Are your daily use products ok?

Theses are common ingredients you can find in cosmetics and skin products.

Ingredients and Cause

B.H.A (Butylated hydroxy anisole): A preservative and antioxidant in cosmetics, foods, and beverages. Can cause allergic reactions.

v B.H.T (Butylated hydroxy toluene): A preservative and antioxidant in cosmetics, foods, and beverages. Prohibited as a food additive in England. Chemically similar to BHA, it can cause allergic reactions.

EDTA (Ethylenediamine Tetraacetic Acid): An important compound in cosmetics used primarily as a sequestering agent. It may be irritating to the skin and mucous membranes and cause allergies such as asthma and skin rashes. It is on FDA list of food additives to be studied for toxicity.

Glycerin: Any by-product of soap manufacture, it is a sweet tasting, oily fluid obtained by adding alkalies to fats(animal fat) and fixed oils(plant oil) . A solvent, humectant, and emollient in many cosmetics, it absorbs moisture from the air. In concentrated solutions it is irritating to the mucus membranes.

Mineral Oil (Paraffin): Used in solid brilliantine, cold creams, eyelash creams and oils & various cosmetics. Obtained from the distillate of wood, coal, petroleum. Pure paraffin is harmless to the skin but the presence of impurities may give rise to irritations and eczema. Candles also are made from Paraffin.

Parabens: The parabens, methyl-, propyl-, and parahydroxybenzoate, are the most commonly used preservatives in the United Sates. In 1977, about 30 percent of the cosmetics products registered with Food and Drug Administration contained parabens. Can cause allergic reactions.

Perfumes: The essential oils used for today’s scents come from leaves, needles, roots, and peels of plants. Floral oils come from petals, whole flowers, gums, and resins. Isolates used in perfumes are made of individual factors in natural oils, which may also be treated chemically. Synthetic chemicals imitate natural aromas and are being used in increasing quantities today. Perfumes are among the most frequent allergens and are left out of many hypoallergenic products. Complaints to the FDA concerning perfumes include headaches, dizziness, rash, hyperpigmentation, violent coughing and vomiting, skin irritation.

Propyleneglycol(PG): A clear, colorless, viscous liquid, slightly bitter tasting. It is the most common moisture-carrying vehicle other than water itself in cosmetics. It has better permeation through the skin than glycerin and is less expensive although it has been linked to more sensitivity reactions. Its use is being reduced, and it is being replaced by safer glycols such as butylene and polyethylene glycol.

Triethanolamine: A coating agent for fresh fruits and vegetables and widely used in surfactants, and as a dispersing agent and detergent in hand and body lotions & various cosmetics. Its principal toxic effect in animals has been attributed to over alkalinity. Gross pathology has been found in the gastrointestinal tract in fatally poisoned guinea pigs. It is an irritant. Sodium laurel sulfate A detergent, wetting agent, and emulsifier used in bubble baths, emollient creams, hand lotions, soapless shampoo, and toothpastes. May cause drying of the skin because of its degreasing ability, and is an irritant to the skin.

From “A consumer’s dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients -Third revised Edition- by Ruth Winter” - Crown Publishers, Inc. 201 East 50th Street New York, New York 10022 -