Cosmetics are makeup, creams, deodorants, toothpaste, soaps, hair products, perfumes and more. We use cosmetics for hygiene and to maintain and enhance our beauty. But are there toxic ingredients in your cosmetics?
In 1938, Congress passed the U.S. Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act. Since then, the Federal Government has worked with the industry to make cosmetics harmless and together they have made many changes to protect consumers.
To ensure that you are using nontoxic cosmetics it is important that you pay attention to the labels of your products. Under the law, the label must give a description of the product, list of ingredients, amount of product it contains, and the name of the company that manufactures or sells them. The law does not require cosmetics to have an expiration date, but they are indicative of the "freshness" of the product.
Toxic ingredients in cosmetics
The cosmetics industry is not regulated, so it is important that you pay attention to the ingredients contained in your cosmetics. The ingredients in cosmetics are just as important as skincare itself. That's why it's important to read the labels of your cosmetics and identify toxic ingredients. Did you know that more than 2,500 toxic ingredients are estimated in the cosmetics industry? In the United States, only 11 of these toxins are currently banned.
Take some time to read the list of toxics in this post. I constantly check this list to ensure that my cosmetics do not contain them because I know that these toxic ingredients can be a significant problem that affects my health.
Toxic ingredients:
Parabens
Sodium/ammonium lauryl sulfate Phthalates
Propylene glycol
BHT
BHA
Mercury
Hydroquinone
Mineral oil
Petroleum jelly
Synthetic Colors Synthetic Fragrance Benzalkonium Chloride Benzophenone Cyclomethicone
Aluminium lacquers
Lanolin
Waxes derived from Quaternium-15 petroleum
Metilisotiazolinona
Butoxietanol
Tar
1,4 dioxane (PEG derivatives) EDTA
Etanolamidas (MEA/DEA/TEA) Conservantes de formaldehído Triclosán
Mycrospheres (microplastics) Paraaminobenzoic acid (PABA)
Avobenzono
Cinoxato
Dioxibenzona
Ecamsule
Ensulizol (phenylbenzymazole acid) Resorcinol
Perfluorinated compounds Styrene
Drank galato
Nitro and polycyclic musks
Keeping an eye out for them and avoiding these toxic ingredients is important because they can significantly cause problems to your health. There are abundant studies on these toxic ingredients such as the multiple studies presented in the publication Environment California, 2004 that indicate the potential danger to human health and the environment.