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Personal care product buying guide 9/08
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| Making green choices |
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How to choose |
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Making the right choice
Check the ingredient list and avoid harmful ingredients whenever possible. Because labels are often difficult to decipher and not all ingredients are necessarily disclosed, finding safer personal care products can be a challenge. It’s also the amount, not just the presence, of an ingredient that determines risk.
To err on the side of safety and avoid potentially harmful ingredients, consult the chart below, compiled with information from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and the Washington Toxics Coalition. You can also visit EWG’s Skin Deep report, an online searchable database of potentially toxic chemicals in personal care products, including phthalates, which are often not listed on labels. The database also offers brand-specific information and what the group considers safer alternatives . [Please note that Consumer Reports has not tested products for this report.]
| Ingredients to avoid |
Common label terms |
Found in these product types |
Purpose of ingredient |
Main concerns |
| Coal tar colors |
FD&C Blue 1, Green 3, Yellow 5 & 6; D&C Red 33 |
Hair color and makeup |
Coloring agents or coloring additives |
FD&C Blue 1 and Green 3 are known carcinogens; D&C Red 33, FD&C Yellow 5 and FD&C Yellow 6 may contain carcinogenic impurities. |
| Diethanolamine |
DEA (TEA and MEA are related ingredients) |
Mascara, sunscreen/tanning oil, body wash/cleanser, foundation, after shave |
Emulsifier or foaming agent |
Acute (short-term) inhalation exposure to DEA may result in irritation of the nose and throat, and dermal exposure may irritate the skin.
The National Toxicology Program (NTP) reported an increased incidence of liver and kidney tumors in mice from dermal exposure to DEA. However, DEA has not been classified as a carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
While DEA is rarely used in cosmetics, related ingredients, such as cocamide DEA, MEA, and TEA, may be contaminated with DEA. |
| 1,4-Dioxane |
Not identified on cosmetic labels because it’s a contaminant, but may be present in cosmetics that contain the following ingredients:
• PEG
• polyethylene
• polyethylene glycol
• polyoxyethylene
• polyethoxyethylene
• polyoxynolethylene
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A trace contaminant of some chemicals used in cosmetics, detergents, and shampoos |
It is used as a solvent in the manufacture of other chemicals
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Acute (short-term) exposure may cause eye and nose irritation; exposure to very high levels may cause severe kidney and liver effects and possibly death.
1,4-dioxane is also considered a probable human carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) |
| Formaldehyde |
Formaldehyde and formalin
Formaldehyde-releasing preservatives include:
• quaternium-15
• 2-bromo-2nitropropane-1,3-diol
• imidazolidinyl urea
• diazolidinyl urea |
Nail treatments, blush and face powder |
Preservative |
Known carcinogen and sensitizer (a chemical that causes a substantial proportion of exposed people to develop an allergic reaction in normal tissue after repeated exposure to the chemical). |
| Fragrances |
Fragrance, parfum |
A variety of products including cleaners, moisturizers and make-up |
Scent, or masking scent |
Fragrances cause more allergic contact dermatitis than any other ingredient; may also cause watery eyes and respiratory tract irritation. |
| Metals, especially lead and mercury |
Lead: lead acetate
Mercury: thimerosal, mercurius solubilis, mercurius sublimates, mercurius corrosives, mercuric chloride |
Lead acetate: hair color
Mercury: pain/wound treatment, artificial tears |
Lead: coloring
Mercury: preservatives, and bleaching |
Lead and mercury are neurotoxins, affecting the brain and nervous system; mercury compounds are banned in cosmetics by the FDA. |
| Nonoxynol or nonylphenol ethoxylate |
Nonoxynol or nonylphenol ethoxylate |
Hair dyes and hair care products |
Surfactant (a substance that reduces the surface tension of liquids, making it easier for them to disperse) |
These chemicals can break down into toxic substances that can act as hormone disrupters, potentially threatening reproductive capacity. |
| Parabens |
Methyl-, ethyl-, propyl- and butyl-parabens |
Facial cleanser, liquid hand soap, conditioner, toothpaste, shaving cream |
Preservative |
Can affect the endocrine system (the glands that produce hormones). |
| Phenylenediamine |
Phenylenediamine |
Hair dyes |
Dark coloring |
Possible carcinogen. |
| Phthalates |
DEHP, DHP, and DBP5 (not identified on cosmetic labels when they are in fragrance) |
Perfume, nail polish, hair sprays, soaps, shampoos |
Plasticizers (substances that make materials more flexible) |
May cause reproductive or developmental effects. |
| Triclosan |
Triclosan |
Lipstick, lipgoss, antiperspirant/deodorant, facial cleanser, liquid hand soap, acne treatment, facial moisturizer/treatment. |
Antibacterial |
May cause skin and eye irritation. May also promote antibiotic resistance. One study suggested that triclosan could form dioxin, a carcinogen, in the presence of sunlight, and another, that it could form chloroform, a probable human carcinogen, in the presence of chlorinated water. |
Don’t assume that environmental and health claims are true. In many cases, manufacturers can make claims that are neither independently verified nor regulated by the government. Among the most common claims found on personal care products that may be meaningless are: natural, hypoallergenic, and non-toxic. To learn more about other common environmental and health claims found on personal care products, our free Eco-labels site.
