Personal care products
Think about how many personal care products you use in one day: shampoo, lotion, deodorant, soap, lip balm, cosmetics, hair spray, shaving products, toothpaste and more. Children use a variety of daily products as well, including bubble bath, diaper cream, sunscreen, etc. Have you ever looked at the labels of these products? Are there any ingredients you recognize?
The government does not require health studies or pre-market testing for these products before they are sold. The average person uses 126 chemical ingredients on their bodies every day.
Take action
Petition for Safe Cosmetics and Personal Care Products
Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
Petition to the Organic Trade Association and USDA National Organic Program
Organic Consumer’s Association
Resolution for Safe Personal Care Products for Women and Our Families
National Organization for Women
Resources
Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
Organic Body Care
Organic Consumers Association
Personal Care Products for Kids
Children’s Health Environmental Coalition
Quick Tips for Safer Personal Care Product
Companies who sell personal care products are not required to do pre-market safety testing, which means that the products you buy can contain anything from oatmeal to known human carcinogens. Here are some things you can do to protect you and your family from ingredients that may pose risks:
1. Simplify. Is there something you can do without or a product you can use less often? By reducing the number of chemicals contacting your skin every day, you will reduce any potential health risks associated with your products.
2. Read and verify labels. Marketing claims on personal care products are not regulated under the law, and can mean anything or nothing at all, including claims like natural, hypoallergenic, animal cruelty free, and fragrance free. Read the ingredient label carefully and contact the business to find out if the claims are true.
3. Use milder soaps. Soap cleans your skin, but also strips away your body's own natural protective oils. Choosing a milder soap can reduce dryness and thus your need for moisturizers or lotions.
4. Minimize or eliminate using dark hair dyes. Many contain ingredients that have been linked to cancer in some studies.
5. Cut down on powders. Avoid using baby powder on newborns and infants. A number of ingredients common in powder have been linked to cancer and other lung problems when they are inhaled. FDA warns that powders may cause lung damage if inhaled regularly.
6. Choose fragrance-free products. Fragrances can cause allergic reactions. Be aware though, products that claim to be "fragrance free" on the packaging may not be. They could contain masking fragrances that give off a neutral odor. Read the ingredient label - in products truly free of fragrance, the word "fragrance" will not appear there.
7. Reduce your use of nail polish. It's one of the few types of products that routinely contains ingredients linked to birth defects. Paint your toenails and skip the fingernails. Paint nails in a well-ventilated room, or outside, or avoid using nail polish altogether, particularly when you are pregnant. Browse our custom shopping guide for advice on nail polishes that contain fewer ingredients of concern.
Skin Deep's rankings of the safest nail polishes.
8. BRUSH OFF the fluoridated toothpaste. Little kids eat toothpaste,
and fluoride consumption has been linked to bone cancer in boys. There's a reason
for the poison control warning on fluoridated toothpaste, so wait until they're
at least six before giving it to them.
A list of non-fluoridated toothpastes for children
9. Always read the ingredient lists on personal care products. Federal law requires that beauty and hygiene products list all ingredients, in the order of their volume from highest to lowest. The only ingredients that don’t have to be listed individually by name are fragrance ingredients.
10. Don’t get tricked by marketing claims. Many terms used on personal care products are meaningless because they are not regulated. These include the terms:
- Hypoallergenic
- Doctor tested
- Doctor approved
- Dermatologist tested or approved
- Nontoxic
- No synthetic ingredients
For information on specific labeling claims, see Consumers Union Ecolabel website, which has expanded to include claims on cleaners and personal care products.