Semi-permanent blemish balm creams have gained immense popularity in the beauty industry. But, how deep into the skin do these BB cream “formulas” and pigments penetrate into the skin? This is a form of micro needling, so depending on the needle used, it can vary in depth. Depending on the subject’s skin, it can reach deeper and cause more harm than good.
Dominique Bossavy, a semi-permanent cosmetic enhancement expert with clinics in Beverly Hills, New York, and Paris, shares what you need to know about semi-permanent blemish balm creams.
An Overview of BB Cream Formulas
Nowadays, many things are possible, but that doesn’t mean they are safe. Too often when beauty is at stake, we are quick to sacrifice our own safety for instant gratification. In her experience, Dominique Bossavy finds that while a procedure may look good and feel good now, you may pay a high price later. Most of the risks of BB creams are related to the ingredients used to make them. These may include (but are not limited to) allergic reactions, contact dermatitis, broken capillaries, infection, PIH, granulomas, scarring, organ toxicity, cell damage, and cancer. Some of these side effects could take decades to show, but they are all serious, and should be considered.
You might wonder, how is BB cream different from micro needling-infused anti-aging serums and procedures that are widely used in the skin? The difference between serums infused for anti-aging versus BB Cream has everything to do with their ingredients. With micro needling anti-aging creams, the ingredients absorbed through the channels are mostly biodegradable, diluted, carried away, and expelled, so their negative chemical effects are limited and short.
With blemish balm creams, the use of a non-dissolving substances like titanium dioxide white accumulate over time and trigger an immune response that can last longer. Titanium dioxide white is one of the largest, most opaque and lasting pigment particles that can remain a lifetime in the skin without fading and can’t be exposed to laser at the risk to turning it black! The quantity of non-degradable material deposited over an entire face (every few months) is also higher and the main ingredient being titanium dioxide white causes much uncertainty for the long term health and appearance of skin.
What are the potential side effects of this procedure?
According to Dominique Bossavy, the side effects of BB cream formulas are many. First and foremost, this is not a medical grade procedure or product. There are no safety studies pertaining to “injecting” a concoction containing something like Titanium dioxide white into the body. Studies of this nature are unable to cover all safety concerns when so many different, potentially harmful ingredients come into play.
Allergic Reactions
Non-degradable or slowly degradable particles that accumulate over time within organs carry the potential for toxicity. This product was initially designed for irritated skin with some minor levels of toxicity. A decade later however, some people are breaking their skin barrier with needling devices to permanently or semi-permanently implant foreign products into the largest organ of the body. While the promoters will often reassure the ignorant by saying things like, “We are only working on the epidermis” and, “We are only using a needle depth that stops short of the dermis,” the pictures display pinpoint bleeding, which Dominique Bossavy notes as evidence of dermal penetration.
The truth is that no one can guarantee they are only working in the epidermis. When dermatologists do assure that nano-needles are used which treat only the upper layers of the epidermis, this is a misleading statement. They wrongly believe that by restricting the deposits of material into the epidermis alone, the many risks of an immune response will be minimized. While less absorption occurs using this technique, allergic reactions are not based on amount/doses, neither can it depend on the foreign material entering the dermis. There are many mechanisms that facilitate allergic reactions. One is via cells that migrate into the epidermis to “capture” foreign substances and drag them back through the dermis and into the lymph nodes. While some procedures can do harm on a cellular level, there are plenty of products that focus on cell revitalization from major beauty industry brands such as Victoria Beckham.
Whether it is BB Cream you are applying after micro needling or any other substance, the higher the ingredient count, the higher the risk, according to Dominique Bossavy. There are many ingredients in BB cream that are most likely associated with allergic reactions. Although any ingredient may be associated with allergies, the most likely are fragrances, methyl paraben, propyl paraben, mineral oil, sorbitan sesquioleate, and phenoxyethanol.
For a safer, healthier alternative to BB Cream procedures, take a look at the wonderful work Dominique Bossavy has done using Nano-color infusion.
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