More than 20 percent of personal care products contain chemicals that may contribute to cancer, and four out of five of their ingredients are typically contaminated with toxic byproducts.
Protecting ourselves –and especially our kids—from this lack of oversight starts with knowing how to read labels.
- Check the ingredients.
Manufacturers must list what’s inside, though critical exceptions are made for things like trade secrets including fragrance formulas. The fewer ingredients you see and the more easily understood they are, the safer the product is likely to be. - Ingredients are listed on the label in the order of their concentration by weight.
Choosing products with nontoxic ingredients listed first will minimize your exposure to unsafe substances. Not sure which are safe? Consult the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database of products and ingredients. Of course a completely nontoxic product is the ideal. - Avoid anything with the word “fragrance” on its label.
A typical synthetic fragrance may be composed of hundreds of chemicals, many of which are highly toxic, yet manufacturers are only required to list the word “fragrance” on labels. Common fragrance hazards include neurotoxins, sensitizing allergens, hormone-disrupting phthalates, and synthetic musks. Want something scented? Look for natural and organic essential oils. - Ignore meaningless labeling terms like “natural,” “dermatologist-tested,” and “botanical.”
They have no legal definition and can mean just about anything. Even “organic” can’t be trusted—it’s legally defined only for ingredients that are also foods, like olive oil. For non-food ingredients, the term is unregulated.
