As the Cosmetic Database demonstrates, not all beauty products labeled "organic" or "natural" are necessarily good for your skin. Even products listed under that category can still rank as somewhat toxic. So how do you know which ones are genuinely worth your hard-earned money and which you're better off skipping? The ingredient list says a lot - literally. You should find the entire contents of that container or bottle printed on the outside, and while you may not always recognize everything on there, the Organic Makeup and Skincare blog has some red flags you can look out for that indicate ingredients that you wouldn't normally think should ever be put on any part of your body.

Mineral Oil, Paraffin, and Petrolatum
These are byproducts of petroleum. Yes. When they produce gasoline, the by-products of the distillation process. I’m still getting over the fact that another name for mineral oil is baby oil. As in, the baby oil most touted for “soothing gentle baby skin” is petroleum derived mineral oil!!! What’s next? “dip your baby in natural gasoline?” Are people insane?

Petroleum products block your skin – they coat it like plastic, and clog up the pores. Naturally that way your skin can’t function properly. It can’t breath properly. It builds up toxins and leads to all kinds of issues. It is also a suspect cause of cancer. Which makes sense – cells that can’t breath or function properly, are bound to die or mutate…

Parabens
Chances are, if you heard of one ingredient you’d be best to avoid, it’s paraben. And you probably are having the hardest time avoiding it. Cause it is, literally, everywhere. Your odds of finding paraben free products in a main stream cosmetics isle are almost equal to your odds of finding snow in the Sahara desert. This widely used preservative finds its way even into many so-called “natural” products. And that is despite the fact that it has been linked to cancer and is known to disrupt hormones (it mimics estrogen). Arguments about it’s safety go back and forth, ever since the first studies pointing to the danger emerged. FDA currently thinks it’s safe, until further notice… Kind of reminds me of that “smoking is perfectly safe” argument…

Acrylamide
Acrylamide is a known carcinogen. It made a strong impact on the media when it was found in fast food. You might be interested to know that it can also be found in your hand and face cream…

Sodium laurel or lauryl sulfate (SLS) = sodium laureth sulfate (SLES)
It’s a skin irritant. It can lead to hair loss. It breaks down the skin barrier, allowing itself to penetrate, as well as other chemicals. It’s corrosive. It may or may not be linked to cancer (depending who’s arguments are louder), but heck, no one argues it’s an irritant…

So why is it in so many of your cleansing products? Cause it’s cheap. It’s used as for car-wash, for engine de-greasing, for garage floors , and… for your lovely facial cleanser and shower gel… Yup… Cause, presumably, your skin gets as dirty as that garage floor, and nothing milder could handle it…

Visit Organic Makeup and Skincare to see the other harmful ingredients you should try to avoid.

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