15 Secrets The Beauty Industry Doesn't Want You To Know

You may think the beauty industry has your best interests at heart, but that may not be the case. Beauty companies strive hard to market their products to appeal to consumers, but they leave out some very important facts. If we all knew the truth about what the beauty industry was hiding from us, would that stop us from loading up on the latest lipstick shades and facial creams that promise to make us look and feel 10 years younger? Probably not. But as consumers, we still have the right to know exactly what we're getting ourselves into when we shell out our hard-earned money on the latest products.

If you had a sneaking suspicion that they beauty industry was keeping some deep dark secrets from consumers, you were right. Cosmetics companies highly exaggerate the effectiveness of their products, include harmful ingredients in many of their items and put them in stores right along with an overpriced price tag. Today, we're here to expose the industry and its 15 secrets they don't want you to know.

15 Many Products Contain Cancer-Causing Ingredients

The shocking truth is that 20% of all cosmetics contain formaldehyde - a naturally occurring organic compound that has been linked to cancer. For short-term use, formaldehyde may cause watery eyes, burning in the nose and throat, coughing and skin irritation; but the long-term effects are still unknown. Although there isn't any proof that formaldehyde is a carcinogen in humans, a 1980 laboratory study showed exposure to this compound caused nasal cancer in rats. We think that's more than enough proof that this stuff could potentially be deadly.

The beauty industry is well-aware of the findings, but formaldehyde continues to be a major ingredient in many beauty products, including nail polish, but the industry would much rather sweep its adverse effects under the rug. Thankfully, there are an array of beauty products on the market that do not contain this harmful ingredient, but we sure wish the beauty industry was more upfront with its products' toxic components.

14 Aerosol Sprays Are Full Of Harmful Chemicals

Speaking of harmful chemicals, your aerosol sprays are likely full of toxic ingredients that are waiting to wreak havoc on your body. Aside from contributing to indoor air pollution, they are also harmful to the environment. Many aerosol sprays contain fragrances that contain up to 400 ingredients, and many of them are toxic. These sprays also include that pesky formaldehyde we discussed before. If you have children or pets, this carcinogen can be extremely harmful to their bodies when sprayed indoors in excess.

So what is the solution? Well, many companies have started to create non-toxic sprays that are less harmful to the environment and our bodies. Replacing your old sprays with new, all-natural ones will definitely lessen your exposure to cancer-causing ingredients that many beauty products include. You can also ditch aerosol sprays entirely and just stick to roll-on products that don't emit harmful chemicals into the air.

13 Cellulite Creams Don't Work

You've seen those awesome cellulite creams in stores, right? They promise to reduce the bumpy and lumpy appearance on your arms, legs, stomach, and anywhere else you may battle with dimply skin. These products claim to dissolve fat after just a few weeks of applying it directly to the skin. Despite this promise being completely unfounded and based on broken dreams, the beauty industry contains to claim that cellulite creams actually work.

I hate to break it to you, but buying a lotion that promises to rid your body of cellulite forever is a waste of cash. 70% of women have cellulite, and if these creams actually worked, this percentage would be much lower. Many of the products contain caffeine, which is an anti-cellulite ingredient that helps blood flow to the skin by removing moisture in the process. When the body is flushed from moisture, it begins to temporarily firm. So you may see the appearance of your skin change briefly, but for long-term effects, these creams aren't able to get the job done. Building muscle to get rid of excess fat is the way to have the smooth, firm and cellulite-free skin you desire.

12 Investing In a Good Brush Is Major

There's a bunch of different foundations and powders on the market, but you won't get the look you're going for if you don't invest in a good makeup brush. What the industry doesn't tell you is no matter how much money you spend on a product, it's not going to look flawless if your technique is not up to par. Investing in a good brush and makeup sponges will definitely do the trick, but with so many brushes on the market, it's hard to figure out which one will give you the finish you desire.

Heading out to your local department store or makeup store will get you in contact with sales reps who will guide you through the process. They will tell you the difference between every single brush and what their purpose, like using a Beauty Blenders to get an airbrush finish and using kabuki brushes to minimize pores. Upgrading your brushes to the finest quality will make a drastic appearance in how your makeup looks. Whichever look you prefer, make sure you have the right tools in your beauty arsenal to get the job done.

