Many personal care products contain toxic ingredients

Your bathroom probably contains more chemicals than a college chemistry lab.

According to Chemical Safe Skincare, “The average woman uses 12 toiletries every day and applies more than 175 chemical compounds to her body in the process.”

All of those compounds aren’t toxic, of course, but some of them very likely have toxic qualities.

For instance, last week I told you about an ingredient in Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Shampoo that kills bacteria by releasing formaldehyde, which happens to be carcinogenic.

In baby shampoo!

J&J executives say they’re “phasing out” this ingredient. But if J&J is willing to use a potential toxin in a product for children, you have to wonder about the safety of other ingredients that go into the thousands of cosmetic and bath products that line the aisles of grocery stores and pharmacies.

The Environmental Working Group can help with that.

As I’ve mentioned before, EWG is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to protecting public health.

I highly recommend one of EWG’s free resources called EWG Skin Deep (ewg.org/skindeep). This is an exhaustive database that rates the safety of more than 69,000 products that include cosmetics, hair and skin care products, deodorants, oral care, fragrances, and many products for children.

Keep in mind that neither the FDA nor any other agency requires companies that produce cosmetics and other personal care products to fully list product contents. EWG fills in this gap with information that will help you avoid daily contact with formaldehyde and other nasty chemicals that should never come into contact with your skin.

Sources:
“China Tells Johnson & Johnson To Practice Morality” Ed Silverman, Pharmalot, 11/7/11, pharmalot.com

Johnson & Johnson Statement” 10/31/11, safecosmetics.org