If you’re concerned about specific ingredients in a product, contact the company. The manufacturer’s name and location must be listed on all personal care products so that consumers can contact it with questions, comments, or problems.
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Why it matters
Risks to your health. Certain ingredients in personal care products pose potential health hazards, including eye, skin, and respiratory irritation. Some can also affect the nervous system and have been associated with cancer and reproductive disorders. While it’s the dose and not just the presence of a substance that determines risk, there may also be potentially harmful effects from interactions among chemicals. The types and amounts of chemicals absorbed by people are currently being studied by the Centers for Disease Control, which publishes its findings in the National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals. For more information on the health risks of personal care products, visit the ingredient chart in our Making the right choice section.
Risks to the environment. Some ingredients can also cause environmental harm if they are disposed of incorrectly or don’t break down into harmless chemicals during waste-water treatment. For more information on the environmental impact of ingredients in personal care products visit the ingredient chart in our Making the right choice section. For safe disposal tips, visit our Recycling and Disposal section.
Safety testing is not required. Currently, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not review cosmetic ingredients for safety before they come to market, nor does it have the authority to recall hazardous products. While the FDA may issue warnings to manufacturers if it has information to support that a cosmetic product is harmful, fewer than ten such warnings were issued in the last ten years. Aside from certain color additives and a handful of prohibited ingredients, manufacturers may use any ingredient or raw material in their products, and safety testing is voluntary. Few products have been evaluated for their potential health impact: In 2003, The Environmental Working Group estimated that only 11 percent of the 10,500 ingredients used in personal care products had been assessed. When ingredients are assessed, the process doesn’t take into account the possible health effects of exposure to multiple chemicals.
Not all ingredients are disclosed. The law allows the FDA to grant “trade secret” status for particular ingredients, including fragrances and flavors, which therefore do not have to be disclosed on the label. Some commonly undisclosed ingredients, including phthalates–a common ingredient in fragrances–are potentially harmful.
Personal care products are frequently involved in home poisoning. In 2006, the most recent year for which statistics are available, nearly 10 percent of all poison exposures reported to poison control centers involved personal care products. More than half of those exposed were children under the age of five.
Indoor air pollution. A growing body of scientific evidence is showing that indoor air can be more seriously polluted than outside air. Personal care products are among the many sources of this pollution. Studies carried out by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have found levels of certain pollutants to be two to five times higher inside homes than outside, and inside is where people are estimated to spend 90 percent of their time. This is of particular concern for the young, elderly, and chronically ill, who are more susceptible to the effects of pollutants.
A common source of indoor air pollutants are volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are emitted by a variety of personal care products. Health effects from indoor air pollutants can be experienced at the time of exposure or possibly years later, depending on the type and amount of the chemical and the duration of exposure. More immediate health effects include irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat; headaches; dizziness; and fatigue. To learn more about indoor air quality, visit the American Lung Association’s Indoor Air Quality Web site, or the EPA’s Indoor Air Quality site.
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| Specific issues |
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What government & industry are doing
National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides an ongoing assessment of the U.S. population’s exposure to environmental chemicals, including those found in personal care products, and publishes its findings in the National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals.
California Safe Cosmetics Act. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law a bill that will require any company that sells a personal care product in California containing an ingredient that's a human carcinogen or reproductive toxin to disclose that information to the state’s Department of Health Services as of 2007.
Compact for Safe Cosmetics. This is a pledge sponsored by a coalition of public health and environmental organizations that asks industry to produce safer products, free of known and suspected carcinogens and reproductive and developmental toxins. Since 2004, more than 200 companies have signed. To view the list of signers, visit the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics Web site.
The European Cosmetics Directive. In early 2003, the European Union (EU) amended its Cosmetics Directive to require cosmetics companies to remove all chemicals that are known or strongly suspected of causing cancer, mutation, or birth defects from all personal care products sold in the EU beginning in 2004. The EU has also banned the use of certain phthalates. On June 1, 2007, the EU implemented legislation known as “REACH” (Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals). The law requires chemical companies to test chemicals for health effects before putting them on the market.
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What you can do |
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Recycling & disposal
The more toxic a product, the more important that it be disposed of carefully. If you have to discard potentially toxic personal care products, such as nail treatments or hair dyes, check their labels for special disposal instructions. You can also find out which items your town or city accepts on hazardous-waste collection days and follow those guidelines. More specific advice on disposing of various hazardous materials can be found on the EPA’s Household Hazardous Waste Web site.
Rinse and recycle whenever possible. Plastic and glass containers from personal care products may be accepted for recycling in your community. Check to see that the number inside the chasing arrows on the bottom of the container is a type that’s collected. Visit our Plastic Recycling page to learn more.
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