Alex Ram

One hundred years ago, manufacturers of health and beauty products didn't do testing of any sort on the cosmetics, lotions and potions used by women. It wasn't until the 1920s when a disastrous eye lash product touted to provide women with long, luxurious lashes caused everything from minor irritation to blindness and even death. Only then did regulations fall into place ordering the testing of products before they hit the shelves. Scientists began to develop tests using small animals. The Draize test, which is still in use today, is for eye products or for those cosmetics used near the eye. Albino rabbits, animals which find it hard to produce tears to wash away irritants, are strapped down with products dropped into their eyes. They are then checked in the days to follow for problems or damage to the eyes. The Draize skin test is similar. Rabbits, mice and rats are shaved of their hair. Then a face cream or hand lotion, or beauty product of some description, is rubbed onto the exposed skin and monitored in the days that follow for burns or irritation. Hair spray, perfume, deodorant - anything that is sprayed with the potential to be inhaled, is tested by animals in a closed container. A mask through which the product can be inhaled is placed over an animal's nose so that have optimum exposure. They are then watched for any problems with their airway. This type of testing is becoming less tolerable to consumers as it is deemed as cruelty to animals. As a result, many of the major health and beauty companies have stopped this practice and are advertising this on product labels to help consumers choose products that are in line with own beliefs. At the same time, with consumers wary of how safe a product might be, how are manufacturers keeping products safe for people while not harming animals? Scientifically speaking, many non-animal tests have been developed. Instead of using products and potentially burning the corneas of live rabbits, manufacturers now use donated human corneas to test for results. In laboratories, human skin cultures are developed and used for irritant testing. These type of tests are proving to be more cost effective and give quicker more accurate results that the old methods. The main non-animal type of tests employed by cosmetic technologies is the Neutral Red Uptake Assay. Using human cells grown in a glass dish, chemicals in health and beauty products are added to the culture. A dye is added to help differentiate between dead and live cells. The results are then analyzed by a computer to determine the risk factor to the human cells. These tests are known as in vitro, which means "in glass." As public demand for more humane treatment of animals grows, animal testing will become a thing of the past. But in the meantime, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) still regards human safety over the needs of animals and demands animal testing under certain conditions. The Animal Welfare Act is working along side health and beauty product companies and pharmaceutical firms to ensure animals are treated well and medicated while undergoing uncomfortable tests. The limited amount of animal testing that remains in place today will soon disappear. It is limited to new chemicals that are yet untested, but primarily for new drug therapies. The thalidomide scare of the 1960s was enough to keep animal testing in place for probably many more decades, until public pressure becomes great enough that animals will be freed from their cages. That includes the use of pain killers to ease any possible suffering. http://health-fitness-blog.com/wordpress/?p=21746 If they don't, then they will probably have some superb coupons that you can't pass up. Normally, you'll find these around the pharmacy area, so make sure you check it out first.