When less is really more

There’s an entire host of factors that lead to the ruin of our mascara, nail polish and other personal care products - too much exposure to sunlight, contamination due to moisture, et al.

To help get more bang for your buck, companies for decades now, have used several combinations of chemicals to increase the shelf life of the products you buy. Some products can last up to five years. Wow, you might think. But really, there’s a price to be paid for this extended life cycle.

A common chemical preservative used are parabens, which help protect almost every type of product out there from bacteria, fungi and yeast. Though it is approved by some food and drug organisations, research indicates that the presence of them can mess with the natural bodily processes and functions, from fertility to development of unborn children, which is why a slew of paraben-free products have now hit the market shelves.

Another chemical preservative formaldehyde, is a known carcinogenic, which spells disaster for the nervous system, and is plain toxic. You also have ‘formaldehyde releasers’, which as the name suggests are chemicals present in products that eventually release formaldehyde. These include ingredients such as quaternium-15, sodium hydroxymethylglycinate, and DMDM Hydantoin. Now imagine that formaldehyde is the base for products like wall paint on the one hand, and your nail polish and hair gels, on the other! Another major problem with synthetic preservatives is that companies are quick to catch on to the negative buzz around them, and simply replace the name of said ingredient to something else. Sigh.

In this scenario, there’s a real need to rationalise your expectations as a savvy consumer and understand that a shelf life of one year is a better expectation as it can be achieved with the use of natural preservatives. There are several of these.