The high-quality make-up products of Unity Cosmetics are made with the greatest care and special attention to ingredients; we particularly take all possible allergies into account. Our products fully comply with European legislation and are cruelty-free. We work only with well-known, legally approved raw materials.
Below are the most important characteristics of our products:
- HYPOALLERGENIC
- FRAGRANCE-FREE
- PARABEN-FREE
- WOOL FAT- / LANOLIN-FREE
- NICKEL-FREE
- COBALT-FREE
- EUXYL-FREE
- PERU BALSAM-FREE
- KATHON-FREE
- PROPYLENE GLYCOL-FREE
HYPOALLERGENIC
All Unity Cosmetics products are hypoallergenic. That means the chance of an allergic reaction is extremely small. An allergy can never be entirely ruled out — you can even be allergic to a very gentle ingredient. But we look very carefully at the ingredients and how they interact in every product. Known skin-irritating ingredients are excluded, and we try to add as many extra skin-friendly soothing ingredients as possible. If you're unsure, you can buy a sample of most products to try first. We always recommend testing the product on a small spot on the inside of your elbow. If you have hypersensitivity or an allergic reaction to the product, it generally appears within 24 hours as itching, slight redness and sometimes small bumps or light flaking. The chance of this happening with Unity Cosmetics products is extremely small!
FRAGRANCE-FREE
Fragrance is the leading cause of allergies in cosmetic products. It's in nearly all products, from detergent to shampoo, from food to hand soap. On the ingredients list, fragrances are hard to spot — there are many essential oils, like the commonly used "citronellol" (citrus oil), as well as less obvious names like "benzyl cinnamate", "lyral", or umbrella terms like "fragrance mix". A fragrance mix usually consists of various scents: eugenol, isoeugenol, geraniol, hydroxycitronellol, oakmoss, cinnamic aldehyde, a-amyl cinnamic aldehyde and cinnamic alcohol.
Almost every cosmetics brand adds fragrance, essential oils or fragrance mixes to make-up products to mask and improve the smell of the ingredients. Sometimes synthetically manufactured, sometimes naturally extracted (like rose oil). A shame, because fragrance very quickly causes hypersensitivity or allergy and is absolutely an unnecessary ingredient in make-up — you wear make-up to look better, not to smell good! Unity Cosmetics therefore uses no fragrance, fragrance mixes or essential oils in our make-up products. This sets Unity Cosmetics clearly apart from other make-up brands!
PARABEN-FREE
Parabens are a cheap preservative added to many different products — you'll find them in food, sweets and cosmetics. On the ingredients list, you'll often see words ending in "paraben", e.g. "methylparaben" or "butylparaben", indicating the product contains parabens. Although parabens are not banned, there has been ongoing discussion in recent years about their possible role in the development of breast cancer. Various studies provide no clear conclusion. Knowing how much debate there is, Unity Cosmetics has decided to err on the side of caution and not use parabens at all. Instead, we choose other preservatives — more expensive but with no risk. We never use parabens, and also NEVER use Kathon CG, Euxyl K400 or formaldehyde (the last three are known for their irritating action and are excluded by Unity Cosmetics).
WOOL FAT- / LANOLIN-FREE
Wool fat is also called lanolin alcohol. It's a solid, hard type of fat that can have a sealing effect on the skin's pores, which can cause inflammation. Some people are allergic to it. Note: only "yellow wool fat / lanolin" has the sealing effect; the purified white wool fat / lanolin is structurally different and does not seal the skin. Unity Cosmetics products contain no form of wool fat or lanolin — so there is no sealing of the skin.
NICKEL-FREE
Nickel is a mineral derived from limonite, granierite and pendalite (three mineral types, the last of which only occurs in magma surfacing during volcanic eruptions). To check whether a cosmetic product contains nickel, search the ingredients list (INCI) for NI. It is an ingredient NOT present in Unity Cosmetics products. Several of our products do contain Iron Oxide, a frequently used and safe ingredient most cosmetics brands use for colour. Iron oxide is related to iron, cobalt, copper and zinc but is chemically not identical to iron or iron oxide. Iron oxide (CI77499/77491/77492/77489) comes from a natural mineral called "hematite", which is essentially different from limonite, granierite and pendalite (the components of nickel).
