Science behind beauty face mask?

[RainDreamer]

So I just got a weird thought today when I went to a beauty salon and get myself a milk face massage and potato face mask: it seems like a lot of these recipes for beauty face mask involves food. It is like I am dressing my face up as a salad. Now, the experience is great, and the smell is nice, so certainly there could be some psychological benefit in here. But as a scientifically minded person, I have to ask myself - how do they even work scientifically?

The skin certainly doesn't have anyway to absorb nutritions (that is what our digestive system is for), so it is pointless to call them "skin food", and yet that is how a lot of the stuff on the market is advertised, to the point that we have collagen face masks.

For those who do not know: 1. Collagen is just a protein in animal skin that gives them elasticity. 2. It cannot be absorb to the body as is in anyway - it is broken down to amino acids in the digestive system, and does nothing but cover your face as face mask 3. Collagen films are what they use as sausage casing now instead of intestine. Using collagen face mask is like cover your face in sausage casings.

So how do they work? Finding actual scientific information and journals about effects of beauty products are so difficult, despite them being a massive industry with millions of products on the market...

I assume that the idea of face mask is to cleanse the face of dirt and oil, and replace the natural oil of the skin after it was washed away, but what does those things and what does not? I hope I am not the only one on this forum who is interested in beauty products and science at the same time...

[SomeGuy12]

Why would you think they work? The reason people look old or ugly is because of flaws in their genetics that cause their bodies to not repair themselves correctly over time, and/or genetic defects from the start. Vegetables on the skin doesn't change anything.

[RainDreamer]

I am not expecting like magical plastic surgery or anything...

I was wondering more on about things like cleaning face of dirt and oils to prevent acne, or how it balance natural skin acidity, for example. I want to look more into the mechanism of action of the chemicals within the stuff we put on our face, especially the "all-natural" stuff and see if I can find similar chemicals isolated and put into better use as actual scientific beauty product.

[shynung]

You mean whether veggie paste (or pretty much anything) placed on the skin does anything?

Well, to be concise, the human skin is durable. Excepting the orifices (nose, mouth, eye socket, etc), it's also pretty much airtight. The pores on the skin are actually just small pits, and they don't go very far in either. I think beauty face masks do little to the skin other than making it smell better, or maybe cleaning it.

I'm not an expert though, that's just my extrapolation.

[Kerbart]

I have no clue, but perhaps they feed the bacteria that break down the dead top layer of your skin, so that fresh skin cells get exposed?

[RainDreamer]

I have no clue, but perhaps they feed the bacteria that break down the dead top layer of your skin, so that fresh skin cells get exposed?

Then wouldn't light acid do the same thing? In fact, I think that is some recipe asking for lemon does...

[Guest]

Then wouldn't light acid do the same thing? In fact, I think that is some recipe asking for lemon does...

I don't think light acid can feed bacteria...

Also, what if that acid spilled on something that was not your face? Stuff could get damaged...

[PB666]

Certain fresh vegetables have chemicals that kill and are static to certain types of facultative anaerobes and anaerobic bacteria. These chemicals are only effective if they are picked right off the plant and used immediately, otherwise their potency decays rapidly. The chemicals are designed to protect the plant in case it sustains injury. The acid itself increases the rate of oxidation (10 fold for every unit drop in pH). These chemicals perform the same function as adding peroxides to the skin of folks with acne. The bacteria themselves are the result of bad-diets and poor habits. Eat fresh locally grown veggies, more fish, less beef and no lot fed animals. Avoid restaurant foods, chocolate, nuts (unless very fresh), Fried foods. Use less bar soap, small amounts of gel soaps, less makeup, and fewer cleansers, and ........................... avoid putting food on your face.

[p1t1o]

Speaking as someone who has worked in the industry:

Some cosmetics may have this or that component in, that claims to have this or that effect. But, by far the most common thing that cosmetics do is, either:

a) leave a thin oily residue, which acts as a water barrier, keeping your skin from losing as much moisture as it normally would, thus, while they still recieve the same exposure to moisture from underneath, but you are reducing the amount that leaves on the surface, your skin becomes slightly swollen (or "MOISTURISED") which will flatten out wrinkles and leave it feeling a little smoother and softer. This is how most "moisturisers" work, they dont add water, they stop water from leaving.

or;

contain solutions of various salts (can be anything, mostly harmless) which affect osmotic potentials. This can have the effect of drawing water out of the skin, or it can have the effect of adding salts into the tissues - this may then have a knock-on effect of making the tissue more amenable to absorbing moisture from elsewhere, possibly a second skin cream or other product.

Basically the biggest effect they rely on is water control one way or the other. Claims that there is some other fancy substance in there that is doing something else are possible, and they do have to substantiate those claims, but it doesn't have to be much to let them put it on the box.

Exactly the same goes for your whacky vegetable casserole facemasks, on a very basic level, your soaking your face in something watery, inevitably, this is going to have a moisturising effect, that will make your face feel all nice. But, for example, I doubt there is anything particularly beneficial about using milk instead of, say, water.

Although I suppose plain water would draw salts and other substances out of the skin, which you dont want, and milk is probably a nice pH balance for skin, so whilst I am quite jaded about the cosmetics industry, and your milk soak is probably overpriced, they arn't *complete* quackery, and if it makes you feel good, go for it.

However, there have been tests comparing fancy top brand expensive cosmetics against cheap store-brand ones, and due to them essentially working the same way (as above) there was little noticeable difference between them, even though one had lots of fancy sci-fi sounding words on the front and the other didn't.

[RainDreamer]

-post-

Blew my mind. Thanks for the insight. Never thought that moisturisers don't actually moisturise, but just keeping water in.

[lajoswinkler]

Moisturize me, moisturize me!

Yeah, most of the stuff just tweaks the osmosis. Only the most expensive stuff actually has stuff that the skin can absorb and use. The rest is lies in a nice wrapper.

Usual trick is glycerol and petroleum jelly.

You keep the skin healthy by avoiding harmful rays, not smoking or ingesting ethanol, drinking enough (not the 2 litre myth, though) water and having proper nutrition which means various foods and not "just salad for me".

It's that simple, but it's the people who are lazy and stupid that have become the feeding ground for the cosmetics industry.

[Kerbart]

But, for example, I doubt there is anything particularly beneficial about using milk instead of, say, water.

Well there is, just not for the one using it. But for the one selling it, as they can charge a fortune for it.

[p1t1o]

Blew my mind. Thanks for the insight. Never thought that moisturisers don't actually moisturise, but just keeping water in.

Yeh, me too when I first saw. It makes perfect sense too, totally legit when you think about it, and I'm sure its [mostly] harmless.

Its just theres quite a disconnect between all those beautiful adverts featuring gorgeous slices of fresh aloa-vera and flying discs of cucumber and lovely smooth milky flows of moisturising cream, compared to the reality which is "slather some grease on your skin to seal it all up!"

[lajoswinkler]

Yeh, me too when I first saw. It makes perfect sense too, totally legit when you think about it, and I'm sure its [mostly] harmless.

Its just theres quite a disconnect between all those beautiful adverts featuring gorgeous slices of fresh aloa-vera and flying discs of cucumber and lovely smooth milky flows of moisturising cream, compared to the reality which is "slather some grease on your skin to seal it all up!"

I've been advocating for such commercials for years. Most of today's commercials don't even pretend - they're almost openly telling people they're dumbasses who will buy their crap.