Photo courtesy of: The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
Most of us use numerous personal care products on our body each day, whether we are doing our makeup in the morning, washing our face at night, or anything in between. Unfortunately, many of us are not aware of exactly how these products are impacting our body. From shampoo to lipstick, deodorant to sunscreen, many of these products include chemicals that can be far more damaging to our bodies than we know. According to our friends over at the Safe Cosmetics Campaign, “more than 1 in 5 personal care products contain chemicals linked to cancer, 80 percent contain ingredients that commonly contain hazardous impurities, and 56 percent contain penetration enhancers that help deliver ingredients deeper into the skin.”
Being said, it is SUPER important for us as consumers to know what to look for and avoid when it comes to shopping for personal care products. Below is a cheat sheet of chemicals commonly found in every day products and how to identify them when you are on your weekly shopping trip! Although their chemical names may look intimidating, don’t let that stop you. You hold the power to stop these nasty chemicals from entering your body!
Foundation/Lipstick
Common Chemical: Lead and other Heavy Metals
What to look for on the label: Lead acetate, chromium, thimerosal, hydrogenated cotton seed oil, sodium hexametaphosphate. Note: products that contain contaminant metals will not list them on ingredient labels
Health concerns: Cancer, developmental and reproductive toxicity, organ system toxicity, allergies and immunotoxicity, bioaccumulation
Vulnerable populations: Pregnant women, young children and adolescentsBlush
Common Chemical: Ethanolamine compounds
What to look for on the label: Triethanolamine, diethanolamine, DEA, TEA, cocamide DEA, cocamide MEA, DEA-cetyl phosphate, DEA oleth-3 phosphate, lauramide DEA, linoleamide MEA, myristamide DEA, oleamide DEA, stearamide MEA, TEA-lauryl sulfate [2]
Health concerns: Cancer, bioaccumulation, organ system toxicity
Vulnerable populations: AllNail Polish
Common Chemical: Toluene
What to look for on the label: Toluene
Health concerns: Developmental and reproductive toxicity, organ system toxicity, irritation, bioaccumulation
Vulnerable populations: Nail salon workers, pregnant womenSunscreen
Common Chemical: Octinoxate
What to look for on the label: Octinoxate,o methoxycinnamate (OMC), parsol, parsol MCX, parsol MOX, escalol, 2-ethylhexyl p-methoxycinnamate
Health concerns: Endocrine disruption, persistence and bioaccumulation, ecotoxicology, organ system toxicity
Vulnerable population: AllShampoo
Common Chemical: 1,4-Dioxane
What to look for on the label: Sodium laureth sulfate, PEG compounds, chemicals that include the clauses xynol, ceteareth and oleth
Health concerns: Cancer, organ-system toxicity, irritation
Vulnerable populations: Pregnant women, infants, teenagersMascara
Common Chemical: Nitrosamines
What to look for on the label: DEA or TEA can indicate the possible presence of nitrosamines
Health concerns: Cancer, endocrine disruption, organ system toxicity
Vulnerable populations: AllFragrance
Common Chemical: Butylated Hydroxyanisole
What to look for on the label: BHA, BHT
Health concerns: Endocrine disruption, organ-system toxicity, developmental and reproductive toxicity, cancer (possible), irritation, allergies and immunotoxicity, bioaccumulation
Vulnerable populations: Pregnant women, infantsBody Lotion
Common Chemical: Parabens
What to look for on the label: Ethylparaben, butylparaben, methylparaben, propylparaben, other ingredients ending in –paraben
Health concerns: Endocrine disruption, developmental and reproductive toxicity, allergies and immunotoxicity
Vulnerable populations: Pregnant women and young childrenDeodorant
Common Chemical: Triclosan
What to look for on the label: Triclosan
Health concerns: Endocrine disruption, allergies and immunotoxicity, bioaccumulation, organ system toxicity, irritation
Vulnerable populations: Pregnant women and breast-feeding mothers
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