Almost every person in the modern world uses some means of cosmetics. While one group of people does so due to their profession (for example, actors) and the other group due to their determination (for example, women who think that make-up makes them look better), all people use some cosmetic products as their daily routine. Soaps, shampoos, colognes, deodorants, creams, and moisturizers are only few representatives of the big cosmetics family.

All the cosmetics products are created to take care of skin and hair and to make people look more attractive than they are. However, due to a big number of chemicals in them many people experience allergy symptoms from the use of cosmetics. The American Academy of Dermatology shows that an average person uses at least seven different cosmetics products daily. This fact makes it obvious that a consumer might be allergic to at least one of the ingredients. As a rule such chemicals as fragrances and preservatives turn to become allergens for people.

The specialists distinguish two types of allergy reaction related to cosmetics: irritant and allergic contact dermatitis. Both of them are named this way because they are distinguished by redness, itching or swelling in the areas where the product contacted with the skin.

• Irritant contact dermatitis is more common than the other type. It can occur to any person because it appears when the cosmetic product damages the skin causing some sort of inflammation. As a rule the allergy reaction starts as patches of itchy skin or red rash which can later turn into blisters. If the person keeps irritating skin by scratching, the blisters might ooze. Irritant contact dermatitis is most likely to occur in areas with thin skin like eyelids or in the places where skin in dry and cracked.
• Allergic contact dermatitis is not as wide-spread, but might appear as well. It takes place when the person is allergic to one or several ingredients of a cosmetic product. As a result redness, swelling, itching and hives might appear. If the allergy is very strong, the skin might become red and raw. The most sensitive to allergic contact dermatitis are the areas of skin on face, neck and ears, although it might appear anywhere on the body as well.

It takes from a few minutes to several days or even weeks for a cosmetic allergy to show its symptoms. If the triggers are very strong (usually in fragrances), redness or swelling occurs within several minutes or hours. But a product might contain a small amount of an allergen or the person washes it off soon after usage (for example, soap), in this case the symptoms become visible only after days or weeks of regular use. Some people develop allergic sensitivity after years of use of the same product.