Raw Egg Facial Mask? Tightening and Anti-aging?

One of the beauty urban legends is to apply eggs or egg whites to prevent wrinkles. Some use it to prevent hair loss. The egg or egg white is applied as a mask to the face. You wait for a while and then wash it off. Some mix up the egg whites with white clay or similar ingredients to make it denser. The expected result is tightening of the face.

Why eggs? How do eggs tighten the skin?

Eggs have predominantly water, protein, salts and fats. One egg white has 7% protein, 2% sodium, 1% potassium and 1% magnesium. One of the proteins is albumin. When egg white is applied to the skin, albumin forms a film over the skin. This provides the tightening feeling of the skin.

Alas, this tightening effect is temporary and non-lasting. After egg white mask is washed off, the effect is gone. Further, salts found in the egg white can dehydrate the skin by binding to water molecules.

If egg whites are mixed with an absorbent material like white clay, more moisture will be lost from the face. Eggs have cholesterol, which can have skin softening effect but it is quite low in amount.  Egg whites do not have any vitamins that could be helpful to the skin.

7 reasons why egg or egg white mask is so bad for your skin?

1-    Eggs are very prone to spoiling. Even clean and uncracked raw eggs could have a bacteria called Salmonella. Salmonella dies when the eggs are cooked at the right temperature so we can eat them safely. So applying raw eggs on the face could mean that the skin could be exposed to bacteria. Further, alive Salmonella could lead to cutaneous ulcerations and infections on the skin  [1].

2-    The temporary tightening and drying effect of the egg mask could alter the pH, moisture and sebum balance of the skin especially with sensitive complexions. Acne prone or skin with open wounds should avoid applying egg mask to the face considering the unwanted effects of Salmonella.

3-    Egg hair mask has the same risks as the facial egg mask. Since it is harder to remove the egg mask from the hair, it could clog the pores leading to more complications.

4-    Some could have allergies to eggs. Applying egg or egg whites to the face could enhance the risk of skin inflammation and allergic reaction [2].

5-    Egg mask only tightens (or provides a tightening feel) only during application. After removal of the mask with water, effect is gone and does not last. It is better and safer to use a professionally produced skin care mask.

6-    Aesthetically, egg mask is messy and smelly. It gets everywhere and ıs hard to remove from the face and hair. Unpleasant egg smell lingers for a while on the skin as well.

7-    We do not consume raw eggs due to the possible bacteria them may contain. Why apply to our face?

Before applying products like eggs as a DIY beauty mask, please ask yourself a simple question: “What would happen if I eat this raw?”  If the answer it could make us unhappy even sick, you could assume it may not be good for the skin.

:)

Dr.Ebru

Scientific References

1-Cutaneous infection caused by Salmonella typhi. Marzano AV, Mercogliano M, Borghi A, Facchetti M, Caputo R. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2003 Sep;17(5):575-7.

2-Molecular diagnosis of egg allergy. Caubet JC, Kondo Y, Urisu A, Nowak-Węgrzyn A. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol. 2011 Jun;11(3):210-5.