There are a number of breast creams on the market that claim to enhance the appearance of a woman's breasts. These creams claim to perform a variety of enhancements including lifting sagging breasts, creating the appearance of fuller breasts, and creating the appearance of larger breasts. Companies must choose their wording very carefully to avoid penalties from the Food and Drug Administration. The ingredients of these creams can vary widely, but many share certain main ingredients.
Purified Water
The FDA requires manufacturers to list the ingredients in a product in order of largest percentage of use in the product. All breast creams list purified water as their initial ingredient. Purified water acts as a solvent for any additional ingredients to be added to the breast cream formula. The term "purified water" denotes that the water used in the breast cream was free of toxins or pollutants and meets FDA good manufacturing guidelines.
Emulsifiers
The second-most used ingredient in most breast creams is some type of emulsifier. Emulsifiers are ingredients that act as glue, keeping two liquids that are generally unlikely to create a stable mixture consistently dispersed throughout the solution. Common emulsifiers found in breast creams are octyl palmitate and palm kernel glycerides. Both are derivatives from palm oil.
Emollients
Most emulsifiers are followed by a type of emollient. Emollients have skin-softening properties. In some cases, breast cream manufacturers use an emulsifier with emollient properties. Octyl palmitate is an example. Outside of octyl palmitate, a common emollient used in breast creams is glycerin. All natural breast creams may use vegetable glycerin; others use glyceryl stearate, an emollient that also acts as an emulsifier, and humectants.
Estrogenic Herbal Extract
Estrogenic herbs are herbs that are believed to simulate estrogen in the body. Manufacturers of breast creams claim that applying creams containing a cocktail of estrogenic herbs to the dermis of the breasts allows the active chemicals to reach the breast area and work more effectively. The herbs included in the cocktail vary according to manufacturer but generally include at least one of the following: wild yam, saw palmetto, fenugreek and fennel extracts. These four herbs are traditionally believed to contain the highest levels of plant estrogens and are used in herbal medicine to correct female hormonal imbalances. Very little scientific evidence exists to validate these beliefs, however.
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