Harmful Ingredients List
Your Guide to Choosing Safe Products
The following Harmful Ingredients Lists contains toxic and potentially cancer causing (carcinogenic) and hormone altering chemicals which are commonly found in personal care products including skin care products, cosmetics, soaps, shaving gels, shampoo's, conditioner's and toothpastes. Use these lists to check your bathroom products for obvious and not so obvious toxic chemical ingredients. You may want to copy this page to check the ingredients on your current products and to help you select safer skin care products and non toxic natural beauty products next time you shop.
Harmful Ingredients List Part I
- Diethanolamine (DEA), found in shampoos, body washes, bubble bath, and shaving cream.
- Triethanolamine (TEA) , found in moisturizers, cosmetics, deodorant, toothpaste, body oils, and washes.
- Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS) , found in shampoo, bubble bath, shaving foam, and cleansers.
- Sodium Laureth Sulphate (SLES) , found in shampoo, bubble bath, shaving foam, and cleansers.
- Propylene Glycol, found in the anti freeze for your car radiator, hand sanitizers, moisturizers, shaving creams, deodorants, and baby products.
- Sodium Fluoride, found in toothpaste.
- Alcohol, found in mouthwash, toners, and baby products.
- Talc, found in baby powder, make-up, and foot preparations.
- PABA, found in sunscreens.
- PEG, found in cosmetics, make-up, and shaving cream.
- Artificial flavors, found in toothpaste and mouthwash.
- Artificial colors, found in make-up, toothpaste, and shampoos.
- Benzalkonium Chloride and Benzethonium Chloride - synthetic germicides belonging to the large group of germicides known as “Quats, found in numerous household disinfectants, sanitizers including hand sanitizers and personal care products - long term use may affect immune system, cause asthma and should be especially avoided if you have COPD, or any other form of pulmonary disease.
- Ether, found in nail treatments, shampoo, and conditioner.
- Coal Tars, found in shampoo, conditioner, hair dyes, soap, skin care and cosmetics.
- Aluminum, found in antiperspirants.
- Acetone, found in nail polish remover.
- Formaldehyde, found in antiperspirants, nail treatments, and perfumes.
- Fluorocarbons, found in hair spray.
Dioxins, found in shampoo.
- Petrolatum or Mineral Oil, found in baby products, washes, and moisturizers.
- Sodium Hydroxide found in soaps and detergents, is a caustic poison, corrosive to skin.
- Triclosan found in anti bacterial soaps, hand sanitizers and even toothpaste. It use is so widespread that it is being linked to lowering the immune system and is now being detected in breast milk. (Overuse of hand sanitizers with Triclosan is not good for your children)
A Little Anti Freeze or Drano...Anyone?
That is what you are essentially doing when you use products with Propylene Glycol or Ethylene Glycol or Sodium Hydroxide which are primary ingredients of most antifreeze and drain cleaners. These chemicals are among the top offenders from my harmful ingredients list because they are found in so many of your lotions, hair products, cleansers, cosmetics and even your toothpaste. Every day, we use soaps and body washes, creams, lotions, makeup and other products, one on top of the other, to make ourselves look prettier (or more handsome), younger, erase blemishes, smell better, feel sexier and to attract, or keep, the perfect partner. Looking well-groomed and attractive is important. It’s good for your self esteem too. Not all the ingredients in the products that make you beautiful and sexier are good for your health. It can be difficult to decipher the ingredient labels on toiletries and bathroom products.
Personal Care Product Labels Can Be Confusing
Many cosmetic and personal care companies use labeling and images that lead a consumer to think their products are organic based or natural and healthy. But...buyer beware! Their ingredients may very well be deadly!For example, take a look at this
spreadsheet comparing hazard scores
of some "Organic Cheater" Brand Products compared to Dr. BonnersUSDA certified Products.
Teens Are Especially at Risk
Parents should be especially aware of the toxic ingredients in cosmetics with their teenagers. Environmental Working Group (September 2008) detected 16 chemicals from 4 chemical families - phthalates, triclosan, parabens, and musks - in blood and urine samples from 20 teen girls aged 14-19. Studies link these chemicals to potential health effects including cancer and hormone disruption. These tests feature first-ever exposure data for parabens in teens, and indicate that young women are widely exposed to this common class of cosmetic preservatives, with 2 parabens, methylparaben and propylparaben, detected in every single girl tested.
How To Find Safe Products
How do you find out about a company’s commitment to the health and safety of their products?Search for companies that produce natural and organic cosmetics, skin and body care products. First check the ingredients in their products to make sure they’re all safe and healthy. After the ingredients pass the test, investigate the company. What is their mission? What are they committed to? Do they also produce product lines that contain synthetic ingredients and chemical preservatives? Or are they committed to using only the purest and safest ingredients (not on this harmful ingredients list) in all their products? Are they careful about the quality of ingredients they receive from their suppliers?
Please copy the harmful ingredients lists on this page. Be sure to also look at the frank and hidden harmful ingredients list below which may also be found in your personal care products.
Harmful Ingredients List Part ll (Frank & Hidden Carcinogens)
This harmful ingredients list is not exhaustive and these ingredients may be found in numerous other personal care products than those listed on this page. Be sure to check your labels carefully! - Acrylate
- acid orange 3
- Acrylate copolymers
- amorphous silicates
- Benzyl acetate
- blue 1,2,4
- bromonitrodioxane
- bronopol
- bronopol (2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1, 3-diol)
- butyl benzylphthalate
- Butylated hydroxyanisole
- butylated hydroxytoluene
- Ceteareth-3
- chlorhexidine
- Choleth-24
- chrystalline silica
- coal tar dyes
- DEA
- DEA-Cocamide & Lauramide & Oleamidecondensates
- DEA-cocamide/lauramide condensates
- DEA-MEA/Acetame
- DEA-Sodium lauryl sulfate
- diaminoanisole
- diaminophenol
- diaminotoluene
- diazolidinyl urea
- Diethanolamide-cocamide, lauramide & oleamide condensates
- dioctyl adipate
- disperse blue 1
- disperse yellow 3
- DMDM-Hydantoin
- ethoxylated alcohols
- ethyl alcohol
- fluoride
- formaldehyde
- glutaral
- green 1,2,3
- hydroquinone
- Imidazolidinyl urea
- lanolin
- Laureth's
- Methacrylate copolymers
- vMetheneamine
- methylene chloride
- Morpholine
- nitrophenylenediamine
- Nonoxynol
- Oleth's
- Padimate-O (octyldimethyl para-amino benzoic acid)
- PEG's (polyethylene glycols)
- polyoxymethyleneurea
- Polysorbate 60
- Polysorbate 80
- polyvinyl acetate
- polyvinyl pyrrolidone
- p-phenylphenylenediamine
- pyrocatechol
- Pyroglutamic Acid
- Quaternium-15
- quaternium-26
- red 4,9,17,19,22,33,40
- saccharin
- Sodium/Hydroxynethylglycinate
- talc
- TEA
- vTEA-Sodium lauryl sulfate
- titanium dioxide
- Yellow 5,6,8
I hope you have benefited from this harmful ingredients list of chemicals to help you avoid toxic ingredients in your toiletries and all of your home and personal care products!
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