What is in your lotions and potions?

Nevyn

Ever wonder what is in your skin care products and makeup?
Often while the ingredients are listed it is hard to tell what is what and what it can or may do.

There is a website which is dedicated to explaining and listing what is in our lotions and potions.

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/about.php

Toxic Chemicals in Cosmetics:
Skin Deep 3.0 Reveals Ingredients in 25,000 Products
Site Gives Consumers Brand-by-Brand Safety Ratings
for Quarter of all Personal Care Products on market

Washington, DC — Most people think that the ingredients in personal care and cosmetic products are safety tested before they are sold. But there is no such requirement in federal law.

To help consumers make informed decisions about their products, Environmental Working Group (EWG) is re-launching its popular Skin Deep website, the only online source for assessing and comparing the safety of personal care products. Skin Deep, first launched 3 years ago by the EWG, generates more than 1 million unique page visits a month. Skin Deep 3.0 is a dramatic upgrade of the database, both in the number of products assessed and the sophistication of EWG's safety reviews. This newest version evaluates the safety of nearly one-fourth of all personal care products on the market.

Skin Deep fills the information gaps left by an industry that markets thousands of products with ingredients that have not been assessed for safety by either industry or government health experts. By law, the government cannot mandate safety studies of cosmetics products or their ingredients, and only 13 percent of the 10,500 ingredients in personal care products have been reviewed for safety by the cosmetic industry's own review panel. For virtually every product on the market, safety decisions are made behind closed doors, guided by an industry-funded panel, without the benefit of peer-review or independent pre-market safety testing.

I found it intresting to plug in some of the things I have used on myself and my kids and see what it throws up. Mind you it's not that long ago women would be rubbing lead and arsenic on their faces and putting deadly nightshade drops in their eyes so I know that the 'beauty' industry has always been dodgy.

Greentopia

I've used that site quite often to check the contents of various products. It's quite shocking to see the low ratings a lot of the major companies products get.
I use as little petroleum based products as possible and if something gets less than an 8 or 9 rating there I simply don't buy it.

I like to know and understand what goes in and on my body.
I buy organic skin care when I have the money and usually only use sunscreen with as few harmful chemicals as possible and JASON pure beauty oils on my face and any dry bits on my body.

Make-up I don't use much of except mascara, eye liner and mineral blush (have to to avoid that freshly deceased look, being so pale ).

Asphyxia

I've also been checking what I'm putting on my face and body I've been really surprised about a few things, I'm really loving that website though. I hope to be furthering my studies this year and one of the modules in my course is Cosmetic Chemistry, it's one that I'm really looking forward to.

Jenneke87

I only use creams by Weleda as they are a 100% organic. Don't fancy covering my face in harsh chemicals...

coffee_cake

I can't find the stuff I use on it

Truley

I have always leaned towards more natural based cosmetics. The brands in my bathroom now are mostly made up of Dr Hauschka, Weleda, Faith in Nature (amazing shampoos) and Toms of Maine herbal deodrant. Obviously, nothing is going to be completely free of nasties, but at least I can understand the ingredients in these a bit better.

What really annoys me is when brands peddle themselves as being all simple and natural when in reality they're just as bad if not worse than conventional brands. The Body Shop is one example. And I remember reading a study done on various skin care products where they found Boots 'Botanics' to be the most toxic of the lot!

Azureus

Most of the makeup I use rate at around a 3. Not as bad as I thought to be honest! I find it hard to find makeup that suits my skin, mineral foundation for example tends to dry the hell outta my skin.
Surprised that Garnier rated 9 on their face creams, I love them but now maybe ill think twice

starlit

I tend to use simple as it not perfume mated otherwise I used boots products. They are more gentle for sensitive skin and not as expensive. Clarins, Lancome and Elizabeth Arden be my more expensive ones I'd use for my skin.
Sometimes I'd use dove/nivea/garnier/neutrogena. I find neutrogena can be a bit abrassive to my skin ok for my skin when very oily. I find Lancome can dry out my skin a bit. Boots and simple seem to hydrate my skin better. For wash it be dove/nivea/boots.

Out of my choice of products Garnier rated 2, Neutrogena 6, Clarins 4-10, Boots 6-8 depending on products, Dove and Nivea rated as 6, Lancome rate 4-8 depending on products used and Elizabeth Arden 4-7 mixture of skin products and make up. A lot of my make-up is rimmel rated 3-8. Shampoo 5-10!? I use herbal essence and head and shoulders.

So may need to go on a toxic diet with my toxic junk of toxic products?
I'd imagine the none scented products would be rated 0-1 at least.

verywell

I have just ordered a 0 rated face cream - here's to having nice skin! Thanks for the thread