Archive for the ‘Ingredient Watch List’ Category
Ingredient Watch List: Tetrasodium EDTA, the Preservative Made from Formaldehyde
Wednesday, March 6th, 2013If you knew your personal care products had preservatives made from carcinogens, would you want to use them? We didn’t think so. Yet one ingredient made from a potential carcinogen is found in many personal care products, and is reported by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review to be safe. It’s tetrasodium ETDA, made from ethylenediamine, formaldehyde—a [...]
Ingredient Watch List: Quats, the Preservatives that May Release Formaldehyde and Exacerbate Asthma
Wednesday, February 20th, 2013Look at the back of your personal care product—let’s say, your mousse—and you may see something like “polyquaternium-11.” This ingredient and related ingredients are all called quats—”quaterny ammonium compounds” that are used in a wide range of products as preservatives, surfactants, and germicides. Some are also used as conditioning agents, giving skin and hair a [...]
Ingredient Watch List: Chlorphenesin, the Synthetic Preservative That Can Cause Dermatitis and Infant Respiratory Distress
Wednesday, February 6th, 2013Chlorphenesin is another synthetic preservative found in cosmetics and personal care products. As far as synthetic preservatives go, it’s one of the milder ones. It’s not considered as toxic as parabens or iodopropynyl butylcarbamate—though it can cause dermatitis in adults—but like benzyl alcohol, it’s not safe for infants. Moms, beware! This preservative may cause slow [...]
Ingredient Watch List: Ext. D&C Violet 2, the Synthetic Colorant
Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013Look up Ext. D&C violet 2 on the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG’s) Skin Deep Database and you’ll find that they have rated it as being anywhere from a “2″ to a “5″ on the hazard scale, “depending on usage.” What does that mean? Is this an ingredient we should be concerned about, or not? That [...]
Ingredient Watch List: Isobutane, the Alternative Propellant Considered Safer than Ozone-Destroying CFCs
Wednesday, January 16th, 2013Have you heard that your aerosol hairspray may contribute to the decline of the ozone layer in the atmosphere? Back in the 1990s, chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) compounds were frequently found in aerosol sprays, air conditioning units, and as refrigerants. When it was discovered that these chemicals were having a detrimental effect on the ozone layer, they [...]
