photo credit: Claire L. Evans
Trying to stay green and healthy should not end with recycling but also involve the cosmetics we use, be it make up or lotion and moisturizers. However, the long ingredient lists including names that are hardly pronounceable make choosing a safe cosmetic quite difficult. To make things easier for consumers, “The Green Guide” has developed a “Dirty Dozen” list, which contains ingredients you should avoid when purchasing a new personal care product.
The list is as follows:
- Antibacterials
- Coal tar colors: FD&C Blue 1, Green 3
- Diethanolamine (DEA)
- 1,4-Dioxane
- Formaldehyde (diazolidinyl urea, imidazolidinyl urea and quaterniumcompounds)
- Fragrance (containing phthalates)
- Lead and mercury
- Nanoparticles
- Parabens (methyl-, propyl-, butyl-, ethyl-, isobutyl-)
- Petroleum distillates
- p-Phenylenediamine (PPD)
- Hydroquinone
Moreover, look for products with a third-party certification, such as Australian Certified Organic (at least 95% of ingredients must be organic), Ecocert (requires the ingredients to be plant-based, natural and without mineral oils, silicone, parabens or animal products), BDIH (require the use of plant-based ingredients, ban animal testing and synthetic dyes and fragrances, petroleum-based ingredients, parabens and other preservatives), USDA Certified Organic (at least 95% of ingredients are organic) and Leaping Bunny (no animal testing).
Another way of ensuring the cosmetics are safe for consumers is Compact for Safe Cosmetics, which requires companies that signed it to consent to six criteria established by The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a consumer advocacy group. One of said criteria is removal of any and all ingredients listed in the European Union’s Cosmetics Directive, which is a mandatory regulation for all European cosmetic makers and bans over 1,000 ingredients, some of which include diethylhexyl phthalate (commonly used in fragrances in the US), petroleum and coal based paraffin and wax and lead. Some of the components listed in the directive are considered ‘safe for use’ by the American-based cosmetic trade groups while the EU regards them to be carcinogenic, mutagenic and reproductive toxins.
Additionally, the Compact demands that all ingredients be verified as safe and that manufacturers find healthy replacements for risk-posing components, register all the ingredients with the Environmental Working Group’s ‘Skin Deep’ database and make the complete list of product ingredients accessible to the public.
As a consumer, my only wish remains that more cosmetic and personal care product manufacturers were willing to follow these guidelines and sign Compact for Safe Cosmetics, which would ensure safety of each (or at least most) cosmetics you pick off the shelf in your local store. Perhaps one day…
