Although ingredients and cosmetic products, such as shampoos and hair dyes, do require FDA approval before going on the market, the only color additives requiring FDA approval are coal-tar hair dyes. Q

The only way to change the FDA’s legal authority over cosmetics is for Congress to amend the law. Even though the FDA has the authority to request a product’s recall, it does not have the power to order a recall of a hazardous cosmetic product. Italian foreign exchange student senior Beatrice Rotondi said girls in Italy commonly wear makeup from brands such as KIKO Milano, Pupa, Collistar and Deborah Milan. Similarly to students in America, Rotondi said Italian girls wear mascara, blush, foundation and eyeliner to school and keep their skin clean with masks and creams, though there is a regulation for foreign products.

“The cosmetics regulation is a complex regulation whose requirements must be met in order to sell a cosmetic product in the European Union,” Rotondi said. “The regulation specifically provides for restrictions on the content of cosmetic products sold in the European Union: the obligation to identify a responsible person based in the European Union for each cosmetic product, labeling requirements and the obligation to retain any information documentation demonstrate the conformity of each cosmetic.”

For cosmetic regulation in the European Union (EU) Cosmetics Europe stated, “All stages of the development of the cosmetics product is regulated by the Cosmetics Regulation, from the choice of ingredients” to the product’s placing on the market. 

Although neither agency views pre-market approval as the most effective regulation method, the EU and FDA have different standards for their approved products and what they consider to be drugs versus cosmetic or beauty products, according to the sustainable development company EcoMundo.

Dr. Jon Dyer, Professor and Interim Chair of the Department of Dermatology at the University of Missouri—Columbia, is a Dermatologist and Pediatric Dermatologist. He said the interests of the cosmetic industry can have “a huge influence” on what chemicals and products are available for public use.

“[Corporations] dictate what everyone is exposed to,” Dr. Dyer said. “They determine what products contain and, more importantly, what products people want.”

For the past four years, senior field commander Olivia Anderson has been a member of the Color Guard, or as she describes them, the “flag people next to the band during halftime.” Along with spinning flags, rifles and sabers, the Guard moves and dances across the field wearing themed costumes and carefully styled hair and makeup. Each year, Anderson wears a different outfit and unique makeup designs, some more elaborate than others.

“It depends on the year,” Anderson said. “This year we have a lot of face stuff, so it took me an hour to do hair and makeup because we have a design all over our face.”

The guard’s choreography, costumes, hair and makeup brings the music to life. Anderson said the visual component is “an enhancement” of the music. During her freshman and sophomore years, Anderson’s outfits were relatively simple. Last year’s attire, however, was “a bit more complicated” because of the skeletal makeup the show required to fit the theme of “When The Clock Strikes Twelve.”

As a dancer and instructor with The Dance Academy and a competitive dancer with LA Dance Magic, senior Mary Deaver has worn makeup her whole life. She began using “heavy makeup” for the stage when she was 5 years old but only started wearing “light makeup” outside of a performance setting when she entered sixth grade. The older Deaver got, the “deeper into makeup” she became.

“It’s just fun to do. It’s not even for looks, it’s kind of like something you learn, so you can practice it and get the hang of it,” Deaver said. “Then it’s fun being able to try new stuff and experiment with it.”

When Deaver’s interest in makeup began, she said her mom “wasn’t even that involved,” so the process was more of a personal exploration of what she liked to wear and how she wanted to express herself. While she acknowledges a level of pressure from society and social media to use makeup a certain way, Deaver said she thinks “it takes a certain amount of self-love and self-pride to know you don’t actually need it.” In the past she said people made fun of her for wearing makeup, especially because of her “more edgy” sense of style, but she has learned not to get offended by their comments.

“I used to get really upset. In middle school one time a kid put on a huge face of makeup and then put [it] on his snapchat story and tagged me, and that mentally and physically like actually destroyed me,” Deaver said. “But as I’ve grown up, I’ve realized that it’s not all about that, so I don’t really get stressed about that anymore because, I mean, it’s their opinion so they’re allowed to have it, but it’s honestly something I don’t really care about ‘cause it’s something I get happy when I do.”

Deaver teaches herself about new products and brands through YouTube and has never had an allergic reaction to any product she has worn. Most of her makeup is “drugstore makeup,” though she will splurge on expensive or high-end makeup, Morphe, for her eyes. Once Deaver finds a brand that does not affect her skin or cause her to break out, she said she tends to stick with the same product.

“I don’t share eye products with anyone because anything that’s going near my actual eye, like eyeliner or mascara, I don’t share. And really, like, if we’re talking about everything in makeup, brushes I don’t share ‘cause of skin reasons,” Deaver said. “But eyeshadow I do share ‘cause it’s just going on the lid, and I’ve shared lipstick before, but I don’t enjoy doing it. But I had to do it for dance, so…it wasn’t a choice.”

