What are the risks of DIY skincare?Updated a year ago
DIY skincare comes with a lot of risks, from contamination to skin irritation. By understanding the main risks of DIY skincare and what brings them about, you can make safer choices.
Contamination & infections
The most common and serious issue with DIY skincare is that it can become a breeding ground for pathogens. Some of the microbes that can contaminate cosmetics can lead to serious skin infections impetigo or conjunctivitis.
Bacteria and fungi thrive in moist environments, so water-based recipes or recipes that combine liquid ingredients like tea or rosewater with oil are especially dangerous.
Even anhydrous (i.e., waterless) formulas like oil cleansers and body scrubs should include a preservative since they’re often kept in a moist bathroom environment where they can become contaminated.
In commercial cosmetics, preservatives prevent the growth of microbes, which is why you can keep your moisturizers on your bathroom shelf rather than in the fridge.
Some homemade skincare recipes suggest using essential oils or plant extracts that exhibit some antimicrobial effects. However, there are many different pathogens that can grow inside skincare, and the common “natural” preservatives like grape seed extract and rosemary oil don’t have the ability to kill all of them, so adding a few drops to a DIY formula isn’t a safe alternative.
At Protocol, we actually have a few preservative-free serums! It may sound wild, but we also have a sterile lab and an absurdly meticulous bottling process that keeps our formulas 100% protected from air and contaminants. Plus, our products undergo stability and contaminant testing, to ensure that our process actually works to keep Protocol formulas stable, safe, and effective.
Irritation and dermatitis
Some of the most frequently recommended ingredients in online skincare recipes include ingredients that are highly likely to irritate the skin or cause an allergic reaction. The worst ones are lemon juice and different kinds of essential oils.
Cosmetic chemists follow guidelines set by organizations like the International Fragrance Association to ensure they’re using these ingredients in safe quantities. At Protocol, we take it a step further by avoiding all fragrances in our products!
Sugar, salt, and other scrubs also have the potential to damage because they’re physical exfoliants. When used gently and infrequently (and ideally, not on the face), they’re less likely to cause issues. However, on sensitive areas like the face and neck, physical exfoliation removes dead skin in an uneven manner, and it can often damage the lower layers of the skin. This is why we prefer to use gentler, chemical exfoliants like alpha hydroxy acid in our products.
Photosensitivity
Photosensitivity is a condition where the skin is highly sensitive to the sun. It can cause you to get sunburned even with minimal exposure. With greater exposure, the sunburn can be very severe, sometimes causing scarring or requiring hospitalization.
A lot of DIY skincare recipes call for ingredients that cause photosensitivity, like lemon juice or lemon peel oil. There have been case studies where people experienced severe burns from going outside with lemon juice or essential oil on their skin.
Acid mantle disruption
Our skin is at its happiest around 4.5 to 5.5 pH, which is slightly acidic. Yet, for some reason, alkaline ingredients like baking soda keep showing up in DIY scrubs and other skincare recipes.
There’s a strong correlation between pH disruption and skin diseases like acne and atopic dermatitis since healthy skin pH correlates with better resistance to pathogens and bacteria, as well as better hydration levels.
On the other hand, ingredients that are at a very high or very low pH can disrupt the skin’s acid mantle, leading to a higher risk of breakouts and irritation.