04/14/2022
Non-Toxic Beauty Products and What Ingredients to Avoid
It’s hard to narrow this list down to just 12 toxic personal care ingredients since unfortunately there are SO many. Even products that claim to be “paraben-free,” “clean,” or “all-natural” often hide toxins in their ingredients list. Ironically, sometimes these hidden ingredients are toxic chemicals that are some of the worst offenders!
Over a number of years we’ve gradually made the switch to much healthier, more natural cleaning and personal care brands, one product at a time.
It wasn’t until I started reading the labels and learning more about the toxic chemicals that are in these products and what they can do to your body.
The FDA in the U.S. has only banned eleven potentially harmful ingredients in cosmetics, while the European Union has banned over 1000! This stark contrast only makes sense given the fact that the FDA hasn’t updated their regulation laws on cosmetics since 1938. I learned that in addition to hormone disruptors, many of the ingredients in beauty products are also carcinogens—meaning that they are capable of causing cancer. Who knew that most of the products lining the aisles at beauty, department, and drug stores were so dangerous?
Going Forward, Avoid These Ingredients
BHA and BHT
Coal tar dyes: p-phenylenediamine and colours listed as “CI” followed by a five digit number
DEA-related ingredients
Dibutyl phthalate
Formaldehyde-releasing preservatives
Parabens
Parfum (a.k.a. fragrance)
PEG compounds
Petrolatum
Siloxanes
Sodium laureth sulfate
Triclosan
If you take the above steps and find, like me, that most of your beauty collection is filled with the above ingredients, don’t lose heart. Remember, small, manageable steps! If there’s a toxic beauty product that you feel you cannot live without, maybe opt to keep that one product. The goal is to eventually get to 100 percent non-toxic products and to stay that way—and reaching that goal requires taking the first step. ✨
