Cosmetics

• 1. Introduction

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  Cosmetics are mixtures of chemical compounds applied to the body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering appearance. People have used them for thousands of years, with ancient Egyptians and Sumerians among the earliest. Some of those early preparations could kill the people who wore them. White lead, used across cultures, swelled and inflamed the eyes, weakened tooth enamel, and blackened skin. Heavy use was known to lead to death. So how did a category of products that once caused blindness and deformity become a multibillion-dollar enterprise woven into nearly every industrial society? Who decided what belongs under the umbrella, and who decides whether it is safe? And why has the same jar of powder been celebrated as ornament and condemned as an instrument of oppression?

• 2. The Boundary Of A Word

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  The word cosmetics descends from the Greek kosmetike tekhne, meaning the technique of dress and ornament. Its deeper root is kosmos, meaning both order and ornament, with the related kosmetikos describing someone skilled in ordering or arranging. That sense of arrangement still governs what counts as a cosmetic today. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration defines cosmetics as products intended to be applied to the human body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance without affecting the body's structure or functions. Eye shadow sits inside that definition, but so do teeth-whitening strips and perfumes. The FDA broadens it further to include any material intended for use as an ingredient in a cosmetic product. One thing is deliberately left out: the FDA specifically excludes pure soap from the category, a small exception that draws the legal edge of the whole field.

• 3. A History Written In Lead

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  In Europe through the Middle Ages, the fashionable face was whitened and the cheeks rouged, even as cosmetics were openly frowned upon at many points in Western history. Some preparations were harmless, like berries and beetroot, but many were chemically dubious and even poisonous. Ceruse, or white lead, was used throughout different cultures, including during the Renaissance in the West. The same toxic pursuit of pallor appeared far from Europe, in the white Japanese face makeup known as oshiroi, also produced using white lead. The danger was not confined to the distant past. During the early 20th century, the mascara Lash Lure caused blindness. In the second part of the 19th century, scientific advances finally produced makeup free of hazardous substances such as lead. Among the early major developments listed for the field are kohl used by ancient Egyptians, castor oil used in ancient Egypt as a protective balm, skin creams of beeswax, olive oil, and rose water described by the Romans, and Vaseline and lanolin in the nineteenth century.

• 4. Building An Industry

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  In 1882, English actress and socialite Lillie Langtry became the poster girl for Pears of London, the first celebrity to endorse a commercial product. She allowed her name to be used on face powders and skin products. During the 1910s, the American market was developed by Elizabeth Arden, Helena Rubinstein, and Max Factor. Revlon joined them just before World War II, and Estee Lauder just after. By the middle of the 20th century, cosmetics were in widespread use by women in nearly all industrial societies. The world's largest cosmetics company is L'Oreal, founded by Eugene Schueller in 1909 as the Societe Francaise de Teintures Inoffensives pour Cheveux. Ownership later split between Liliane Bettencourt at 26 percent and Nestle at 28 percent, with the remaining 46 percent traded publicly. The largest cosmetic companies also include Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Shiseido, and Estee Lauder. Manufacture is dominated by a small number of multinational corporations born in the early 20th century, while distribution spreads across a wide range of businesses.

• 5. Money And Markets

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  In 2005, the cosmetics market across the US, Europe, and Japan measured about 70 billion euros a year. The worldwide cosmetics and perfume industry generates an estimated annual turnover of 170 billion US dollars, according to Eurostaf in May 2007, with Europe leading at roughly 63 billion euros. Germany generated 12.6 billion euros of retail sales in 2008, making it the third largest cosmetic industry in the world after Japan and the United States. German exports of cosmetics reached 5.8 billion euros that year, against imports of 3 billion euros. France has grown its cosmetic sector for 40 consecutive years, reaching a record 6.5 billion euros in 2006, with famous brands including Vichy, Yves Saint Laurent, and Yves Rocher. Italy's industry was estimated to reach 9 billion euros in 2007, dominated by hair and body products, which make up about 30 percent of its market. According to Euromonitor International, the market in China was expected to be 7.4 billion dollars in 2021, up from 4.3 billion dollars in 2016, driven by social media and the changing attitudes of people aged 18 to 30.

• 6. Paint, Powder, And Protest

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  In 1968, at the feminist Miss America protest, demonstrators symbolically threw feminine products into a Freedom Trash Can. Cosmetics were among the items they called instruments of female torture and accoutrements of enforced femininity. Some women have described peer pressure to use cosmetics that results in objectification, and the wider acceptance of makeup led some to see it as a tool in the oppression and subjection of women. The arguments have not all run one direction. Procter & Gamble, which sells CoverGirl and Dolce & Gabbana makeup, funded a Boston University study concluding that makeup makes women seem more competent. Because of the source of funding, the quality of that study is questioned. The audience has also widened. Men also use makeup to enhance facial features or cover blemishes and dark circles, and the negative stigma of men wearing makeup in countries such as the United States has weakened over the years. Brands have increasingly targeted men, with some products made specifically for them.

• 7. The Anatomy Of A Face

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  Primer goes on the face before makeup, creating a typically transparent, smooth layer, sometimes tinted with greens, oranges, and purples to correct redness, purple shadows, or orange discolouration. Concealer is more heavily pigmented and thicker than foundation, used to hide marks or blemishes. Foundation creates a smooth, even base across the entire face. Eyeshadow draws attention to the eyelids and the space below the eyebrows and is available in almost every colour. False eyelashes use hair that is human, mink, or synthetic, attached to the lash line with latex or latex-free glue, while magnetic versions attach after magnetic eyeliner is applied. Eyelash extensions are more permanent, with each set lasting two to three weeks before it can be filled, similar to acrylic nails. Mascara is applied with a spiral bristle brush. Skincare runs in parallel, from cleansing oils used in two-step routines to clay-based masks of kaolin clay or fuller's earth, peel masks, and sheet masks becoming extremely popular in Asia. Sunscreens carry an SPF rating for UVB, with the gold standard set at least at SPF 30 and at least 4 stars or plus symbols.

• 8. Drawing The Rules

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  In 1938, the United States passed the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, authorizing the FDA to oversee safety in the cosmetic industry. The current law does not require cosmetic products or ingredients to have FDA approval before market, except for color additives, and the Cosmetic Safety Enhancement Act was introduced in December 2019. Animal testing became the field's sharpest legal battleground. As of 2019, an estimated 50 to 100 million animals were tested each year in locations such as the United States and China. In 2018, California banned the sale of animal-tested cosmetics. Testing is banned in the Netherlands, India, Norway, Israel, New Zealand, Belgium, and the UK. The European Union agreed in 2002 to phase in a near-total ban, and EC Regulation 1223/2009 took effect on the 11th of July 2013. China required animal testing until 2014, then lifted compulsory testing laws in 2020. Newer concerns are physical as well as legal. Cosmetic products can contain micro- or nanoplastics, added for texture, illumination, or stabilisation, which can enter the body through hair follicles, sweat glands, or abrasions and may lead to inflammation, allergy, or an increased risk of carcinogenesis.