The beauty and health of our skin is being threatened by one of the largest campaigns ever conducted in the history of merchandising. Every day on television, magazine, radio and newspapers, we are encouraged to put aside basic skin care ingredients like soap and water in favor of such complexion "aids" as face foundations, cleansing creams, night creams, daytime moisturizers and rouges.

While some people's skin is capable of facing the harmful effects of cosmetics, an estimated 30% of all cosmetic users have skin which is acne prone. This can be a negative factor when looking for an acne treatment.

Women and men alike, in their teens, twenties and even early thirties, are possible candidates for cosmetic acne. The condition is characterized by many elevated small whiteheads appearing over the cheeks and chin and even the forehead. While cosmetic acne hardly leaves scars, it can be unsightly, stubborn and troublesome. The skin's pores have a tough time dealing with the skin's normal oil sebum, so rubbing in more irritating oils is one of the worst things you can do.

Cosmetics can even induce acne in people who never had developed acne before. Since cosmetic acne commonly appears subtly after several months of constant use of a comedogenic (acne-producing) product, many women do not connect their outbreaks with the given product. The woman with cosmetic acne is in a vicious circle; the more she breaks out, the more make-up she uses to cover it up... which only causes more blemishes.

Advertising confuses the issue. "Oil Free"--the Darling of Madison Avenue.

"Oil free" is quickly becoming a popular term of the cosmetic industry. Many cosmetic producers are replacing chemicals which, legally speaking, are not considered oil free simply because they come from synthetic sources rather than from biological sources, i.e., animal, vegetable or mineral.

These synthetic oils, however, are often more acne producing than a biological oil such as mineral oil. Advertising claims for many cosmetic terms such as "oil free," "dermatologist tested" and "hypoallergenic" can be very confusing. Hypo-allergenic can mean the product is perfume-free, yet it could still have components harmful to acne-prone people. "Dermatologist-tested" may be accurate but not entirely helpful. The product can have been tested for skin allergy or skin irritancy and its effects on skin pores may have been missed.

The Oil Migration Test

Not all "oil-free" moisturizers for cosmetics are oil free; some include oil-like synthetics that can provoke acne-prone skin. How to know? Dab the moisturizer on good-quality stationery (imprinted 25% cotton fiber). 24 hours later, hold the paper up to daylight and check for oil rings. The extent of migration will show the proportion of oil in the cosmetic.

The oil migration test is great to discover certain oils in cosmetics, but it is more important to learn to read the labels and evade troublesome ingredients. Remember, not all oils are bad. Petrolatum and some natural oils like mineral oil and sunflower oil don't permeate down into the pore.