Makeup and Your Health:
CoverGirl vs. Bare Essentials
By Kyleen, age 15, Arizona
In September I did an article involving health concerns with popular hairsprays (Can Your Favorite Hair Spray Cause Cancer?). This month's article will explain which line of foundations is worse for your health and which is better. I will break down certain ingredients in both companies' products, and explain which can be hazardous for your body.
CoverGirl
If we are talking about foundation, then CoverGirl's products are about the worst you can get. Yes, they may be cheaper, but they are definitely not better. At cosmeticsdatabase.com, CoverGirl foundations can be ranked as high as 7 on their scale. You will recall that this website ranks personal care products, including makeup and skin, eye, hair, and nail care, from 1 to 10, and also color codes them. You were advised to avoid those coded red (ranked 7-10). Be cautious with yellows (3-6). The greens (0-2) are the ones that are recommended.
The foundations from CoverGirl offer horrible protection against sun rays. They can actually increase how much UVB and UVA rays your skin normally takes in. On the Cosmetics Database website foundations from this company are ranked as a health hazard as well as a sun hazard. They contain titanium dioxide and octinoxate (octyl methoxycinnamate) which may be very hazardous for your skin. CoverGirl is not the best choice for a foundation. Below, see how this brand compares to one rated much better for you. Also, CoverGirl (a Procter & Gamble company) is one of those companies that experiments on animals.
CoverGirl Liquid TruBlend
Bare Essentials
Bare Essentials, also known as Bare Minerals, is a much better choice. Now you need to know that there will never be a makeup product that will be good for your skin. Every one will have its flaw. But in a comparison between CoverGirl foundation and Bare Essentials foundation your skin would be better off with Bare Essentials. It was rated on the Cosmetics Database website as a 3 compared to a 7 for CoverGirl. (Again, a lower score is better.) Bare Essentials foundation is considered a minor hazard for your skin. It still has some issues linked to sun protection, as it contains titanium dioxide, like CoverGirl, but it contains a much lower amount, which lessens the level of the hazard.
Bare Essentials Foundation
Some ingredients in each product can cause cancer or allergic reactions to your skin. Ingredients in CoverGirl can cause organ system toxicity, and not only in non-reproductive organs. Both are good products in the sense that they do what you want them to do. But from my perspective I would rather have a product that won't cause cancer or increase my skin's sensitivity to UVB and UVA rays. I would rather have a product that is safer and not tested on animals. So take what you're reading and be aware the next time you make a cosmetics purchase.
