Blistered and Banty Rooster Eyes
This is an adventure I wish I had not taken. Imagine, swollen, blistered eye lids and red swollen bags under my eyes (I called this the banty rooster under my eyes look). That was me just a little over a month ago. I am sharing my experience with you, hoping that you never go through this, along with a warning about products, ingredients, and being informed.
Chinese Proverb:
"When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it, you
have a moral obligation to share it with others.”
This adventure is all about makeup, and you know I love it almost as much as shoes; shadows, lipsticks, glitter, false eyelashes, eyeliners, etc. The more exotic, the better I like it. I don’t care that there are fish scales in some of those exotic shadows. They are so pretty and shiney. And, luckily, until now, I have never had any complications from makeup. No allergies, break outs, etc., but I have been very careful with what I buy and use, and just as careful with what I use to clean and moisturize my face. I toss mascara after three months, no matter what the cost and clean brushes, sponges, and applicators like clockwork. I thought I was doing all the right things.
I had been using the same product for 25 years; cleanser, moisturizer and foundation. It had been very good to my skin. However, recently the company changed their products and I discovered my face tingling with the new foundation, it itched like crazy and was heavy on my skin. So, this last spring I was on the hunt for something new and while in Berkley purchasing some product for my daughters, I tried a mineral makeup product and discovered I liked it. It looked good and I thought I had found a replacement product.
Until mid May, that is, when my eyes, my face, my skin, started a downward spiral that would send me to an allergist, two eye doctors, and two dermatologists. All because of one little product that no one seemed to know about.
My eye lids were first affected, as they began to burn in the creases turn red and sag and even peal. Then blisters appeared on one eye and in the soft, thin skin underneath the eye. First I went to an allergist, thinking this was environmental, something in the air. His educated guess was that it was my finger nails. (Stop laughing). I walked out of his office in a true-to-form Zaina Huff and called my dermatologist, who laughed and said "Quit poking yourself in the eye with those claws" and "get in here right away". She took me off everything - no makeup, not even mascara, or soap, moisturizer etc. and put me on prednisone (oral) to take down the swelling and cortisone ointment for my eyelids. She also set me up with a dozen bandaids with various products up and down my arms to see what I would react to. I looked like someone who was into self mutilization between my arms and eyes. The looks I got at work, well you can imagine. Two days later the only results on my arms were from the glue on the bandaids - whelts. Nothing else had left a mark. But the blisters on my eyes were going away. I had a show, and therefore went back in and used the makeup. Heh, the dermatologist said the mineral makeup was an all natural product with very few problems. Within four days, blisters and sagging all over again. Another call to the dermatologist - she was not available so I went somewhere else. Another round of prednisone, and no products again, but this time some greasy stuff and again, from yet another dermatologist, cortisone ointment to put on my eyelids.
When I started having some blurred vision, I called the eye doc, stopped by the office and picked up some allergy drops. Now, can you see how I was starting to get confused and the waters were seriously becoming muddied? The skin around my eyes didn't get any better. I would have one good day and three bad ones. I had events to attend, shows to do (had cancelled several restaurant appearances already) and was becoming more and more frustrated - I was becoming eye-phobic. ME, Zaina who teaches Stage Makeup Workshops was not able to wear makeup.
So, I called yet another eye doctor, and went in for him to look at my eyes. First he told me about the steroid (cortisone) ointment and how dangerous it is. Some of you will remember I had Lasik surgery a little over a year ago. So, it is difficult to get an accurate pressure reading (result of the surgery and being near sighted prior that). Steroids cause the pressure in your eyes to change, so he explained how I have upped my risk for glaucoma significantly. I panicked. He prescribed Elidel crème, a non steroid replacement for the itching. And then he really socked me in the gut; he said, "I feel like an orthopedic surgeon who just told the basketball player he will never play again, because you will never wear makeup again". Aaahhhhhhhhhhhh!
I walked out in total disbelief, and then I got flaming MAD. Then, I sat down at the computer and started doing some serious research. Never wearing makeup again was not an option in my book. I hit the internet running and what I discovered is staggering. I started looking at the ingredients in all the products I had been using, those for years and those that were new. I had to systematically put together lists of what was and what is. The one product that kept slapping me in the face was/is Bismuth Oxychloride. I started making calls, including to the dermatologist whose staff told it was doubtful that this product was the issue (shawwww). Coincidentally, I also called my insurance company, merely wanting to know why the Elidel was so expensive. Another scare, I was told, point blank, that they (the insurance company) do not consider it a product with positive results. What? I was told statistics show that this product causes cancerous lesions when used on the face. Well, pick me up from the floor. Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!
