Top 10 Classes of Ingredients to Avoid

This article was originally published March of 2009 by Cheeky Maiden.

As some of you may have noticed, natural foods store across the nation are raising the bar on “acceptable” ingredients in skin care. We applaud these stores for taking this step on their own, without being mandated by the government or any other higher authority to help us all avoid toxic overload!

Whole Foods Market has developed a “premium” line. You can be sure that any product marked “premium” in the store is going to be free from this list of ingredients/ingredient classes.

I also point out with much pride that Cheeky Maiden Soap Company already complies with all of these standards and our formulas never contain any of the following toxic ingredients!

Synthetic Fragrance: Due to philosophical and safety reasons, only natural essential oils and components of natural essential oils will be allowed as fragrances. Synthetic fragrances can be highly irritating to sensitive individuals and are also a potential source of questionable sub-ingredients such as phthalates.

Formaldehyde-donor preservatives, such as diazolidinyl urea, dmdm hydantoin, imidazolidinyl urea, sodium hydroxymethylglycinate: Under certain circumstances of formulation and storage, these ingredients have the potential to release formaldehyde in very small amounts. These are banned and/or highly restricted in other countries. Because there are higher quality preservatives available, these are not necessary and should be avoided.

Chelators, such as disodium EDTA and tetrasodium EDTA: Chelators sequester metal ions and are used in personal care products to remove impurities from low quality raw materials. There is environmental data showing that chelators do not readily biodegrade in the environment. Furthermore, there is no reason to have these ingredients in high quality natural products, since they function to remove impurities from low quality raw materials.

Ethoxylated ingredients, such as sodium laureth sulfate and polyethylene glycol: Ethoxylated compounds are emulsifiers that are typically derived from petroleum. The problem with ethoxylated compounds is that it is not a clean process to manufacture these compounds, so contaminants can be produced during the manufacturing process.

Chemical sunscreens, such as oxybenzone and octyl methoxycinnamate: Chemical sunscreens have safety concerns since many have been shown to have endocrine disruption activity.

Quats, such as benzalkonium chloride, steardimonium chloride, cetrimonium bromide and cetrimonium chloride: Also known as quaternary amines, quats give a positive charge to conditioners in order to prevent static. They are necessary for conditioners, however many are biologically active, and they are also persistent in the environment. Cheeky Maiden recommends diluted apple cider vinegar as a great conditioner for your hair!

Antibacterial compounds, such as triclosan and chlorphenesin: These preservatives do not break down in the environment and may contribute to bacterial resistance. Furthermore, a recent FDA advisory panel report stated that antibacterial soaps are no more effective than regular soaps.

Synthetic polymers, such as sodium polyacrylate and carbomer: These viscosity agents are petroleum derived and highly processed, and it is not a clean process to manufacture these ingredients.

100% petroleum derived ingredients, such as mineral oil and petrolatum: 100% petroleum-derived ingredients were excluded from Premium for environmental and philosophical reasons, primarily because they are derived from non-renewable resources. In addition, 100% petroleum-based ingredients were avoided for functional reasons, since they form a barrier when applied to skin that does not allow it to breathe, and they can also contain impurities as a result of the manufacturing process.

Parabens: There is indication that parabens act as potential endocrine disruptors, and due to the fact that there are alternative preservative systems available, these are totally unnecessary.

An extremely fascinating site to check out is Skin Deep: The Cosmetics Database. While it is important to point at that we do not agree with the stance this group has taken on government regulation of cosmetic ingredients, it is a great resource for double checking your own skin care products and ingredients. (Cheeky Maiden is no longer a signer of their compact, not because we do not believe that toxic ingredients shouldn’t be in skin care, but because we believe that “We the people” should decide what we want to put on our skin, not the government.)
Products are rated on a scale of 0-5. 0 being the safest, and 5 being the most dangerous. Of particular interest are baby care products, many of which are rated a 4!! (Cheeky Maiden’s baby soap should come up at 0.)