Health risks beneath the painted beauty in nail salons

TheConversation: The desire for beautiful nails has fueled an entire nail salon industry that’s growing rapidly, with storefronts cropping up on every major street across the nation. Yet, the recent articles from the New York Times exposed an industry that’s left workers struggling both with unlivable wages and with damaged health. Everyone who enters a nail salon can be affected, yet the workers are the ones left entirely unprotected.

Enzyme in cosmetic products can act as allergen via the skin

Vienna: Papain is an important industrial protein-degrading enzyme that is used, for example, in the food and cosmetic industries. When humans or animals come in contact with papain, strong allergic reactions of the skin can be the result, as scientists from the Messerli Research Institute of the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, the Medical University of Vienna, and the University of Vienna have found out. Their study was published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.

Eyeliner application may cause eye problems

Waterloo: People who apply eyeliner on the inner eyelid run the risk of contaminating the eye and causing vision trouble, according to research by a scientist at the University of Waterloo. This is the first study to prove that particles from pencil eyeliner move into the eye. Dr. Alison Ng and her colleagues used video recordings to observe and compare the amount of eyeliner particles that migrated into the tear film – the thin coating protecting the eye – after applying makeup in different styles. “We noticed that the makeup migration happened quicker and was greater when eyeliner was put on the inner lid margin,” said Dr. Ng. Each participant wore glitter eyeliner outside the lash line, and then on the inner lid area closer to the eye, or along the waterline.