Natural nostrums

Are herbal beauty products completely free from harmful side effects? Not always, says Devlina Ganguly

Nabanita Dey, who works for a private bank in Calcutta, had sleepless nights over her skin problems. Dey was suffering from severe acne — a skin condition that occurs owing to the overproduction of oil by the sebaceous glands. So she went to a beauty parlour for a facial and the beautician advised her to use an anti-acne gel. The gel, containing cinnamon extracts, is manufactured by a Mumbai-based company that uses natural ingredients for its skin and hair care products. But Dey was in for a shock. “The very next day my face was covered with rashes. I had to go to a dermatologist as my face had become red and there was severe itching. I have very sensitive skin but nowhere does the product label warn people with such skin to do a patch test before using the product.” The 15ml tube of anti-acne gel cost Dey Rs 200 as well as a trip to the doctor and additional skin problems. Natural beauty products may be all the rage today because they are perceived to be without the so-called harmful effects of chemical ingredients in other cosmetics. But can one be always sure that herbal cosmetics will guarantee tender loving care for your skin or hair? Says Dr Sachin Verma, consultant dermatologist, Apollo Gleneagles, Calcutta, “‘Herbal’ basically means natural products which are derived from plants. However, the problem is that there is no standardisation of what you call herbal. Though many products may claim to be ‘herbal’, they may in fact contain other chemical substances.” He further adds that since there is no regulation that forces manufacturers to disclose all the ingredients on the label of a product, one cannot really be sure as to what goes into making it. Of course, personal care products with natural ingredients have been doing very well for many years. Says Vikas Mittal, executive vice-president, personal care, Dabur India Ltd, “Our Vatika shampoo has been the fastest growing shampoo brand for the last four years. Dabur Gulabari, a skin tonic that contains pure rose extracts, has shown 30 per cent growth in the last three quarters of the current financial year. And Dabur Amla Hair Oil is the highest selling hair oil in the country today with annual sales exceeding Rs 400 crore.” Advocates of herbal skin care believe that any natural substance is more effective than its synthetic counterpart and that non-herbal cosmetics have harmful effects if used over a long period of time. Says herbal cosmetics queen Shahnaz Husain, “Natural ingredients and plant products have a long history of safe usage. They are free from harmful after effects. Chemical and synthetic ingredients, on the other hand, can cause allergic after effects or irritation and even a toxic build-up in the system over a period of time.” Agrees Jawed Habib, a well-known hair expert who also manufactures herbal skin and haircare products, “There is a big demand for herbal products in India as they are pure, natural and have no side effects. Besides, since they use a non-chemical base, the possibility of getting an allergy does not arise.” However, medical experts tend to disagree with this view. Says Verma, “Whether a substance is derived from a natural source or is manufactured in a laboratory, it may contain contaminants or irritants. In general, harmful substances are more likely in chemical products, but they can be present in natural substances as well. Thus the usage of natural products only reduces the risk of toxic substances — it does not eliminate it.” In fact, dermatologists often deal with patients who have severe allergic reactions to perfectly organic, non-carcinogenic products such as tea tree oil, geraniol, ylang-ylang and sandalwood oils. Verma cautions, “There are many natural substances in lotions and creams that can cause contact dermatitis (an itchy red rash) in people with sensitive skin. Natural does not necessarily mean that you won’t experience a reaction from using it.” He also points out that a common side effect of herbal cosmetics is photosensitivity. “Most of these products contain plant extracts that have sunlight absorbing properties owing to the presence of chlorophyll. This plant extract will absorb the light and give the energy back to the skin, resulting in a condition called photodermatitis. This leads to swelling, a burning sensation, a red itchy rash, and skin peeling.” Herbal extracts could also be a potential source of allergens. Aloe, found in many herbal beauty products, can cause contact dermatitis — a localised rash or irritation of the skin. Arnica flowers, lavender oil, peppermint oil and camomile, which are commonly used in cosmetics, have also been known to cause allergic reactions. But experts in the field of herbal beauty products point out that such reactions are rare. In any case, says Husain, “Essential oils are never used by themselves. They are diluted with carrier oils, lotions and other ingredients in the prescribed proportions.” Adds Dr M. Ramam, additional professor at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, “These products undergo rigorous laboratory testing but there might be a few cases where such allergies occur.” The preservatives used in these beauty products have also raised a few eyebrows. Herbal cosmetic manufacturers assert that they do not use chemical preservatives. “We use nature-derived preservatives, oils, vitamin D and E extracts,” says Vinta Jain, managing director, Biotique, the herbal cosmetics brand. Husain too says that her products use natural ingredients like neem, grapefruit seed extract, wheatgerm oil and essential oils as preservatives. However, many skin experts contest this claim. Says Verma, “Herbal cosmetics manufacturers have to use artificial preservatives because herbal preservatives can keep a product from getting spoiled only for a month or two. After that the product is bound to go bad and if it doesn’t, then artificial preservatives have definitely been used.” Others point out that certain manufacturers claim that their products are made from natural substances when in fact they only contain trace amounts of organic ingredients. The consumer is misled into believing that a product is greener than it is while the manufacturer laughs all the way to the bank. Skin experts like Verma and Ramam feel that even if a beauty product is “herbal”, one should always do a patch test on the arm before using it on one’s face. They also advise consumers to buy products from trusted, well-known companies that have been in the market for several years rather than go for smaller ones that have recently joined the all-natural bandwagon. For, green may not always be clean.