11 The Industry Relies On Marketing Ploys

It's really no surprise the beauty industry relies heavily on marketing ploys to grab consumers' attention and compel them to buy their products. But these marketing tactics aren't always honest, and they can be quite misleading to those who aren't fully aware of the tricks the beauty industry results to in order to sell these items. Due to lack of guidelines and regulations, brands are able to use terms in their ads and commercials that aren't true scientific words, such as hypoallergenic and non-comedogenic. These words are able to used to describe any product, including lotions and foundations, and not much testing is required in order for these words to be included on a product's label and packaging. Many consumers will rush out and purchase a product that claims to be non-comedogenic with the hope it won't clog their pores and lead to a nasty acne breakout, but they're usually left feeling disappointed when the product doesn't live up to the hype.

10 Scar Eliminators Don't Do As Promised

Many of us have scars we would love to smooth out and fade and the beauty industry preys on consumers by releasing products which they claim can eliminate almost any scar. The truth is, there are different levels of scars, and most of them can't be fixed by simply using beauty products.

When a scar is formed, the body creates a blood cut on the cut, and the skin goes into repair mode to form a scab. The scab eventually falls off, and scar tissue at the injury site will be visible. As the months pass by, the scar will begin to change. It will lighten up, and it may even fade over time to the point where it's not as noticeable. However, some scars will be prominent on your skin no matter how much time has passed. Scar fading creams may soften the look of a scar and get rid of the obvious discoloration against the natural shade of your skin, but removing the scar completely is something most beauty products just can't accomplish.

9 You Can DIY Many Products Yourself

Beauty brands rely on consumers to purchase their products in order to keep the industry alive. Many of these products are overpriced, they exaggerate their benefits, and they're full of harmful ingredients that can really do some damage to your skin. The DIY community has discovered that many of the essential products that are found in most of our daily beauty rituals can actually be created at home. The beauty in whipping up your own products is you can control every ingredient you use, and you can save yourself a ton of money by making them yourself. Everything from lotion to face cream and deep cleansing face masks can be made using simple household items, such as honey, sugar and egg whites. The beauty industry frequently releases reports on why some of these household items may be bad for your skin, but if they're good enough to put in our bodies, they most be good enough to put on our skin, right?

8 The Chemicals In Nail Polish Can Be Deadly

You may not think that getting a mani-pedi can be damaging to your body, but that's far from the truth. New research suggests every time we polish our nails, we absorb at least one hormone-disrupting chemical that can be very damaging to our bodies. The chemical, triphenyl phosphate (TPP), is used to make nail polish more sticky, and it can be absorbed through the skin. The long-term effects of TPP are unknown, but so far, researchers have found TPP in about 3,000 nail polishes. That's about 49% of the polishes on the market. This number is not completely accurate because many companies don't disclose this chemical on their polishes' ingredient list. This means you may be absorbing TPP without even knowing it, but don't wait for the beauty industry to let the cat out the bag. Doing proper research about the brands you use can help cut down on your exposure of this toxic chemical.

7 Some Lipsticks Contain Lead

Due to the lack of regulations, many brands can skirt by on revealing many of the harmful ingredients that are used in their products. Cosmetic brands are notorious for using lead in their lipsticks, even though it's known that the material is poisonous. Other industries, including oil and gas, have banned lead entirely, but the beauty industry continuous to allow lead in many lipsticks. In a 2012 study, it was revealed that over 400 different shades of lipsticks actually contained the material. The industry has since made it its mission to determine the amount of lead in lipstick and other cosmetics on the market. For those products that have been found to contain lead, the industry has been forced to remove those items from the market. The beauty industry has been able to get away with adding lead by limiting its exposure to 10 ppm in lipsticks. This is considered a smaller and much "safer" amount, but it could still be damaging to the body if ingested.