Sharing eye makeup can lead to infections and diseases such as pink eye and staphylococcus aureus, according to Parents of Kids with Infectious Diseases, while sharing products such as lipstick or lip gloss can cause cold sores. Using old makeup can cause health problems if fungal or bacterial growths develop on a product, and it could allow for eye and skin infections, according to Best Health magazine. 

“I usually use things like concealer or mascara until the expiration date, or until it runs out,” Deaver said. “But, like, eyeshadow pallets don’t run out as quickly, so I use them as long as I feel like the product is still in good shape.”

Along with avoiding expired makeup and not sharing one’s personal supply with others, a proper skin care routine is important for “skin resilience,” according to dermatologist Dr. Steve M. Nwe, DO of the Northwestern Medical Group. The organization recommends using a cleanser, toner, moisturizer, sunscreen, exfoliant and serum. Such a regiment can help combat the effects of both age and weather. Both Anderson and Deaver understand and appreciate the importance of clean skin, though Anderson prefers a more simplistic approach to removing makeup after a Friday night football game.

“I wash my face every night, and I really try to get the gunk out of there ‘cause it does give kind of like an icky feeling when you have all that sweat and makeup stuck in your pores,” Anderson said, “but washing it out afterwards is fine.”

Deaver’s routine, however, has a few more steps, including exfoliating twice a week. In the morning, she does a cold water face wash and applies moisturizer and an oil-based skin product to help keep her pores closed. To take her makeup off and clean her skin at night, Deaver washes her face with a facial cleansing brush, uses cetaphil, washes her face with water and puts on moisturizer before bed. 

A person’s skin care routine varies from one person to the next, each with its own unique combination of products and a specific order of application or removal. Dr. Dyer said some people have developed intensive skin care routines and use a variety of products, cleansers, moisturizers and more, while others have adopted an “all natural” approach. 

As durable as one’s skin is, he said it is not designed to handle daily washing, exposure to multiple harsh chemicals, hand sanitizers, refined fragrances, constant cleansing and even some essential oils. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends washing one’s face with a non-alcoholic, non-abrasive cleaner, using lukewarm water, avoiding scrubbing of the skin, use moisturizer when necessary and avoid washing the face more than twice a day. Proper face washing in the morning and at night, as well as after perspiring, will help “keep your face looking healthy” regardless of whether or not one maintaines a simple or an elaborate skin care regimen.

Since the Guard is the marching band’s primary visual component, Anderson said it is “very unusual” for the band to wear makeup. During last year’s show, however, the band’s instructors wanted members to cover their faces in black and white makeup so marchers looked like skeletons. Although most physical reactions were not problematic, a few members reacted negatively to the product.

“To provide them with makeup, they had to get cheap makeup that they could buy in mass so that the whole band could get it,” Anderson said. “So because it was cheap, people with sensitive skin didn’t react so well. But the guard, we have to buy our own makeup, so we get more quality makeup, and it’s not usually a problem for us.”

Finding the best product means more than what looks the best or will cause the fewest technical problems during a show. It often comes down to what is safe to wear. Deaver attributes some of the negative reactions people have to a lack of research and not paying attention to expiration dates. She said if people ever want to learn more about what is in a product, they can simply “go on the internet and research how it’s made.” This way, Deaver said, everyone can understand how to use a product the correct way on his or her face and body, just as she did with Jeffree Star’s brand to know his lipstick is safe to put on her eyes. 

“I guess some [cosmetics] are specifically used for different things, but most of the makeup products are safe enough to be able to use other ways. . . I use [conture] for my eyebrows, so it’s just different — I think people can sometimes get out of hand,” Deaver said. “Like if you’re putting lipstick on your eyes, depending on the brand they’re not making it like that, but it’s not uncommon for people to [use the product that way].”

A person’s skin is designed to be a protective barrier between the outside world and a person, Dr. Dyer said. Taking care of one’s skin includes being aware of what products one uses and practicing “good sun protection.” He said one’s skin can be exposed to any number of harsh chemicals in cleaners and cleansers, and even essential oils can be “quite harsh” depending on their type and strength. Dermatologists often recommend the “gentlest and plainest” products possible, Dr. Dyer said, and avoid harsh dyes, preservatives or fragrances.

“While I’m a fan of bland, simple, ‘natural’ products, not everything carrying that label truly meets that definition,” Dr. Dyer said. “In this modern world, in general, I think we often ask more of our skin than it is really designed, or has evolved, to do.”