Labels on cosmetics and body care products can be a tough code to crack. You may look at a list of product ingredients and wonder, “What is Triclosan? And DEA? What do these things to do my skin?”

Consider this: Our skin is the body’s biggest organ and its most important immune defense barrier. It is also the body’s largest waste elimination organ. The takeaways here are:

What you put in your skin is directly absorbed into body and can affect your health or wellbeing – positively or negatively.
Products with harmful ingredients can plasticize or “constipate” the skin, making it harder for toxins to make their way out.

By putting harmful chemicals on our skin, we are robbing both our health and our radiance.

[ctt template=”3″ link=”byQV_” via=”no” ]What you put in your skin is directly absorbed into body and can affect your health or wellbeing – positively or negatively. via @heymollyb[/ctt]

Every day we use products that we assume are safe. But many of the ingredients in these products are harmful for our health, and shockingly, manufacturers don’t have to tell us so.

In 1938, the FDA stopped regulating the cosmetics industry. This means that the beauty products you buy can contain ingredients without government approval. Manufacturers can claim that products are “natural” and “organic” when they’re not.

Of the nearly 25,000 chemicals that are used in commercially available beauty and skincare products, many have not been tested for long-term toxic effects. And on any given day, you might expose yourself to 200 different chemicals, many of which are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones. EPA tests have shown that some ingredients in commonly-available shampoos, dyes, and other personal care products “may be reeking havoc with hormones that control reproduction and development.”

Wow.

The takeaway? Always read ingredient labels.

Harmful Beauty Product Ingredients

Alcohol, Isopropyl (SD-40):

A very drying and irritating solvent and dehydrator that strips your skin’s moisture and natural immune barrier, making you more venerable to bacteria, molds and viruses. It’s made from propylene, which is a petroleum derivative. This chemical is found in many skin and hair products, fragrance, antibacterial hand washes as well as shellac and antifreeze. It can accelerate the penetration of other harmful chemicals into your skin. It may promote brown spots and premature aging of skin. A Consumer’s Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients says it may cause headaches, flushing, dizziness, mental depression, nausea, vomiting, narcosis, anesthesia, and coma. Fatal ingested dose is one ounce or less.

DEA (diethanolamine), MEA (Monoethanolamine) & TEA (triethanolamine):

Hormone-disrupting chemicals that can form cancer-causing nitrates and nitrosamines. These chemicals are already restricted in Europe due to known carcinogenic effects. In the United States however, they are still used despite the fact that Americans may be exposed to them 10-20 times per day with products such as shampoos, shaving creams and bubble baths. Dr. Samuel Epstein (Professor of Environmental Health at the University of Illinois) says that repeated skin applications…. of DEA-based detergents resulted in major increase in incidence of liver and kidney cancer. The FDA’s John Bailey says this is especially important since “the risk equation changes significantly for children.”

DMDM Hydantion & Urea (Imidazolidinyl):

Just two of many preservatives that often release formaldehyde which may cause joint pain, skin reactions, allergies, depression, headaches, chest pains, ear infections, chronic fatigue, dizziness, and loss of sleep. Exposure may also irritate the respiratory system, trigger heart palpitations or asthma, and aggravate coughs and colds. Other possible side effects include weakening the immune system and cancer.

FD&C Color Pigments:

Synthetic colors made from coal tar, containing heavy metal salts that deposit toxins into the skin, causing skin sensitivity and irritation. Absorption of certain colors can cause depletion of oxygen in the body and death. Animal studies have shown almost all of them to be carcinogenic.

Synthetic Fragrances:

ostly synthetic ingredients can indicate the presence of up to four thousand separate ingredients, many toxic or carcinogenic. Symptoms reported to the FDA include headaches, dizziness, allergic rashes, skin discoloration, violent coughing and vomiting, and skin irritation. Clinical observation proves fragrances can affect the central nervous system, causing depression, hyperactivity, irritability, inability to cope, and other behavioral changes. Alternative – Organic Essential Oils.

Mineral Oil:

Petroleum by-product that coats the skin like plastic, clogging the pores. Interferes with skin’s ability to eliminate toxins, promoting acne and other disorders. Slows down skin function and cell development, resulting in premature aging. Used in many products such as baby oil which is 100% mineral oil! Alternatives – Moisture Magnets (Saccharide Isomerate) from beets; Ceramides, Jojoba and other vegetable oils.

Polyethylene Glycol (PEG):

Potentially carcinogenic petroleum ingredient that can alter and reduce the skin’s natural moisture factor. This could increase the appearance of aging and leave you more vulnerable to bacteria. Used in cleansers to dissolve oil and grease. It adjusts the melting point and thickens products. Also used in caustic spray-on oven cleaners.

Propylene Glycol (PG) and Butylene Glycol:

Gaseous hydrocarbons which in a liquid state act as “surfactant” (wetting olagents and solvents). They easily penetrate the skin and can weaken protein and cellular structure. Commonly used to make extracts from herbs. PG is strong enough to remove barnacles from boats! The EPA considers PG so toxic that it requires workers to wear protective gloves, clothing and goggles and to dispose of any PG solutions by burying them in the ground. Because PG penetrates the skin so quickly, the EPA warns against skin contact to prevent consequences such as brain, liver, and kidney abnormalities. But there isn’t even a warning label on products such as stick deodorants, where the concentration is greater than in most industrial applications. Alternatives – water extracted herbs, Therapeutic Essential Oils, etc.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) & Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES):

Detergents and surfactants that pose serious health threats. Used in car washes, garage floor cleaners and engine degreasers – and in 90% of personal-care products that foam. Animals exposed to SLS experience eye damage, depression, labored breathing, diarrhea, severe skin irritation, and even death. Young eyes may not develop properly if exposed to SLS because proteins are dissolved. SLS may also damage the skins immune system by causing layers to separate and inflame. When combined with other chemicals, SLS can be transformed into nitrosamines, a potent class of carcinogens. Your body may retain the SLS for up to five days, during which tie it may enter and maintain residual levels in the heart, liver, the lungs, and the brain. Alternative – Ammonium Cocoyl Isethionate.

Triclosan:

A synthetic “antibacterial” ingredient – with a chemical structure similar to Agent Orange! The EPA registers it as a pesticide, giving it high scores as a risk to both human health and the environment. It is classified as a chlorophenol, a class of chemicals suspected of causing cancer in humans. Its manufacturing process may produce dioxin, a powerful hormone-disrupting chemical with toxic effects measured in the parts per trillion; that is only one drop in 300 Olympic-size swimming pools! Hormone disruptors pose enormous long-term chronic health risks by interfering with the way hormones perform, such as changing genetic material, decreasing fertility and sexual function, and fostering birth defects. It can temporarily deactivate sensory nerve endings, so contact with it often causes little or no pain. Internally, it can lead to cold sweats, circulatory collapse, and convulsions. Stored in body fat, it can accumulate to toxic levels, damaging the liver, kidneys and lungs and can cause paralysis, suppression of immune function,brain hemorrhages, and heart problems. Tufts University School of Medicine says that triclosan is capable of forcing the emergence of “super bugs” that it cannot kill. Its widespread use in popular antibacterial cleaners, tooth pasts and household products may have nightmare implications for our future.

Other Common Toxic CHEMICALS To Avoid:

Aluminum
Pthalates
DEET
Dioxins
Formaldehyde
PABA
Para-Aminobenzoic Acid (PABA)
Parabens
Phenoxyethanol
Toluene
Camphor

The Most Harmful Beauty Product Ingredients