6 No Products Will Make You Look Younger

There's a host of anti-aging products on the market, and no matter how much younger they promise to make you look, don't believe them. The beauty industry is raking in the big bucks by selling items that claim to make your wrinkles disappear and make your skin look younger with the help of retinol and vitamin A. But sadly, these products are only selling dreams. Although retinal can diminish the appearance of wrinkles, there's no magical potion that will make all fine lines and wrinkles disappear forever. And still, the industry makes these claims on every anti-aging product, and they attach each item with a hefty price tag that many people are more than willing to pay. But this doesn't mean you can't experience the benefits of a product that helps your skin look brighter and more firm. Ingredients such as L-ascorbic acid in many anti-aging products will definitely brighten and liven up the appearance of your skin.

5 You're Probably Dumping Your Mascara Too Soon

Mascara will cost you anywhere from $5 to $50 if you're looking to splurge. But, as I'm sure you've noticed, these tubes of sticky goodness don't last very long. After just a few months, your mascara usually dries up to the point where you can't get any product out of the tube no matter how hard you try. The beauty industry is hoping that dried mascara will compel makeup lovers to head back out to the stores and stock up on more products, but there is a very easy way to extend the short shelf-life of your mascara. A little bit of saline solution, such as eye drops, spritzed inside the tube of your favorite mascara will rejuvenate it and bring it back to life almost instantly. It won't add months to its life, but you will definitely get a few more uses out of it before it's time to purchase a brand new one.

4 The SPF In Foundation Isn't Enough

Most foundations now boast about the amount of SPF they contain. This definitely comes in handy for makeup wearers who are out in the sun all day. They can still have the coverage of their foundation without skimping on the much-needed SPF that's needed to protect their skin. But what the beauty industry doesn't want you to know is the amount of SPF that's found in foundations isn't nearly enough to protect you from harmful UV rays. With most products containing SPF 15-20, your skin is definitely better off, but the rest of your body could use a little bit of help. Since foundation is normally just applied to the face and neck, your ears and the rest of your body aren't protected at all. If you want to make sure your skin doesn't come in contact with those harmful sun rays, after applying your makeup, it's best to follow up with some sunscreen on the rest of your body.

3 Broken Compacts Aren't the End of the World

We've all experienced what it feels like when our favorite compact goes crashing to the ground and breaks into a thousand tiny pieces. A broken compact and dislodged powder used to signal the end of the world for most makeup lovers, and the beauty industry was more than happy to have an array of overpriced compacts on the market for us to replace our broken ones with. But what the industry doesn't want you to know is there's actually a very simple way for you to fix your broken compact. All you have to do is place the broken pieces back into the tin pan, and press it together using a spoon. Then, add a bit of rubbing alcohol, and smooth out the powder until it's sitting perfectly in your compact, and proceed to use it as normal! It's that easy! You'll save yourself a bunch of money the next time your favorite expensive compact slams against the floor.

2 FDA Approved Doesn't Mean Much

The FDA is a government agency that is in charge of mandating various industries, including the beauty world, and they're the go-to department that bans certain materials and ingredients that may be harmful to consumers. Unfortunately, in the beauty industry, this doesn't mean much. Cosmetics aren't a strictly regulated industry, and there aren't too many quality control procedures in place before a makeup product hits store shelves. Many of your favorite cosmetics aren't even reviewed before the FDA approves them, and this means they could contain many banned ingredients, including toxic chemicals, that have no business being in products that are applied to the skin. Only about a dozen toxic chemicals have been banned by the FDA, but in comparison, Europe's equivalent of the FDA has banned over 1,300 chemicals in various makeup products.

1 Drugstore Brands Work Just As Good

It may be tempting to splurge on a costly and luxurious makeup product that promises to make you look all glam. Luxury brands, such as Chanel and Tom Ford, sell your typical makeup products, but their prices can sometimes cost you 10 times the amount you would pay for a product at the drugstore. You may think an expensive product will give you better results and a better makeup application, but that's not always the case. Many times, these products are overpriced simply because there's a designer's name attached to them, and they contain the exact same ingredients as the low-priced items you can find at a drugstore. The packaging may be different with a more glitzy logo, but the end results after you put on the product will be the same. If you're just a fan of expensive makeup, then don't let us stop you from spending your hard-earned cash on name brand items, but if you're looking to save a few bucks, you can get the same look by stocking up on cheaper items at the drugstore.