Page 189 - Cosmetology

Althea officinalis. Latin name for the marshmallow plant. See mallow.

alumina. Aluminum oxide, used as an abrasive, thickening agent, and absorbent in cosmetics.

aluminum chlorohydrate. Chemically a salt, and used in antiperspirant preparations. It can be extremely
irritating on abraded skin.

aluminum magnesium silicate. Salt that has absorbent properties.

aluminum powder. A metallic element used as a coloring agent. It is composed of finely ground particles of
aluminum. Permanently listed (since 1977) by the FDA as a safe coloring additive.

aluminum silicate. Salt that has absorbent and abrasive properties.

aluminum starch octenylsuccinate. Powdery thickening agent, absorbent, and anticaking agent used in
cosmetics.

aluminum sulfate. Topical disinfectant and a typical ingredient in deodorants. It can be a skin irritant.

amino acid. Fundamental constituents of all proteins found in the body, such as: alanine, arginine,
asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, cystine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine,
lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, and valine. Some of these
amino acids can be synthesized by the body; others, the essential amino acids, must be obtained from
protein in the diet. In skin-care products, these types of ingredients work primarily as water-binding agents,
and some have antioxidant properties and wound-healing abilities as well. However, these substances
cannot affect, change, or rebuild wrinkles. Whether the protein in a skin-care product is derived from an
animal or a plant, the skin can't tell the difference. See protein and natural moisturizing factors.

aminobutyric acid. Amino acid that has water-binding properties for skin and may be an anti-inflammatory.
It supposedly also increases growth hormone when taken orally, but the only support for this is a single
obscure study that was conducted more than two decades ago in fewer than 20 subjects, and the results
have yet to be replicated by other scientists.

aminomethyl propanediol. Used to adjust pH in cosmetics.

aminomethyl propanol. Used in cosmetics at levels of 1% or below to adjust pH.

Aminophylline. This pharmaceutical ingredient is found in prescription bronchodilators—medications
designed to open blocked air passageways in lungs—and also is found in some cellulite lotions and creams.
Aminophylline gained notoriety as an ingredient in cellulite creams as a result of a study published in
Obesity Research (November 1995, Supplemental pages 561S–568S). However, the validity of this
research was called into question because one of its authors was marketing an aminophylline cream being
sold at the time, and thus was not considered an objective investigator. Also, the number of participants in
the study was small, and most also were dieting and exercising at the same time they were applying the
aminophylline cream.

Doubt about aminophylline’s value ,which described a double-blind study that compared the effectiveness of
three different treatments for cellulite on three separate groups of women. One investigated the twice-daily
application of aminophylline cream compared with a placebo; another the twice-weekly treatment using
endermologie (a machine rolled over the skin’s surface, which has been claimed to get rid of cellulite) on
one leg and nothing on the other; and a third combining endermologie on both legs with the same cream
regimen used by the first group. “No statistical difference existed in measurements between legs for any of
the treatment groups… [Even] The best subjective assessment, by the patients themselves, revealed that
only 3 of 35 aminophylline-treated legs and 10 of 35 [e]ndermologie-treated legs [felt] their cellulite
appearance improved.” There is no other research showing this to be helpful and the risk of absorption and
bronchial involvement when applied topically remains unclear.

ammonium chloride. Alkaline salt used as a pH balancer in skin-care products; it is not used in
concentrations that would be problematic for skin.

ammonium laureth sulfate. Can be derived from coconut; used primarily as a detergent cleansing agent
and is considered to be gentle and effective. See surfactant.