Sticky thread on undesirable ingredients?
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free skin care · Thu Jun 26, 2008 5:38 pm

Havana8 has just started a thread for Valmont ingredients. As I was looking at all these different names it struck me that I am clueless to what they all are.

That got me thinking - what we need is a thread that lists undesirable ingredients i.e. sodium lauryl sulphate; talc etc. The thread would then be an instant source of information on ingredients to be avoided. Thoughts anyone?

free skin care · Thu Jun 26, 2008 7:47 pm

Sounds like a good idea to me Keliu! A good place to start IMO is National Geographic's Green Guide, which has their "Dirty Dozen" of cosmetic/skincare ingredients to avoid. In my research on natural products, I'm found The Green Guide to be really useful and well-informed (I mean, they recommend Devita sunscreen! The only other place I'd ever seen that mentioned is here!) Anyway, here's their list:

12 ingredients to avoid in personal care products:

1) Antibacterials
2) Coal tar colors: FD&C Blue 1, Green 3
3) Diethanolamine (DEA)
4)1,4-Dioxane
5) Formaldehyde (diazolidinyl urea, imidazolidinyl urea and quaternium compounds)
6) Fragrance (containing phthalates)
7) Lead and mercury
8) Nanoparticles
9) Parabens (methyl-, propyl-, butyl-, ethyl-, isobutyl-)
10) Petroleum distillates
11) p-Phenylenediamine (PPD)
12) Hydroquinone

Here's the link where the list is discussed in detail:
http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/122/dirtydozen. You can also get a wallet-sized version to print there too.

I don't personally agree on their ban of nanoparticles, and in terms of sunscreen they actually say that "neither [nano] titanium dioxide nor zinc oxide penetrate the skin deep enough to actually enter the bloodstream" (see http://www.thegreenguide.com/products/Personal_Care/Sunscreen for that discussion). So I'm personally comfortable using nano products for sun block. While I'm sure some of the other ingredients on this list are also debatable, I hope the list in general might be helpful to others.

free skin care · Thu Jun 26, 2008 10:01 pm

KBLang wrote:

I don't personally agree on their ban of nanoparticles, and in terms of sunscreen they actually say that "neither [nano] titanium dioxide nor zinc oxide penetrate the skin deep enough to actually enter the bloodstream" (see http://www.thegreenguide.com/products/Personal_Care/Sunscreen for that discussion). So I'm personally comfortable using nano products for sun block. While I'm sure some of the other ingredients on this list are also debatable, I hope the list in general might be helpful to others.

I don't either...I think it was like 1 out of 15 studies that looked at it found that they entered the blood stream...and I don't think it was done on humans either.

As well...banning antibacterials doesn't make sense to me...ok maybe like triclosan, and other ones...but what about manuka oil, tea tree oil, hoelen extract, saponins? Those are all natural and "green".

I hate when people/organizations automatically assume that because it is synthetic it is bad, and when it is natural it is good. It's not as black and white as that.

free skin care · Fri Jun 27, 2008 4:46 am

I also agree that the scare about nano particles is mostly hype. Zinc oxide is an essential nutrient, so even if it does enter your bloodstream (which is won't, as studies have shown) it's not going to do anything. Zinc ozide is totally safe.

free skin care · Fri Jun 27, 2008 11:26 am

edenfield wrote:

As well...banning antibacterials doesn't make sense to me...ok maybe like triclosan, and other ones...but what about manuka oil, tea tree oil, hoelen extract, saponins? Those are all natural and "green".

I hate when people/organizations automatically assume that because it is synthetic it is bad, and when it is natural it is good. It's not as black and white as that.

Agreed edenfield. I do think they just meant chemicals, though; I would have posted the list with their explanations after each, but it's long! Here's what they had to say about antibacterials:

1. Antibacterials: Overuse of antibacterials can prevent them from effectively fighting disease-causing germs like E. coli and Salmonella enterica. Triclosan, widely used in soaps, toothpastes and deodorants, has been detected in breast milk, and one recent study found that it interferes with testosterone activity in cells. Numerous studies have found that washing with regular soap and warm water is just as effective at killing germs.

I think they're goal is decreasing unnecessary antibacterials -- tea tree oil shouldn't make that list! I'm guessing this list is also for a larger, general population that might not be, uh, "hip" to essential oils and things like that (unlike us well-informed EDS gals! Very Happy

)

free skin care · Mon Jun 30, 2008 7:07 pm

Here's a useful Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients at Paula's Choice website:

http://www.cosmeticscop.com/learn/cosmetic_dictionary.asp?id=6&letter=A

free skin care · Mon Jun 30, 2008 8:53 pm

There seems to be a great deal of misinformation on the internet which is scaring people. Theres nothing wrong with talc or parabens. Talc is a mineral and parabens..well I would hate to think what the result of a cosmetic product would be without it. The Paula's Choice ingredient dictionary is the most informative for me.

free skin care · Tue Jul 01, 2008 8:18 am

I also found the Paula's Choice dictionary helpful. I just want to acknowledge, though, that both it and the Green Guide list (which I posted) do have their own agendas in terms of what they want people to believe. I agree that there are a lot of scare mongers out there, SusieQ, and I certainly try to avoid such reports (there's enough wrong in this world to worry about without becoming overly paranoid about lotion! Smile

) That said, I don't think the lists we're discussing provide misinformation, just different perspectives. Both have scientific reports backing their lists, they just highlight different studies for greater effect. I think we all need to make our own choices about what ingredients we do and don't want in our products, so it's helpful to have various sources of information.

free skin care · Wed Jul 02, 2008 1:05 am

Trying to discern what ingredient is undesirable is really relative to what your stance is on chemicals and additives...

There are some ingredients used in "prescription grade" skincare and "dermatologically tested" skincare that many people would raise their brow at.

Everyone has vested interests when it comes to using something, and most likely any big company can find the research to justify using a certain ingredient at a certain level etc..

Once again, it's about relativity, how much you use something, or using a number of things to create an effect or counter act a negative effect. Chemistry of skincare is very complex and you need to consider the interaction that everything has.

I don't mind preservatives that have antibacterial properties, but only if they are used at the approved percentages, and often I see some strange concoctions out there that use more preservatives than the functional actives and supposedly active plant extracts - - that is when I begin to worry.

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