Well, thank goodness I had only used it for a few days. But, there I was, frustrated, dry faced, sagging eyes, blisters, a mess and no one seemed to be able to get to the bottom of this.
On a whim a few days later, I walked into a local department store, to the makeup counter and asked for the most experienced person there and the most gentle moisturizer they had. I wound up talking to a young woman who had just gotten her licnense as an Esthetician. She took one look at me and said "OMG, what are you using"? She knew more about makeup, moisturizer and skin than anyone I had talked to. She handed me a $15.00 tube of Elizabeth Arden's 8 hour repair ointment that she said her Uncle, a Plastic Surgeon specializing in burns recommends to his burn patients (it is the most amazing product). She also recommended Cetaphil cleanser and moisturizer only and to stop using everything else. Then she confirmed my suspicians about the Bismuth, and sayint that it wreaks hovoc on skin and many people are allergic and have severe reactions, like mine.
Within a week my eyes were free of blisters, and were no longer sagging. Within three weeks no more red puffiness under my eyes, the skin from the blisters was no longer peeling and now, five weeks later they are back to normal. I am once again wearing shadows, foundation, and moisturizers thanks to this wonderful young woman.
But, what is this product that seems to have caused me so much grief? Bismuth Oxychloride Why should you check to see if your products contain BO (my term for the product)?
Well, Bismuth is the by-product of lead and copper refining. Bismuth occurs very rarely in nature. It is very heavy and chemically resembles arsenic and antimony. (Do I have your attention?) Bimsuth is a carrier for fuel in nuclear reactors. Companies use this in their cosmetics because it is cheap to buy and is an inexpensive filler. It has binding qualities, so the makeup will "stick" to your skin, (which is why it took two washings and makeup remover to get it off nightly). There are other products that are better for your skin, however, they are more expensive to use. Bismuth is favorable to cosmetic companies as well because it has a pearlized, iridescent look.
Now, if all of that wasn't bad enough, when I read the following on multiple websites I wondered why the dermatologist did not know this.
The molecular makeup of Bismuth is a crystalline shape, which may be a cause of the itchiness some people get when they wear it and it becomes worse when they sweat (uh, dancers SWEAT). Don't forget it is also kin to arsenic, chemically. Your body will reject things it does not like, and if you'll get sick from ingesting arsenic, it would make sense that your skin would get irritated from having arsenic forced into it.
Okay, so after more research I discovered the makeup I used for 25 years that had changed - well the change was the addition of this product in their foundations. I had a buggar of a time getting them to give me ingredient lists, but I found their specific foundations listed on a site along with other companies that use this product as well as a few other products I don't want to mess with ever again.
Now, the "all natural" ingredients clause does not mean that because it is natural it is as they say, good-for-you. Bismuth is a perfect example of what is considered natural (they even tout some of the Mineral Makeups, including the one I used, as being gentle enough to sleep in) and consider this: cosmetic companies that do not add "food grade" fillers, such as rice powder or corn starch. These give bacteria a place to grow.
I took my little Esthetician flowers a few weeks ago, and will do so again. I will be eternally grateful for her assistance and from here forward, you can bet your "bippy" I will be checking ingredients labels and going on-line before I purchase anything that goes on my skin. I have been so lucky to be blessed with good skin; I heal quickly, and moisturize often, which is probably the only reason I have skin left on my eyes (thanks Mom for the good genes). This was a devastating issue to deal with, and don’t I feel silly with all the Makeup Workshops I teach to have been caught -as they say- with my eyelids droopping. <grin>
And as always, doing my own research paid off.
I am now of the belief, that just as the drug companies are required to give all the disclaimers; you know the ones I am talking about, “may cause drowsiness, heart palpatations, headaches, disfunctional this or that”, the makeup companies should be required to do the same. How does this sound?
Caution: This Product May cause Banty Rooster Eye Sag and Unbecoming Red Blisters on Eyelids!
Sources:
If you would like to check your products for ingredients, some are listed at the following website:
http://www.zerozits.com/SafeCosmetics/Foundation.htm
Information on Bismuth Oxychloride came from various sources on the web, the following being the most complete:
www.beautyblisscosmetics.com and