Cosmetic and medical products that get in contact with our skin are absorbed through the skin, get in the blood stream and can accumulate in high quantities in different parts of our bodies. The absorption of substances from outside the skin to positions beneath the skin, including entrance to the blood stream, is referred to as Percutaneous Absorption. Usually, shampoos contain very aggressive cleaning ingredients that desroy hydrolipidic film. Hydrolipidic film is an emulsion of water (hydro) and fat (lipos). Its main function is an external barrier, a defense against bacteria and fungi. In addition it keeps the skin supple. The cleaning ingredients of shampoos destroy external barrier of the scalp and all the dangerous ingredients found in shampoos enter our bodies.

This is why all cosmetic products not just medical products must be tested for safety.

Hairdressers and estheticians are considered to be at high professional risk, because they come in contact with cosmetic products more than anyone else. Most importantly, there are a lot of different ingredients in cosmetic products, especially shampoos that can be very damaging to our health. In particular, there are lot of ingredients widely used in the cosmetic industry that are not being studied as much as food products and drugs, but they can be very dangerous and carcinogenic (can cause cancer). The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare says the number of cancers being diagnosed each year is growing faster than the overall population. Skin cancer has increased by more than 350% in last five years.

This is why all Allatolia products have been extensively tested and analyzed for safety and clinical effectiveness.

Allatolia products are manufactured without the addition of colorings, perfumes, and thickening ingredients since their origin (1978), because the very high quality of raw materials used allows avoiding any kind of covering. Colors and perfumes are often added to products in order to cover bad quality of raw materials (low quality raw materials often smell very bad). Dermatologists and Allergologists consider perfumes and colors which are added to cosmetic products as the most responsible for contact dermatitis. Contact dermatitis is a localized rash or irritation of the skin caused by contact with a foreign substance. Professionals in the cosmetic field, especially hairdressers are at higher risk for developing irritations and allergic reactions due to the fact that they use cosmetic products all day long.

Allatolia products are made without formaldehyde since the origin (1978). Formaldehyde (or formic aldehyde) is a preservative considered to be very dangerous, although widely used for its low price. Formaldehyde is classified as a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. International Agency for Research on Cancer states that there is sufficient evidence that formaldehyde causes nasopharyngeal cancer in humans. Formaldehyde also causes allergies.

Under certain dosage the present laws do not yet force producers to declare the presence of formaldehyde. In Switzerland the use of formaldehyde is forbidden for both medicines and cosmetics since 1967. Therefore, the voluntary procedure to submit the products to the composition exam to the laboratories of Swiss Hygiene and the consequent certification of conformity means that, under precise responsibility of the producer, the products are made without formaldehyde. All the certificates that state that all Allatolia products do not contain formaldehyde can be found on our website.

Villa Bofghini products are manufactured without Methylene Chloride since the origin (1978). Methylene Chloride has always been considered as a very dangerous substance for human health. In spite of this, it has been largely used to manufacture hair sprays and hair fixing products mainly because of its low cost and of its high volatility characteristic (it is able to let the other ingredients exhale very quickly, thus allowing to fix hair almost immediately). Obviously, Methylene Chloride and other substances heavily pollute the environment. This bears dangerous consequences to the health of people using such toxic products. Only in 1998 did the European Commission finally classify it as ?R-40? meaning dangerous substance able to cause irreversible noxious effects to human health.

Allatolia products have been clinically studied and tested for maximum safety by Repeated Insult Patch Test. All Allatolia products have passed this test. Under normal conditions it takes 28 days for the basal layer of skin cells through their death and physiological transformation to finally reach the skin surface. This is the cycle of the skin, called cellular turnover. This is what allows the skin to have the power of self-defense form anything that comes in contact with it.

There are two clinical-pharmacological tests used to evaluate safety of products for topical application. They are Patch Test and Repeated Insult Patch Test. The Patch Test usually lasts 48 hours. As previously explained, the cellular turnover of the skin lasts 28 days. This means that the product tested only for 2 days cannot be called hypoallergenic, because 2 days are not enough to really test the product. The Repeated Insult Patch Test lasts for 30 days, that is to say two more days of the skin cellular turnover. This is why the product that managed to over come such a rigid test is certified as ?Incapable of causing irritation or allergic reactions?.

According to the FDA, there are no Federal standards or definitions that govern the use of the term ?hypoallergenic?. The term means whatever a particular company wants it to mean. Manufacturers of cosmetics labeled as hypoallergenic are not required to submit substantiation of their hypoallergenicity claims to FDA.

Allatolia products have overcome the strictest clinical-pharmacological test in the University Laboratories for Maximum Safety: ?The Repeated Insult Patch Test?. All Allatolia products are certified as incapable of causing irritation or allergic reactions.

Up to today, Allatolia is the unique whole range of products in the world that was able to overcome the hardest test for maximum safety.

The scalp is at the top of the list among the body parts affected by Allergenic Contact Dermatitis. Shampoos are the most dangerous products, because they destroy the hydrolipidic film of the skin (extreme barrier for the protection of the skin) and that provokes the dangerous rebound effect of the sebaceous gland, and in turn canceling the skin power to self-defense. That is why they are considered to be the most dangerous cosmetic products. For this reason hairdressers are at a higher risk.

Allatolia finished products have been registered and approved by the FDA. The finished product is the result of mixing together various ingredients. Every ingredient has its own characteristics which can be changed by combining it with another ingredient. It is evident that by advertising a product only because it contains a particular ingredient does not show the proved scientific value of the finished product. So, it is very important to test the finished product as well as each ingredient separately. All ALLATOLIA products have been tested as finished products.

For most shampoos, the manufacturing process starts with making a large amount of concentrated shampoo in one shot, and then it is diluted. Allatolia, on the other hand manufactures their shampoos differently. We do it by addition of ingredients to each bottle one by one. We add the ingredients, not dilute a high concentrated solution.

According to the results of the tests and analysis of Allatolia products, the use of Allatolia products allows achieving important clinical results with no side effects.

The whole range of Allatolia products has very advanced scientific characteristics, because we are able to achieve both aesthetic and curative results simultaneously. This is another scientific and technical innovation called Product Dynamism.

The unique distinctive characteristics of Allatolia line shows that Allatolia manufacturing levels and quality of the ingredients were almost 30 years ahead of the modern European Regulations.