Paige Bartel sent me a link to this site, http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/, and Julie and I have spent the last 1/2 hour researching the harmful chemical ratings of the products we own or have tried in the past. I also found this article, discussing the dangerous effects of these chemicals on teen girls, especially since they consume many more products than any other age group.
It’s scary.
On a scale of 1-10, 3-6 being a “moderate hazard” 7-10 being a “high hazard” rating”, there were some shockers.
Almost every Neutrogena skin or body product was over a 7.
Clearasil products were 9s and 10s.
Anything Jergens was consistently between 8-10, especially the gradual glow and tanning ones.
Garnier curly hair products were an 8.
Nexxus Conditioners were a 10.
Rembrandt toothpaste was a 7.
Carmex lip balms were between 8-9. Chapstick was 7. Vaseline Lip Therapy and Burts Bees, however, were only 2s!
I was happy to find out that most Pantene products actually rated better than Aveda….but they still fell into the moderate hazard category. Bare Minerals makeup, the kind that Julie and I use, was a 2, so we breathed sighs of relief.
What got me kind of mad, though, was that Johnson and Johnson baby products were 6s and 7s, occupying most of the highest spots for all baby products. The only products they had that fell into the safe range were the baby powders. Luckily, the California Baby stuff that Mrs. Bartel bought me at Target fell into the 1-2 rating.
Has anyone else done research on this before?
And aren’t there government programs in charge of regulating these things? They will probably make a movie soon in the same vein of “Food Inc.” and “Super-size me”. Until they do, people will probably just believe that it’s some hoax, trying to “bring the cigarette companies down” for its “carcinogens”.
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nyx says
ok…had a long comment that got too long….so check my blog sometime soon for my response. 😉
Kelly says
Not fair! I want a preview…
seattlitelarsens says
I’ve been thinking about the crap that’s in cosmetics, too. I just bought physician’s formula organics products, but I haven’t looked them up on the website yet. I should do that.
Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods have become my friends for things like that. Also, I’m learning a lot about using natural ingredients for cosmetic purposes. My latest example: I’m starting to use coconut butter or coconut oil on my feet to get rid of the dry, cracked skin. 100% natural, a LOT cheaper than a pedicure, and it smells yummy. 🙂
Also, I bought a book awhile back called The Naturally Clean Home by Karen Sigel-Maier. As I run out of things, I’m either buying “green” cleaners or making them myself with the recipes in that book. That way I’m not overwhelmed with trying to make a life change all at once (makes the habit “stick” better, you know).
sarah marie says
love this post – this is a topic of interest for me.
I made my own lip balm a year or two ago (and still have several tubes left, although I’ll need to make a batch again sometime soon :)) and it was really fun. I think I want to explore making more of my own cosmetic products!