Introduction
Back in January 2019, I started paying attention to ingredients in beauty, personal care, and household products. I made drastic changes to remove and replace products containing ingredients that are endocrine disruptors, sensitizers, carcinogens, or organ system toxicants. So naturally, when outlining some of Sailaal’s top values in the early stages, the use of clean and nontoxic materials in our garments was non-negotiable.
In our previous post, we explored the potential hazards associated with chemicals commonly found in clothing—and ways to avoid them. Since what we put on our body is just as important as what we put inside, I wanted to provide a list of concerning chemicals found in beauty, personal care, and household products. People should be informed on what they’re using, especially on a daily basis.
Consider this blog as your quick cheat sheet, but please remember, there's always more detail per ingredient that you can delve into through our sources at the bottom of this page. This is also not an exhaustive list—these are among the most common concerning ingredients, but there are others.
Lastly, I want to acknowledge that seeing this might induce a sense of helplessness since it’s not always realistic to completely avoid all these ingredients for financial and functional reasons. However, the goal with this blog is to create awareness so you can make informed decisions about the products you buy and use. You get to decide what you're comfortable tolerating and what you're willing to avoid.
Health Concerns Explained
A carcinogen is a substance that can cause cancer.
An allergen or irritant is anything that might cause an allergic reaction or irritation, whether it’s systemically or isolated to the skin, eyes, nose, and/or throat.
A substance linked to organ system toxicity affects the development and/or function of certain organs such as the brain, liver, lung, kidney, skin, and reproductive organs.
An endocrine disruptor affects your endocrine (hormone) system, which regulates every biological processes in the body. This includes metabolism and blood sugar levels, development of the brain and nervous system, function of the pituitary, thyroid, and adrenal glands, as well as the reproductive system. One experiencing fertility issues should look into their exposure to these ingredients. Endocrine disrupting compounds can also increase risk of hormone related cancers, like breast, prostate, and ovarian cancer.
Even though we’re being exposed to microscopic levels of harmful substances, these trace “non-detectable” amounts add up overtime with prolonged exposure. In addition, the “dose makes the poison” paradigm does not always apply to hormone-disrupting substances, as they’ve been shown to have an effect in lower doses. Furthermore, there may be adverse interactions when combining some of them together.
Concerning Chemicals in Beauty, Personal Care, and Household Products:
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Ingredient
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Sources:
- https://www.safecosmetics.org
- https://ireadlabelsforyou.com/potentially-toxic-chemicals-in-makeup-list/
- https://www.niehs.nih.gov
- https://davidsuzuki.org/living-green/dirty-dozen-cosmetic-chemicals-avoid/
- https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/15/well/live/personal-care-products-chemicals.html#:~:text=Researchers%20have%20found%20dangerous%20levels,semen%20quality%20and%20fertility%20issues
