Happy Mother’s Day! To celebrate the occasion today’s post combines cosmetic science and motherhood. And nothing’s more important to motherhood than placenta!
Placenta, as you know, is the nourishing lining of the uterus that is expelled after birth. It’s also become a popular ingredient in beauty care products. So, here are our Top 4 things you should know about placenta and cosmetics.

1) Where did this crazy idea come from?
Back in the 1940s, manufacturers began promoting placental products as providing hormonal benefits like stimulating tissue growth and removing wrinkles. The FDA stepped in and ruled that these were drug claims and declared the products were ineffective and therefore illegal.

2) So does placenta do ANYTHING for your skin?
After the FDA’s ruling, placenta suppliers changed their tune and began claiming that placental raw materials are sources of protein. Proteins are film formers and can have moisturizing benefits on hair and skin. If used at appropritate levels, this is true but placenta proteins are no better than many others proteins that are used in hair and skin care products today.

3) Can placenta be harmful?
We’ve had questions from our Beauty Brainiacs who had heard that placenta products can give you cancer. Is this true? According to the FDA, no: Placenta used in cosmetics is washed and processed many times to destroy any harmful bacteria or viruses. Besides that¦the cosmetic matrix (components that bind the ingredients in products) is made from a wide variety of substances, such as alcohol and preservatives, that would present a hostile environment to any viruses or bacteria the placenta might have carried.

4) What about vegetable plancenta?
We previously posted on a product that claims to contain vegetable placenta. I know what you’re thinking: Wait, placenta is the tissue that nourishes a mammal fetus during gestation. No where in that fetus-nourishment definition is there any mention of plants - vegetable, fruit, or otherwise. So that bit about Vegetable Placenta must be pure crap. Well guess what? Botanically speaking, there IS a vegetable placenta! And if you don`t believe us, click HERE and scroll down to the 7th entry on PLACENTA.

So there you have it - more than you ever wanted to know about placental cosmetics. Happy Mother’s Day everyone!

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