Behind the Label: Clearsil Deep Cleansing 3 in 1 Wash
Britons spend millions on dubious acne treatments every year. By Pat Thomas.
The social stigma attached to pimples has meant that for years manufacturers have had a ready-made market of anxious and not very savvy young consumers willing to shell out vast sums of cash on products that promise to get rid of them. In recent years this market has grown considerably as the prevalence of adult acne has increased. Today, nearly half of all women over 30 and a quarter of all men suffer transient problems with acne. This is a major boon for the therapeutic skincare market.
Most acne treatments contain either a harsh anti-microbial like benzoyl peroxide or a chemical exfoliant like salicylic acid as their primary active ingredient. Clearsil’s 3 in 1 face wash is no exception, making use of the skin-peeling effects of the latter. Like all acne skin washes, it is a somewhat schizophrenic mixture of heavy-duty detergents and solvents that remove the skin’s natural oils, and synthetic skin conditioners designed to repair some of the damage the detergents and solvents inflict on the skin. In addition, it contains a range of well-known skin irritants, two potential carcinogens and five fragrance ingredients that are among the most commonly reported contact allergens in the EU. These fragrance ingredients so consistently produce skin problems that they must now be listed separately on the label.
Clearasil was first introduced to acne-troubled teenagers in the 1960s. Owned by Crookes Healthcare, the UK division of Boots Healthcare International, it is the global leader in anti-acne treatments. Boots purchased the brand from the US giant Procter & Gamble for £190m in 2000. It was a profitable move. Last year in the US alone acne remedies generated $286.3m worth of sales, and Clearasil accounted for nearly 10 per cent of these. In the UK, medicated skincare products are worth around £77m annually, and Clearasil boasts a 17 per cent share of this market.
But while people all over the world continue to buy acne treatments, there is little evidence that they do much good. Generally speaking, acne begins when hormones stimulate oil production or a genetic predisposition produces excess shedding of skin cells. Both oil and skin cells can clog follicles, thus creating an ideal climate for the bacterium Propionibacterium acnes to proliferate. The waste products of P acnes are what eventually cause the inflammation we know as pimples.
Over-the-counter acne treatments are not cures. In fact, there is no known cure for acne. In teenagers the condition is usually transient, settling down with hormones. In adults, a more complex set of factors, including food allergies, stress and, in women, cyclical hormone changes and cosmetic use, are usually to blame.
Sidebar: Ingredients
Aqua, PPG-15 stearyl ether, glycerine, stearyl alcohol, cetyl betaine, salicylic acid, distearyldimonium chloride, sodium lauryl sulfate, oxidised polyethylene, cetyl alcohol, alcohol, steareth-21, sodium chloride, behenyl alcohol, PPG-30, steareth-2, parfum, menthol, disodium EDTA, BHT, limonene, benzyl salicylate, linalool, hexyl cinnamal
PPG-15 stearyl ether
Emollient; skin conditioning agent
A contact allergen; toxic to aquatic organisms.
Glycerine
Solvent; humectant; lubricant
Can dry the skin, making it more vulnerable to damage and to absorbing other harmful chemicals in the mix. Glycerine can be processed from plants or animals.
Stearyl alcohol
Emollient; moisturiser; stabiliser
Can cause allergies or contact dermatitis.
Salicylic acid
Anti-microbial; chemical exfoliant
Skin dryness; irritation; increases skin sensitivity to sunlight (photosensitisation); a penetration enhancer; alters skin structure, allowing other chemicals to penetrate deeper into the skin and, eventually, the bloodstream.
Distearyldimonium chloride
Surfactant; antistatic agent
Unknown, commonly used in fabric softeners.
Sodium lauryl sulfate
Detergent; foaming agent; surfactant; denaturant
Denatures (removes natural oils from) the skin, leaving it vulnerable to infection and dryness; irritating and damaging to the eyes; a penetration enhancer; potential carcinogen.
Oxidised polyethylene
Thickener; synthetic wax
Poorly researched; in the form of ‘microbeads’, this waxy substance acts as an exfoliant and a potential skin irritant; supermarkets use it, in the form of E914, as a synthetic wax to coat fruits and vegetables, even though it is considered harmful to ingest.
Cetyl alcohol
Emollient; emulsifier; thickener
Skin irritation; dermatitis.
Alcohol
Solvent
Dry skin; contact dermatitis.
Behenyl alcohol, Limonene, Benzyl salicylate, Linalool, Hexyl cinnamal
Synthetic fragrance; thickeners; stabilisers
Skin irritation; according to the EU Scientific Committee on Cosmetic Products and Non-Food Products, this ingredient is among the 24 most frequently reported contact allergens found in cosmetics.
Parfum
Fragrance
Parfum is often made up of dozens of synthetic chemicals that can cause allergic reactions, including asthma, skin irritation and central nervous system disruption (eg, headache, mood swings, depression, forgetfulness); artificial musks and phthalates – common fragrance ingredients – are hormone-disrupting chemicals.
Disodium EDTA
Antioxidant; chelating agent
Irritating to eyes and skin; a penetration enhancer; in animals, it is cytotoxic (kills cells) and genotoxic (damages cellular DNA); may be contaminated with ethylene oxide and/or dioxane, both human carcinogens; in the environment, it acts like a magnet for heavy metals concentrating them in aquatic life and, via the water cycle, humans.
Sidebar: Alternatives
Common acne (acne vulgaris) is most common in teenagers, but it can affect individuals of all ages. It is largely self limiting: that is, it eventually clears up whether you do anything about it or not.
Essentially, it is a skin ecology issue. Normal skin bacteria like P acnes perform an important function in stopping colonisation by more harmful bacteria. To prevent acne, it is not necessary to kill all the bacteria on the face, but rather to keep numbers from getting out of hand.
Regular face washing, enough sleep, regular moderate sun exposure and a diet low in junk food are likely to be just as effective as harsh skin cleaners.
If you do want to use a cleanser, try natural tea-tree-based soaps, which are ideal, or products from the manufacturers listed below:
Akamuti www.akamuti.co.uk
Aubrey www.aubrey-organics.com; (0800 0851697 in the UK)
Aveda www.aveda.com
Burt’s Bees www.myburtsbees.co.uk
Dr Hauschka www.drhauschka.co.uk
Earthbound Organics www.earthbound.co.uk
Green People www.greenpeople.co.uk
Primavera Aromatherapy www.primavera.co.uk
Pure Nuff Stuff www.purenuffstuff.co.uk
This article first appeared in the Ecologist September 2005.
