Cosmetics Essay

There’s chemistry in everything that we use on a daily basis! Cosmetics, the use of chemical compounds on our external parts of the body to improve and enhance our appearance is an excellent example of how chemistry is a part of our lives.1 There are many different purposes for the type of cosmetics that we chose to use. Some products contain active ingredients, such as coloring agents, emollients, and even some fragrance additives in which works to change our appearance, cleanse and keep our skin in good condition by protecting it, and improve scent to give off a pleasing aroma. Coloring agents are chemicals and substances that impart color including soluble dyes and insoluble pigments. Emollients is a preparation that softens the skin in which are used in something like body lotions. Also fragrance additives in a single product may contain a bunch of chemicals, many of which are used to give off a sweet perfume or cologne scent to our bodies.

Have you ever wondered how hair coloring actually works within our hair to give us a new appearance? Well it's the result of a number of chemical reactions, a process of rearranging, replacing, or adding atoms between the molecules in our hair, pigments, and hydrogen peroxide 2(HO) and ammonia NH3, the two main ingredients that are found in hair dye. Hair is basically dead tissue that is composed of keratin, the same kind of protein that makes up our skin and nails. Our hair consists of three different layers; the medulla, the cortex, and the cuticle. The innermost layer is called the medulla. The middle layer, known as the cortex provides the strength, color, and the texture of our hair. Then, the outermost layer that is thin and colorless protects the cortex, and is called the cuticle or ...

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...mistry around us that we can find in everyday substances such as hair color, moisturizers, and fragrances. It is quite impossible to make hair lighter without the help of an oxidizing agent that in most cases seem to be hydrogen peroxide, 2(OH). Without undergoing the lightening process, the new hue will not be deposited in the cortex of our hair. If it is not, it is known as a temporary hair color in which only causes the hair to have a “tint”. Emulsions benefit our skin by providing components that restores it in ways that it then becomes smooth again because as we know, our skin needs an oil based product and without it the skin gets dry. Also perfumes give off their scents by evaporation in which enhances our smell to be pleasurable. These are just a few ways of how the chemistry of cosmetics can help with our appearance and well-being. Chemistry is everything!