
- Now apply the peel on parts of your skin from you wish to peel of acne and dead cells. Let the peel soak your skin for about 15 to 20 minutes. Then you can wash the skin with warm water.
- Apply natural moisturizer to prevent the dryness of skin caused by glycolic acid.
Chemical Peel Skin Cancer Side Effects
Chemicals causing skin cancer can enter you’re your skin when you use peels made from them. You may read some of the most conflicting articles about the usage of chemical peels and cancer.
Some opine that chemical peels are used for treating skin cancer while the others say that chemical peels cause skin cancer. It is better for you to go through some research materials from internationally reputed organizations like the society of plastic surgeons, international agency for cancer research and FDA.
According to society of plastic surgeons the use of trichloracetic acid (TCA) the assessment of links between cancer and the acid could be a complex issue. Moreover the risks of skin burns from this acid are also raising concerns among dermatologists. Hence you need to consult your dermatologist about the safety of TCA for your skin type before you start using it.
Chemicals In Your Cosmetics
When you opt for synthetic based cosmetics you need to check the percentage of chemical contents in them first. Most of the manufacturers explicitly state the ingredients and their volume on the labels of their products.
It is suggested that you stay away from those products which don’t have any labels about ingredients on them. According to user experiences some of the chemicals that could cause negative side effects on your skin are formaldehyde, lead, synthetic fragrances, mercury, aluminum and its compounds etc.
- Formaldehyde is a chemical used for preserving corpses can cause skin irritations and even lead to cancer. Since it is highly flammable in nature it can induce toxic reactions in skin leading to generation of dead cells. Shampoo, nail polish, eyelashes, soaps, skin lotions and deodorants are some of the cosmetic products in which this substance is widely used.
- Lead is highly used in lipsticks, makeup primers, foundations and makeup blush. They can lead to blood pressure disorders, loss of muscles movements, nerve disorders anemia, skin irritation, scars and rashes etc.
- Artificial fragrances can cause skin irritation, inflammation, red patches and lead to many other skin diseases like melanoma in the long run.
- Mercury can effectively damage the nervous system, reproductive disorders, hormone imbalances and skin cancer. Since the human skin and body don’t have the capacity to withstand the harmful effects of these chemicals in skin products to avoid, dermatologists suggest that you keep away from the usage of cosmetics that are said to contain any of the above listed chemicals causing skin cancer and other ill effects.