Are natural products safer?
Natural products are not necessarily any safer than synthetic products. Considering ethanolamines as the example here, note that cocamide DEA is an ethanolamine derived from coconut. It is often found in “green” or “natural” skin care products.9 It can still combine with N-nitroso compounds to form carcinogenic nitrosamines.
What is the bottom line? Are ethanolamines safe in cosmetics?
For now, if a patient asks if ethanolamine is safe in skin care, my answer would be yes, so long as the following is true:
- It is in a rinse-off product.
- The patient is not allergic to it.
- They do not have hand dermatitis.
- Their skin care routine does not include nitrogen-containing compounds like N-nitrosodiethanolamine (NDELA) or NDEA.
Conclusion
This column uses ethanolamines as an example to show the disparity in clean standards in the cosmetic industry. As you can see, there are multiple factors to consider. I will begin including clean information in my cosmeceutical critique columns to address some of these issues.
Dr. Baumann is a private practice dermatologist, researcher, author, and entrepreneur who practices in Miami. She founded the Cosmetic Dermatology Center at the University of Miami in 1997. Dr. Baumann has written two textbooks and a New York Times Best Sellers book for consumers. Dr. Baumann has received funding for advisory boards and/or clinical research trials from Allergan, Galderma, Revance, Evolus, and Burt’s Bees. She is the CEO of Skin Type Solutions Inc., a company that independently tests skin care products and makes recommendations to physicians on which skin care technologies are best. Write to her at dermnews@mdedge.com.
References
1. Cocamide DE. J Am Coll Toxicol. 1986;5(5).
2. Lessmann H et al. Contact Dermatitis. 2009 May;60(5):243-55.
3. Aalto-Korte K et al. 2014 Mar;70(3):169-74.
4. Kraeling ME et al. Food Chem Toxicol. 2004 Oct;42(10):1553-61.
5. Fiume MM et al. Int J Toxicol. 2015 Sep;34(2 Suppl):84S-98S.
6. Fiume MM.. Int J Toxicol. 2017 Sep/Oct;36(5_suppl2):89S-110S.
7. Fiume MM et al. Int J Toxicol. 2013 May-Jun;32(3 Suppl):59S-83S.
8. U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Diethanolamine. https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetic-ingredients/diethanolamine. Accessed Feb. 12, 2022.
9. Aryanti N et al. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering 2021 Feb 1 (Vol. 1053, No. 1, p. 012066). IOP Publishing.