The Truth About Ingredients in Cosmetics

Did you know that more than 80% of beauty products and over 93% of hair care products available today contain ingredients listed on our Ingredient Blacklist?

The truth is straightforward. Most products promoted as natural or organic fall well short of that promise. Many manufacturers label products as natural or organic after adding a few plant extracts to a synthetic blend of polymers, silicones, petroleum and its derivatives, artificial fragrances and colors, and other potentially harmful substances. They then market the product by highlighting a few clean ingredients while simply leaving out the rest, hoping customers will do the same. Although consumers are increasingly aware of this unethical practice, it remains common in the marketplace.

Focus on genuinely natural products that are pure and provide therapeutic benefits for your skin. Choose raw materials that are safe for you and for the environment.

How can you ensure that every product you use is truly free from unwanted additives?

We have compiled a Blacklist. If a product contains any ingredient from this list, do not use it.

Do not use	Examples
Ingredients known or suspected to have harmful effects	Butylparaben Ethylparaben Isobutylparaben Isopropylparaben Methylparaben Propylene glycol Propylparaben Triclosan
Ingredients prone to contamination with substances known or suspected to be harmful	Acrylates Copolymer Ceteareth-20 Cocamide MEA Emulsifying wax Ethanolamine Laureth-7 Sodium Laureth Sulfate Hydroxyethylcellulose PEG-100 Stearate PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil Polyquaternium-7
Ingredients derived from petroleum, unless nature identical	BHT Butylene glycol C13-14 Isoparaffin Dipropylene glycol Disodium EDTA EDTA Paraffin PEG-8 Petrolatum Polybutene Polyethylene Tetrasodium EDTA Trisodium EDTA Propylene glycol Triclosan
Ingredients produced by treating natural materials with petroleum derivatives or synthetic agents	Hydroxyethylcellulose PEG-100 Stearate PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil Emulsifying wax
Synthetic colorants	FD&C Blue 1 FD&C Red 40 FD&C Yellow 5
Synthetic fragrances	Lillial (lily aldehyde) Vanillyl butyl ether (also called Butyl vanillyl ether) Fragrance (synthetic unless otherwise stated)
Synthetic preservatives, unless nature identical	Chlorphenesin Diazolidinyl Urea DMDM Hydantoin (DMDMH or dimethylol dimethyl hydantoin) Methylchloroisothiazolinone Methylisothiazolinone
Synthetic polymers or other synthetic ingredients not found in nature	Carbomer Polymethyl methacrylate PVP/VA Copolymer Sodium acrylate Acrylates Copolymer Polyethylene
Ingredients of animal origin obtained in ways that harmed animals	Ingredients derived from animal oil or fat
Ingredients that do not biodegrade quickly	Cyclomethicone (silicone) Cyclopentasiloxane (silicone) Dimethicone copolyol (silicone) Dimethicone (silicone) Methicone (silicone) Phenyl trimethicone (silicone) Polyquaternium-7 Disodium EDTA EDTA Tetrasodium EDTA Trisodium EDTA
Ingredients that may react with other ingredients in a cosmetic product and form potentially harmful substances	Triethanolamine (TEA) Diethanolamine (DEA) Sodium cocoyl sarcosinate Nitrosamines, which can be byproducts of reactions between these and other ingredients. Nitrosamines are potentially carcinogenic.
Ingredients generally regarded as harsh on the skin	Sodium lauryl sulfate. It may come from natural sources, yet it is a very harsh cleansing detergent.