Wang Xin, director of the Department of Dermatology at the First Affiliated Hospital of Tsinghua University, said that preservatives cause abnormal skin proliferation and cancer; when exposed to sunlight, the relevant components undergo chemical changes, which can cause light sensitivity, redness, blackening, and pain in the skin; allergies, redness and itching symptoms; or burn to the skin.
The effect of preservatives on the skin
If some people use skin care products that contain preservatives and harmful chemical ingredients, their skin will become sensitive, red, and itchy immediately. However, most people’s skin will not have immediate sensitivity. On the contrary, after a period of use, the chemical components slowly accumulate and penetrate to cause damage to the skin. Therefore, most people are not aware of the problem with the skincare products they use.
But in fact, research results have shown that even a small amount of chemical preservatives will accelerate the aging and fragility of skin cells when used over time.
Affect skin texture, accelerate aging and fragility
The effect of preservatives on the skin will not appear immediately but will proceed quietly without knowing it. If skin aging does not occur gradually, but as if it suddenly takes a turn for worse, and various skin troubles appear together, it is the result of stimulating ingredients in skincare products that cannibalize skin health for a long time, and preservatives are the “main force” members of the stimulating ingredients.
Preservatives can harm DNA. DNA is the main component of cell chromosomes, is also the constituent material of genes, and is an important genetic material for cell replication and reproduction. Studies have found that one of the destruction of preservatives is damage to the DNA of cells. Once DNA is damaged, the new cells created by its replication will also be “innately damaged” and will accelerate aging and death. In addition, the damaged genes will be “passed on from generation to generation”. When the damaged cells of the skin accumulate to a certain number, it will seriously affect the skin texture, accelerate the aging of the skin and become fragile.
Blocking the repair of DNA, damaged cells will continue to replicate and multiply, and the preservative itself conflicts with moisturizing, whitening, and anti-aging ingredients, weakening the repair effect, making it difficult to reverse the “deteriorated” skin texture.
The damaged barrier is more susceptible to irritation
Weakening defenses: The long-term erosion of preservatives will cause abnormal keratinization of epidermal cells, which will enter the stratum corneum before they are fully mature, making the epidermis thinner, and the boundary with the stratum corneum becomes blurred. With the dermis layer floating, external stimuli can easily invade the dermis layer, causing redness, swelling, pain, itching, and so on. Furthermore, the immature cells are small in size, loosely arranged, and the gaps between the cells are large. Not only the skin surface appears rough and the complexion is dull, but the skin’s moisture retention and defense capabilities are greatly weakened, making the skin more susceptible to external stimuli.
Weaken absorption: Preservatives will unknowingly increase the aging of cells, causing the skin’s function to decline prematurely. This will make the skin not know how to repair itself when there is a problem, and it will not be able to absorb it well when replenishing moisture and nutrients. Undernourished skin cells, so falling into a vicious circle, the skin will only become more aging.
Preservatives in skincare products are harmful to the skin. They can only prevent skincare products from deteriorating, but cannot preserve the freshness, nutritional value of cosmetic and skincare ingredients. However, skincare products with harmful preservatives and chemical additives can cause skin sensitivity, dermatitis, and accelerate cell aging, causing damage to the skin.