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Our dressing tables often overflow with lotions and potions we believe will help us look our best. But when we moisturise, wash, exfoliate or bronze, we're using products whose contents are mostly a mystery to us - and now scientists warn some of them could harm us.


Here, Tanith Carey looks at every day make-up that could ruin your health...

EYELINER INFECTIONS

Despite our eyes being sensitive, we bombard them with eyeliners for that 'smokey' look. But using pencils on the inner rims can damage sight, as they contain oils, silicones, gums and waxes that can build up, causing redness, bacterial infections and blurred vision.Dr Alison Ng, of Canada's University of Waterloo, found tiny eye pencil particles get into the eyes within five minutes of application and as they're so sticky they don't get washed out by natural defences.

Dr Ng said: 'Women who wear contact lenses are most likely to notice problems.

'If they have eyeliner stuck to their lenses, increasing deposits might cause vision disruption as the lens becomes cloudier.'

Dr Ng recommends sharpening eyeliner before each application so there are fewer bacteria on the tip - or with twist-up eyeliner, cutting some off the end before use. And she advises always removing eye make-up before bed to avoid debris building up.AGEING FAKE TAN

There's nothing like a sweep of self-tan to give you a glow.

However, the key ingredient is dihydroxyacetone, or DHA, a carbohydrate which can be made from cane sugar or beetroot. It reacts with amino acids on the skin to make melanoidins, which resemble melanin, the pigment that gives you a tan. While DHA appears to do no harm when applied to the skin, a study at Berlin's Gematria Test Laboratory found that sunning yourself soon after applying it, makes you 180 per cent more vulnerable to the effects of sun ageing.

They found there was a reaction between UV light and the skin's amino acids when they had been treated with self-tanning products, which triggered the formation of more ageing free radical cells.

According to Siobhan O'Connor, author of Dirty Looks: The Truth About Your Beauty Products: 'If you still want to use the stuff, you have to be extremely careful to avoid the sun for at least a day after application because with that kind of potential damage, you might as well just tan.'

METALS IN LIPSTICK

Many of us don't feel fully dressed without a slick of lip colour. But some research has found that more than half of lipsticks contain trace amounts of lead and other toxic metals, such as cadmium and aluminium, which have been linked to nervous system damage and foetal abnormalities.

Not all of these ingredients are added directly to lipstick, but many pigments are made from minerals which contain them.

While the cosmetics industry says the amounts are too tiny to make a difference, a University of California study found women re-apply lipstick between two and 14 times a day, with the result that they can take in much as 87 milligrams of the cosmetic.

Over a lifetime, campaigners say, this means that levels of metals can build up to an unsafe level.

Pat Thomas, author of Skin Deep: The Essential Guide To What's In The Toiletries And Cosmetics You Use, says: 'It's not possible to make the bright colours without pigments that contain heavy metals like lead, but also aluminium and cadmium.

'Lipstick that isn't rubbed off or blotted off simply gets swallowed and the worrying thing about lead is that it is a potent neurotoxin that builds up in the body.' Pat advises using sheer glosses and tints for daily wear, as they generally have lower levels of heavy metals, and saving heavier lipsticks for 'special' occasions.

FACE CREAM RASHES

A chemical called methylisothiazolinone, or MI, which is increasingly used as a preservative in face creams, has become a major source of allergies.

Dr Nick Lowe, of the British Association of Dermatologists, says: 'It was introduced a few years ago to replace preservatives called parabens which got a lot of adverse publicity.

'But MI brings a much higher risk of allergic reaction on people with sensitive skins, typically itching, redness which can look like acute eczema and blistering.

'You can be using your night creams, face creams or eye cream for months and you can suddenly get a reaction. Consumers need to look on the ingredient lists to avoid it.'

WIPES THAT BURN

Sales of make-up wipes are doubling year-on-year, but experts worry they can leave chemical residues that harm the delicate eye area and make skin more sensitive.

Dr Adam Friedmann, from the Harley Street Dermatology Clinic, says wipes may contain skin irritants such as detergents, alcohols, soaps and fragrances.

Some even contain chemicals that will release formaldehyde, a preservative which has been linked to cancer.

Dr Friedmann told the Mail: 'After using a wipe, you can be left with a residue on your face which may expose the skin to excess amounts of various chemicals.

'This can dry out your face and can act as an irritant if you have slightly sensitive skin.

'Some wipes also contain alcohol, which can cause stinging and might give you a burning sensation around your eyes. The under-eye area especially is very delicate so you also want to avoid harsh rubbing of this area with a wipe.'

If you must use wipes, Dr Friedmann advises rinsing afterwards with water.

Better still, he recommends removing eye make-up with baby oil and cotton wool and then using hypo-allergenic rinse-off cleansers on the rest of your face.

NOXIOUS NAIL POLISH

Manicured nails have become a national obsession, with sales of varnish in the UK soaring to £250million from £221 million five years ago.

But this has also meant an explosion in our exposure to formaldehyde-type chemicals and other hardeners, which can make the skin flare up and have been linked to cancer.

Consultant dermatologist Nicholas Lowe of London's Cranley Clinic, says: 'Allergies to nail varnish tend to turn up anywhere except for the nails - on the eyelids, around the mouth and on the side of the neck.

'The reason is that you will rub or scratch those areas and if you have got a sensitivity, irritation is more likely to show up in the areas where you have thinner skin.'

To avoid risk, experts at the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics advise looking for brands labelled formaldehyde-free or non-toxic.

SPOTS FROM SHAMPOO

Dry shampoo has become the ultimate tool for busy women who don't have time to wash their hair. One in four of us now keep a can in our bag but experts say over-use can mean a dry, spotty scalp.

Trichologist Iain Sallis, of hairmedic.co.uk, says dry shampoo uses talc, titanium or aluminium oxide or dried silica to absorb the sebum, or natural oils, in the hair.

He says: 'Using dry shampoo could definitely lead to spots as the scalp is not going to be cleaned as regularly as it should.

'This will cause irritation and itchiness. On sensitive scalps, this could also lead to folliculitis - a bacterial infection of the skin.'

Using dry shampoo and then backcombing can also damage hair texture over time, he adds.

FALSE LASH FUNGUS

We all dream of long, lush lashes that make our eyes look bigger - and sales of stick-on lashes have seen year-on-year growth of 100 per cent in the past five years.

But the way these falsies are applied could damage and thin your real lashes, according to hair-loss expert and surgeon Dr Robert Dorin of New York's True and Dorin medical group.

The glue used to stick them on can cause allergic rashes on eyelids and attract bacteria, sparking viral or fungal eye infections.

Dr Dorin says: 'The weight of using them on a regular basis can put stress on the hair follicle and eventually make it fall out and not grow back. It means you may end up with fuller-looking lashes in the longer term if you avoid them.'