Today’s Make-up: Is it Foundation, Food, Poison or a Miracle?

Did you ever think you would be getting antioxidants, polyphenols (amino acids) and snake venom in your make-up? At one time foundation was just a cover up for blemishes that offered an even skin tone, but today cosmetic companies are claiming that their foundations can treat acne, firm the skin by boosting collagen, diminish fine lines and wrinkles, reverse aging, fight free-radicals, diminish sun damage and age spots and drive your car. Okay, they aren’t really claiming that last one, but would you really be surprised?

With the skin care industry growing at a rapid rate - $39 million growth between 2004 and 2006 - cosmetic companies are seeking to be an all-in-one: anti-aging skin care and cosmetics. To do so they are adding many new ingredients to their foundations from antioxidants and amino acids to retinols (vitamin A compounds), hyaluronic acid and salicylic acid. Some have even added SNY-AKE, a synthetic form of snake venom that claims to work like Botox by inhibiting muscle movement.

While this all might sound great to you, you might want to do a little research before buying into all the hype. Some of the cosmetic company’s statements come backed by legitimate research and clinical studies; others are just jumping on the marketing bandwagon.

So how do you know if you’re buying a truly anti-aging, collagen boosting, wrinkle zapper? You don’t. The best you can do is check the ingredient list to see how far down the supposedly ‘miracle ingredient’ is. Companies are required to list ingredients in order of quantity, just like food companies. The issue with this is that many of the ingredients can be less than 1 percent and those ingredients can be listed in any order. If that doesn’t seem like enough to you, go online and do you research. Read reviews before you shell out top dollars for a special foundation. Good luck!