Finding products without these questionable ingredients is virtually impossible

In her book “Confessions Of An Eco-Shopper” Kate Lock makes an interesting point:

It’s not just the chemicals that we should be so concerned about in a beauty product…

“Multiple exposure to potentially harmful chemicals in everything from perfume to body lotion is enveloping us in a toxic cloud that’s further concentrated by the chemicals in the washing powders, and household cleaning products most of us use daily”.

Meaning, you can test one ingredient itself but it’s far more complex to evaluate how they combine with each other, and the long lasting effects, in time.

A good friend of mine that works in the Luxury/Beauty industry mentioned that The European Union has a quite strict regulation on cosmetic ingredients. However “Laws & regulations” can be easily interpreted or bent; as usual industries can decide which rules to follow and which other to disregard, there aren’t real accurate controls in place to keep them to do so. The chemical and pharmaceutical industry run a huge business with powerful lobbies ready to protect their interests if at stake.
There are people working for huge brands that are conscious of the effects their product have on their customer, as much as the Tobacco industry does; nevertheless, this does not prevent them to use ingredients such as Parabens or propylene glycol (PG). I was told that these are the ingredients used for creating “luxurious textures” and are an absolute “must” for prestige brands. Their claim is simple: “women adore to be pampered, to feel sumptuously soft and supple. “Parabens” can do that, and, as women love that effect and do not care of the implication, why should prestige brand worry?” Live the dream and keep on cashing in!

Moreover, some of these brands are blatantly taking the piss!

Kate Lock explains that one of the ingredient commonly used in stick deodorant branded as “organic” is propylene glycol (PG). You might think that by buying ‘ natural’ products but, in fact, a product can bill itself as ‘natural’  even if only 1 per cent of it contains natural ingredients. 

Did you get it right? 1% natural ingredients + 99% total shit = Organic/natural branded product. Awesome!!

So what is this propylene glycol? Once again Kate Lock shed some light for us: “While PG is considered safe by the cosmetics industry, its ability to penetrate the skin quickly, carrying other chemicals with it into the bloodstream, and the impurities that can be generated by its manufacture (including 1,4-Dioxane, a probable carcinogen) give it a less wholesome pedigree”

Again, Methylparaben and propylparaben  -  two of a group of preservatives thought to effect hormone levels in the body  -  seem to be included in just about all moisturisers, even those with a ‘green’ brand image. 

In fact, finding products that don’t contain any of these questionable ingredients is virtually impossible. You might embark in a long research prior buying and find some 100% natural products, but, frankly, these products are the exception rather than the rule.
Here’s some hope! Be more aware of what you buy. Leave the poison on the shelves and companies will have to adjust. If you really want to know what you’re slapping on your body go to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics’ product guide, Skin Deep (www.safecosmetics.org). 

It allows you to check out ingredients and products, though bear in mind that as this is an American website so product formulations may differ as EU restrictions are tighter. 
I know people that went through a selection of the products in their bathroom, cross referencing with Ethical Consumer magazine resources, and in just one shampoo found no fewer than seven ingredients known to have all sorts of horrible effects, from clogging-pores and irritating skin with chemicals thought to be carcinogenic. 

Kate’s conclusion is a eye opener: “Once you start reading cosmetics labels like food labels, it opens up a whole new and, frankly, terrifying world”.