Introduction. The skin is one of the largest organs of the body protecting from external insults in order to maintain homeostasis. It plays many roles: in thermal, electrolyte, hormonal, metabolic, and immune regulation. Proper pH of skin plays a role in creation of skin barrier and resistance to external agents. Cl 2 and Fe may irritate skin. If noxious factors are strong, they damage the tissues under the skin. When the insult is severe enough to overwhelm the protective function of the skin, it may manifest itself with acute or chronic skin injury. Therefore, it is important to know if the used skin products are safe.Aim. The objective of the study was to determine pH, Cl 2 and Fe content in selected cosmetics. Material and methods. A total of 62 skin product samples were collected and divided into 4 groups: I soaps and gels, II hair cosmetics, III creams and balms, IV facial cosmetics. The pH, Cl 2 and Fe content in each sample was determined three times and means were calculated. Data were analyzed with one way ANOVA followed by Tukey test. P<0.05 was considered significant.Results. The pH in group III was significantly higher than in the other groups. Fe content was significantly higher in hair cosmetics as well as in creams and balms. Cl 2 content was high in soaps and hair cosmetics.Conclusions. The majority of the analyzed samples had pH within the healthy range. Traces of Cl 2 and Fe present in cosmetics are unlikely to cause skin irritation.

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Introduction. Body modifications are practices leading to transient or permanent change of various parts of human body. The most popular forms of body modifications are tattooing and piercing.Aim. The aim of the study is to determine the frequency of the most popular body modifications (tattoos and piercing) among young adults aged 18-32 years and to collect and analyze their opinions concerning body modifications and to determine their knowledge about the complications during these procedures.Material and methods. The study was conducted in February 2017 among 251 individuals: 146 females (58.17%) and 105 males (41.83%). An original questionnaire was used. It consisted of questions about body modifications. Researchers recorded body modifications the respondents have had. Participation in the study was voluntary and anonymous. Participants were randomly selected. Results were analyzed with STATISTICA 12.5 and ANOVA program; p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results. The number of 23 examined individuals (10 men and 13 women) had tattoos (9.16%). The mean number of tattoos was 1.6±0.6 for women and 2±1.1 for men. As many as 128 individuals had ear piercing (51%), including 6 males and 122 females. The number of 13 people (5.18%) had piercing in places other than ears. Piercing is significantly more common than tattooing. As many as 109 individuals (43.43%) did not have tattoos or body piercing. The total number of 106 respondents (42.23%) liked tattoos, ear piercing 168 (66.93%), piercing of other parts of the body 41 (16.33%), and other body modifications 8 (3.19%) individuals. As many as 221 (88.05%) individuals claimed that they knew the complications of body modifications.Conclusions. Body modifications are popular among young adults, especially among females. The most positively assessed by respondents were earnings and tattoos, what correlates with their occurrence in this group of people. The vast majority of respondents consider that they know the complications of body modifications.