Beauty by nature ?

the rise in sales of organic food and low-chmical household cleaners is paralleled by an increase in so-called 'natural' skincare products.

One of the marketing buzzwords of recent years, 'natural' is also one of the most abused-and nowhere more so than on the beauty counters.

A manufacturer can legitimately claim their products is scented with a 'natural'

fragrance even if the essential oil it contains accounts for just one per cent

hidden dangers skin care

Not all new ingredients call the consumer's bluff. Liposomes, for example, do just what the manufacturers say: they transport moisture into the skin and trap it there.

But at what chemical cost? if synthetic ingredients such as these are absorbed on contact with the skin - and by some estimates more than 50 per cent are -

then there is every chance some enter the bloodstream and get transported to the liver. Beauty companies may test their preparation for allergic reactions on the skin

but the true effects may be much deeper down.

Although the permitted amount of each ingredient is small, there is no limit to the number of chemicals that can be incorporated into a single product.

By one estimate, two kilos of cosmetic chemicals find their way into the average user's bloodstream every year.

Furthermore, while the effects of individual constituents have been tested, little account is taken of the 'cooktail effect' that may result when these chemicals are combined.

Buy the effects are hidden and their origin impossible to prove. Not so when people get adverse reaction to a facial product on their skin.

Complaints about such reactions have increased with the rang, aims and claims of products. Hardly surprising that 80 per cent of women questioned in one survey said they have senitive skin.

In a recent trial of anti-ageing creams by the Consumers' association, more than a third of the 48 women reported effects on their skin such as burning,

itching, flakiness and dryness. Yet such is the belief that treatment for skin is a patented , processed and packeaged product,

the usual response is to buy another cream to put right the after-effects of the last - and so the cycle continues.

Magic ingredients ?

manufacturers exploit many tactics to persuade the sceptical consumer that their latest is the cream that will, with regular use, wipe away the yeareven as it is applied.

One of the most common tactics is the use of ingredients linked with youthful looks in the popular imagination.

Vitamin E,collagen,elastin,retinol ... all are suggestively used. Even the most enlightened consumers may well confuse retinol, a form of vitamin A,

with retinoic acid. But while the latter - a powerful prescription drug - does eliminate wrinkles, retinol will do no such thing.

Similarly, although collagen injections can plump out crease and young skin is rich in elastin,

collagen and elastin in cream simply cannot be absorbed into the dermiss. ditto vitamin E - an additive with a sting in its tail,

as it can also cause cantact dermatitis.

Off the shelf solutions

some people with silken skin are just juckier than others and have clearly got a choice catch from the gene pool.

But even they end up looking for external help. By the age of 40, they average woman is using five creams on her face every day.

The number used and the amount spent on each increase with age. They represent a form of crisis management.

Manufacturers know a growing market when they see one and with the number of older women increasing,

they have responded to this crisis with a glut of anti-ageing lotions and potions.

They currently account for a fifth of all facial skincare sales and the sector is growing faster than any other.

But do these research and much-publicized laboratory tests. All are ingeniously marketed. But inevitably, hope fuels hype.

Fifties skin care

in women, this marks the biggest change since adolescence. The menopause, which usually occurs in one's early fifties,

brings a sharp decline in oestrogen production with a concomitant fall in sebum. This makes it easier for water to evaporate,

leading to dry and sometimes flaky skin.

The epidermis continues to atrophy and is now about 20 per cent thiner than in one's teens.

The distribution of fatty cells becomes uneven and the disproportionate number in the lower tissues leads to the emergence of drooping jowls and a heavier chin.

The cumulative effects of sun exposure may manifest themselves in dark, benign patches called solar keratoses.

Forties skin care

The jouney from the basal layer to the epidermis can now take 40 day. The even patina of one's early year is disappearing as pigmentation becomes uneven,

resulting for some people in dark patches. The basal layer is gradually thinning, marking it more difficult for the skin cells to retain their moisture,

while the stratum corneum continues to thicken. The production of sebum, which peaked is adolescence, is now in marked decline. Just as well,

because thers are more dead cells sticking to the skin sureface as cell turnover declines. Thread veins may start to appear, especially on sensitive skin.

Deepening expression lines leave no one in any doubt as to the emotional history of the wearer.

Thirties skin care

The epidermis is beginning to show visible signs of wear and tear, thanks to the cumulative effects of the sun, pollutants,

stress and less-than-perfect nutrition. The resulting changes manifest themselves in an uneven complexion, dullness and retained fluid.

The thickening of the stratum corneum and decrease in cell turnover are becoming more apparent.

Repeated facial expressions are now pushing the fat in the subcutis into trenches which, increasingly deprived of their bounce, remain set.

Wrinkles are becoming an enduring feature and the cumulative effects of gravity are starting to show.

this is when most people start to peruse the beauty counters for that anti-ageing elixir that will eradicate some of these tell-tale signs.