Although iron oxide is safe and absolutely not known as an irritating substance, someone with a nickel allergy may have a higher chance of being allergic to or irritated by many other substances including iron, cobalt, copper, zinc, water, soap suds, etc. The chance of being allergic to iron oxide is very small — it's an ingredient that almost never causes an allergy (unlike nickel, which is known as an "allergenic substance"). Nickel is common in food and stainless steel, and wearing piercings/earrings/belts is often the trigger for developing a nickel allergy. It manifests as itchy skin rash with watery blisters. Unity Cosmetics products therefore contain no nickel.
COBALT-FREE
Cobalt is a silver-coloured metal that gives, for example, (Chinese) porcelain and glass a blue colour. Cobalt is a mineral but also occurs naturally in the human body (it's part of B12; the human body contains about 1 to 2 grams of cobalt). It's generally used to make metal compounds (think steel pins for fractures), metal products like buckles and tools, magnets and batteries, and is therefore often used together with nickel and iron. On the ingredients list cobalt appears as Co. Cobalt chloride or cobalt dichloride (pink and powdery) appears as CoCl2. Cobalt and cobalt (di)chloride are known allergens, especially in combination with nickel. Note: an allergy to cobalt alone is rare; avoiding cobalt is almost never the solution for a cobalt allergy. People with cobalt allergy are usually (75% of cases) also allergic to nickel and/or chrome. Both cobalt and cobalt (di)chloride do not appear in Unity Cosmetics products. The same applies to the Zarqa skin products offered in this webshop.
EUXYL-FREE
Euxyl K400 is a preservative consisting of two parts: phenoxyethanol (80%) and methyldibromoglutaronitrile (20%). Only when BOTH substances appear on the INCI list is the product Euxyl K400. Phenoxyethanol is a skin-friendly ingredient widely used in cosmetics; Unity Cosmetics' pencils contain this skin-friendly phenoxyethanol. Methyldibromoglutaronitrile, on the other hand, has been studied extensively and is known as an allergen. The European Union has banned the use of Euxyl K400 in cosmetics since 2007 because of methyldibromoglutaronitrile. Phenoxyethanol itself is unrelated and is allowed within the EU. Unity Cosmetics products are made within the EU and therefore contain NO Euxyl K400. The Zarqa skin products in this webshop also contain no Euxyl K400.
PERU BALSAM-FREE
Peru balsam is a plant-derived substance produced by a tree called Myroxylon Balsamum. The tree grows in Central America, mainly in El Salvador. The substance is highly complex and includes various components, not all of which are known. Components include cinnamic acid, eugenol and vanilla. On the ingredients list you'll find Peru balsam as Myroxylon Pereirae. It used to be used in (haemorrhoid) ointments, burn ointments and ointments for chilblains. Today the ingredient is rarely used because it can cause allergic reactions. Peru balsam carries a high risk of skin allergy. A Peru balsam allergy often goes hand in hand with a fragrance allergy. Unity Cosmetics products contain no Peru balsam and no fragrance. You can use these products safely even with a Peru balsam allergy.
KATHON-FREE
Kathon CG is a preservative consisting of two ingredients: methylisothiazolinone and methylchloroisothiazolinone. If one or both ingredients appear on the INCI list, the product contains Kathon CG. These ingredients are often used in rinse-off products like shampoo, but also in others such as make-up. Although both are permitted in cosmetics, it has become clear that people with very sensitive skin can react negatively when the product stays on the skin and is not rinsed off. Of all people with a contact allergy, 1.7% react negatively to Kathon CG. Unity Cosmetics products contain no Kathon CG. Zarqa products in this webshop also contain no Kathon CG.
PROPYLENE GLYCOL-FREE
Unity Cosmetics' mascara and liquid foundation contain propylene glycol. Propylene glycol (also called 1,2-propanediol PG or MPG) is a colourless, odourless ingredient found in cigarette smoke and in the artificial fog used in clubs and at festivals. In cosmetics it's added as a solvent, humectant or preservative and is mainly used in moist products. People rarely have an allergic reaction to it. In Unity Cosmetics' range, only 2 products contain propylene glycol: the mascara (regardless of colour, both black and brown) and the liquid foundation (all colours). All other Unity Cosmetics products contain NO propylene glycol. Among the Zarqa products in our webshop, the airy day cream and day/night cream contain no propylene glycol; the cleansing milk and cleansing tonic do contain propylene glycol.