During the 20th century, the United States and many other countries faced serious threats from pests and insect-borne diseases. Malaria, typhus, and other diseases exploded in some areas, leading to a desperate need for effective control methods. DDT, discovered by Swiss chemist Paul Hermann Müller in the 1930s, proved to be a powerful tool for controlling insects.

DDT was not only effective, it was also cheap and easy to use. It quickly spread throughout the world as a miracle solution for controlling pests and disease-carrying insects. During World War II, it was even used to reduce the risk of disease outbreaks among the troops.

But it wouldn't be long before the side effects began to show. Scientists began to observe that DDT had a tendency to accumulate in the environment and that it was particularly long-lived. When it was used on crops and sprayed into the environment, the soil and water became contaminated with the chemical. It also accumulated in fish, aquatic organisms and small animals in the food chain.

However, it was above all the disastrous cascading effect on birds of prey that shook the world. DDT caused the birds' eggshells to thin, causing many of their eggs to break before they could hatch. This resulted in a dramatic decline in the population of birds of prey such as eagles, falcons and hawks. These birds were important for controlling small rodents and other pests, and their declining populations led to an explosion of agricultural pests.

The increased use of pesticides to manage these new pests led to additional environmental problems and health risks. Toxic chemicals that had previously been used sparingly now began to spread on a large scale, polluting land, water and air.

Rachel Carson's book "Silent Spring", published in 1962, became a milestone in the understanding of the negative effects of chemical pesticides such as DDT on the environment. The increased awareness and criticism of DDT use, which led to increased regulation and finally the banning of DDT in the United States in 1972.

The story of DDT is a reminder of the need to balance the short-term effectiveness of technological solutions with their long-term consequences for the environment and human health. It is also a reminder of the importance of listening to scientific research and being cautious about using chemicals without careful evaluation of their effects on ecosystems.

The skin care industry at large has not evaluated its long-term impact on the skin's delicate ecosystem. As long as we continue with the same approach to skin as we have for the past 120 years, our Western skin health will continue to collapse.

A huge change is required. Are we perfect? Far from. However, we work to take care of the skin's ecosystem, really.

Ready to update your skin care routine? Test our concept.