Toxic Beauty: Protected by Labelling? The Truth about 'Hypoallergenic' and Dermatologist Tested.

If you have sensitive skin you m ay well choose products bearing these labels in the hope that your risk of experiencing any irration will be reduced. 'Hypoallergenic' and 'dermatologist tested' are two frequently used terms - but infortunately they mayu have little or no relation to the product at hand.

As the Manual of Dermatologyic Therapeutics clearly states, 'The term hypoallergenic does not necessarily imply that there are fewer antigen present. Any product may legally call itself hypoallergenic'. In the House of Lords select committee on Science and Technology, Sixth report on allergies, published in 2007, Professor Gawkroder stressed in evidence submitted to the Committee, " There is no regulation on the term 'hypoallergenic'[and when these products are examined] I see a whole list of things which I know can cause allergy, so I am rather cynical about the label of hypoallergenic.'

Nearly twenty years ago the US FDA attempted to set standards for the use of this claim but two high profile brands challanged the suggested regulation and the proposal was dropped.

Again dermatologist tested@ can be a meaningless statement. It may simply be the case that a small number of individuals claiming to have sensitive skin have been patch tested d and demonstrated no reaction to the product.

The testing may not be scientifically valid and ther is no guarantee that it will not cause a reaction in others. As the Select committee report remarks, ' the allergenicity of a substance is dependent on an individual person's response and their tendency to develop allergies.

In 2004 the product testing and campaigning charity 'Which' wrote to ten leading cosmetic companies asking for evidence to back up their claims and an explanation for the use of claims such as 'dermatologist tested'.

Eight companies replied and explained that such claims referred to tests intended to provide reassurance to consumers about product safety, but although general information about the tests was provided, none of the companies would provid specific details on trials of trials conducted on test results.

'Which' did ask? two expert dermatologists to examine the information prov ided to assess its validity, but because it was incomplete they were unable to do this comprehensively.
In th US manufacturers are not required to have any evidence to back up their claims.

The Home Message
If you are experiencing any kind of skin irritation check the ingredients list on your personal care products. In particular look out for and avoid any products containing fragrance, the preservatives quaternium-15, formaldehyde, imidazolidinyl urea and parabens, plus p-phenylenediamine and glyceryl monothioglycolate.:

Reference: Toxic Beauty: Dawn Mellowship