BENEFITS OF HERBAL EXTRACTS IN COSMETICS: A REVIEW

Herbal extracts are primarily added to the cosmetic formulations due to several associated properties such as antioxidant, anti inflammatory, antiseptic and antimicrobial properties. Even today, people in rural and urban areas depend upon herbs for traditional cosmetics. Information on the herbal cosmetics was collected via electronic search (using pub med, scifinder, Google Scholar and web of science) and library search for articles published in peer-reviewed journals. Furthermore, information also was obtained from some local books on ethnopharmacology. The herbal extracts, as a whole or part, have been used for various ailments of the skin, hair, and dental care for overall appearance. Cosmetics alone are not sufficient to take care of skin and others body parts, it requires association of active ingredients to check the damage and ageing of the skin. Herbal cosmetics have gained much popularity among the population. Herbal cosmetics products claimed to have efficacy and intrinsic acceptability due to routine use in daily life and avoid the side effects which are commonly seen in synthetic products. Due to the awareness of the environmental damage caused by industrialization, a trend has developed to use products with natural ingredients. Various adverse effects may occur in the form of acute toxicity, percutaneous absorption, skin irritation, eye irritation, skin sensitization and photosensitization, sub chronic toxicity, mutagenicity, and photo toxicity by the usage of synthetic products that’s why today’s generation prefers herbal cosmetics for hair, skin and dental care. This review attempts and emphasizes the benefits of herbal extracts in cosmetics.