Needleusesman says…This site has recipes for DIY mascara. Not sure if this sounds hygienic and may be risk of getting eye infection?
The Beauty Brains respond:
Listen up kiddies because the message of this post is as close as we get to a public service announcement: Do not use home made mascara!
DIY Danger
Beautylish, the site referenced by Needle, recommends making your own mascara by mixing aloe vera gel with powdered charcoal. Supposedly the benefit of this approach is that you avoid preservatives and “excess chemicals.” Unfortunately, whoever wrote this post is not very well informed about cosmetic science and is actually advocating something that is MORE dangerous, not less. Here is what I would say to the writer of that post:
Aloe Vera gel is not preservative free
First, if your goal is to create s safer product by avoiding preservatives, then you’ve failed from the start because aloe vera gel HAS preservatives in it. Depending on the manufacturer, aloe vera gel can be preserved by a combination of sodium benzoate, sodium sulphate, potassium sorbate, and ascorbic acid. But wait it gets worse: not only are you using preservatives but you’re using the WRONG ones. I couldn’t find any mascaras that use these as preservatives. You should use preservatives which have been tested and shown to safe for use around the eye such as Imidazolidinyl Urea, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, and Phenoxyethanol. You’re creating a formula that may grow dangerous bacteria.
Colorants for eyes need to be tested
Second, the activated charcoal you’re using is not approved as a colorant for use around the eye. The FDA requires that each batch of colorants used around the eye are certified that they comply with safety regulations. A jar of activated charcoal won’t have that safety assurance. Who knows what kind of contaminants it may contain?
The Beauty Brains bottom line
In conclusion let me ask which you think is safer: Purchasing a professionally formulated product with ingredients that have been shown to be safe for use around the eye and that have been tested to ensure it won’t support growth of bacteria that could potentially lead to dangerous eye infection, OR mixing two ingredients, one of which is not properly preserved and the other which is not designed to be used close to your eyes? (Whew, pardon the run on sentence!)
I’m sorry but you couldn’t pay me enough to risk an eye infection by “protecting” myself from excess chemicals.
Image credit: http://pixabay.com/
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Sounds so dangerous. Good call on this one brains!
I don’t even buy skincare and makeup without good preservatives, let alone do some frankenstein makeup like this…
I know a lot of girls who like to buy “preservative free” in one sentence, and then say in another how frustrated they are that *something* seems to be breaking them out. I wonder, could it be that your makeup is infested with contaminants? My guess: yep!
I shudder to think what this could mean for eyes.
I’m so glad you posted this! Activated charcoal will never be FDA approved for the eye area because it’s gritty and will scratch your cornea. Not only does that hurt, it leaves a nice opportunity for infection with the improperly preserved aloe vera formula.
Some DIY formula are just not worth the risk and this one is WAY up high on the risky list.
It also says to squeeze the gel right out of an aloe plant so it has absolutely no preservatives. smh
squeezing the gel right out of a plant and not getting it contaminated with bacteria ? Good luck trying. I’d never put something like that around my eyes
So, would you be opposed to using Burt’s Bees Sensitive Eye Cream which has the 3 preservatives that is found in the aloe vera gel, namely Potassium Sorbate, Citric Acid and Xanthan Gum?
And for others concerned that this mascara would be a breeding ground for every microscopic organism imaginable, the impression I got from the article is that it can be made fresh at each application and not packaged. That would nullify any concerns that way.
The only concern I have in the activated charcoal itself – I haven’t found convincing evidence that it’s safe around eyes or not.
Great point Bonita. Assuming that Burt’s Bees did their homework and conducted the proper microbial challenge and safety testing, then I’d have no problem with those preservatives. I had trouble finding any products that used this combination which is why I was skeptical in the article. Thanks for pointing this one out!
This charcoal thing is dumb, but I have had success with using eyeshadow pigments to make colored mascara. Those are approved for use around the eye so it shouldn’t be a problem, right?
I understand and appreciate the clarification that activated charcoal may not be/is not safe for cosmetic use, but neither is propyl/methylparaben or formaldehyde, which like you pointed out, is in a lot of lotions/mascaras/nail polish. If using charcoal isnt the right route: buying commercial, “FDA approved”, “safe”, mainstream products is just as off course. Thats absolutely outlandish to say that the FDA has high standards for COSMETIC ingredients. Go to EWG.org, tryingtobegreener.wordpress.com, trtreehugger.com… Mainstream commercial mascara is NOT safe, just as charcoal is not safe. Look at the ingredients of your mascara, google it, and question and decide for yourself if theyre safe- you’ll probably find the ingredients are foreign, unpronouncable, and highly synthesized. If you wouldnt eat it, dont put it on your skin/eyelashes/etc. <3
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