Waves of courage

For Thirumal, a fisherman in the Keechankuppam village of Nagapattinam district, Tamil Nadu, the sea is both a source of livelihood as well as the cause for death and loss. Pain is etched across his face when he recounts the horrors of the tsunami of December 26, 2004, that left a trail of death and destruction in India and six other countries in south Asia. Thirumal lost his daughter as well as his mother to the killer waves. He is not alone. More than 6000 lives were lost in Nagapattinam and life has never been the same ever since.
Rajshekhar, a 19 year old from the village of Seruthur, has chosen to shun the sea that took away his sister and his grandparents. Fishing has been the source of livelihood for his family for ages, but he has enrolled himself for the housewiring and plumbing course at the Vocational Industrial Training Institute at P.R. Puram. But his elder brother Rajesh goes back to the sea everyday to make a livelihood with a prayer on his lips and fear in his heart. “Even the slightest sound from the sea scares us. I would love to stay away from it but fishing is all I know.”
According to the data provided by the district collectorate at Nagapattinam, a total of 14,048 permanent shelters were built across the district. Under the housing schemes, the government was to provide land and the NGOs were to meet the cost of construction within the government-stipulated cost and design parameters. The houses had to be of 266 square feet in area and equipped with basic amenities including lavatories and electricity. While most NGOs have followed the norms, a few have set up houses where eight families are cramped in one house with 180 sq feet allotted to each family. C Muniathan, collector, Nagapattinam says, “98 per cent of rehabilitation work has been done. The first phase of work is over.” This claim however is not agreed with by locals and NGOs who feel there is still a lot left to be done.
After the tsunami, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a surprising move refused foreign aid for relief programmes. Families where a casualty had occurred were entitled to a sum of Rs 1 lakh from the Prime Minister’s Fund in addition to another lakh from the Chief Minister’s fund. Says R.M.P. Rajendiran, president, Tsunami Fishermen Rehabilitation Development Association, “Till date in Tamil Nadu alone 36 people have received no money. We informed the prime minister’s office about this and forwarded a letter from the PMO to the district collector of Nagapattinam on November 23, 2009. We are yet to hear from the collector.” Aid poured in from all corners but unfortunately could not be properly utilised. Says Rajendiran, “Fishermen who lost their steamboats were allotted a subsidy of 5 lakhs and a loan of 15 lakhs from the government. But being uneducated most of the fishermen did not know what to do with the cheques for the loan. There are people who still store the cheque like a treasure but the date for encashment has long passed.”
It is this lack of awareness that the people of Nagapattinam have to battle against in the aftermath of the tsunami. Schools have been set up with a vengeance and children in Nagapattinam cannot mourn the lack of education facilities, whatever else they might long for. The students of the Panchayat Union Middle School, Palathaladi, have formed a children’s club Winmeengal meaning shining stars that is involved in a number of social activities. They also have formed a disaster preparedness committee along with the village panchayat, SEG and youth group members and meet on the last Saturday of every month to educate the villagers about tackling emergencies. For these children illiteracy and ignorance are bigger monsters than tsunami. Sabina who loves watching comedy shows on television wants to be a doctor, Thennarasi who has a passion for computers would love to be a teacher, while Sivanandan wants to be an IAS officer and K.Thirunavukarasa, a computer engineer. Tsunami has taught them that nothing can be of more help than the ability to reconstruct one’s life without having to depend on others.
This desire to have control on one’s life is what has spurred the women to leave their homes and go for women empowerment trainings on bookkeeping and leadership offered by various NGOs. Says Jayanthi who is attending a training programme on bookkeeping, “Before the tsunami, concepts like banking used to be alien to us. But tsunami showed us that we should save for the future so that we do not have to depend on alms and aid in case of a crisis.”
Physically residents of Nagapattinam have moved on to a new life but it is the psychological trauma that still persists in their minds. Says Dr. Dadrudeem who runs a mobile clinic that provides medical help to villages in Nagapattinam, “Even after five years there are so many people who even refuse to look at the sea. There are fishermen who refuse to venture out in their boats even at the cost of loss of livelihood. Any ailments that they have, from a simple fever to joint pain, they immediately associate it as an after-effect of tsunami.”
Joe Velu, director, People’s Development Association (PDA), an NGO which stepped in to provide relief immediately after the tsunami and moved on to the role of a facilitator in years to come says that physical reconstruction of life is not enough, “In the months after tsunami there were about nearly 400 NGOs who came to work in Nagapattinam. Five years down the line only a handful remains. Ideally what is needed is a situation whereby the common people in the event of a tragedy can get back to normalcy even without the aid of NGOs.” Velu further mentions that unfortunately some people still use tsunami as a crutch and refuse to go on about earning their own livelihood. Aid and help from agencies have made them dependent and they refuse to come out of the stupor. Five years have passed since that day when thousands perished to the gigantic waves ravaging lives and property. One wonders what has been done regarding the installation of tsunami-detecting equipment so as to facilitate evacuation in danger zones. An early warning system for tsunami is operational in India since September 2007. Maintained and run by the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad, the warning system comprises of a real-time network of seismic stations, bottom pressure recorders (BPRs), which are sensitive to even slight changes in the pressure at the sea bottom and an array of tide gauges installed all along the Indian coast. “We have the most sophisticated and world class tsunami warning system in place”, says C Vinod Chandra Menon, member of National Disaster Management Authority in New Delhi. “We are much better prepared now to face an eventuality,” he says. R K Sharma, a senior scientist with the Union ministry of earth sciences, which coordinated the setting up of the tsunami warning system, says that with the system in place, India can hope to get a lead time of at least one hour before a future tsunami strikes the Indian shore. Will a tsunami hit Nagapattinam in the near future? Is the administration well-equipped to deal with such an event? These are questions which only time can answer. But what is important is that the people of Nagapattinam have not succumbed to the catastrophe. Life has moved on—for better or for worse, it is still early to say. But while the bells ring at the famous Saint Mary’s Church in Vailankanni, it feels as if the whole populace is praying for strength to fight, for hope to build a new future, bereft of the scars of tsunami.