Do You Know the Ingredients in Your Cosmetics?
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Recently, the NY Times published a rather alarming article on harmful substances lurking in cosmetics and personal hygiene products - due to the lack of legal obligations and regulations in the beauty industry.
Why is it important to be aware of ingredients and support organic/natural brands?
The use of industrial chemicals, including carcinogens, pesticides, toxins, & hormone disruptors in cosmetics is a growing concern. At FEY, we deemed important to share useful tips on what to look for and what to steer clear from when it comes to ingredients. Knowledge is power. If every consumer gets the possibility to detect the potentially toxic ingredients and avoid them, the beauty industry will have no other choice than to clean up its act.
Read the labels, always.
Paraben-free is now frequently plastered all over the packaging, however that does not qualify a product as clean. While parabens are now proven to be endocrine disruptors, interfering with the reproductive system, they are becoming the tree that hides the forest. Marketers come up with sophisticated ploys to make the consumer believe they are buying a natural product (such as tweaking the packaging to make it look eco and choosing terms such as "botanical or plant-powered") without a look at the full INCI list.
Keep a list of ingredients to avoid.
The so-called 'Dirty Dozen', the David Suzuki Foundation’s list of twelve cosmetic ingredient categories that are toxic, problematic or harmful to the environment, has been serving as a reference point: parabens, fragrances, sodium laureth sulfate (SLS), triclosan, petrolatum, PEGS, formaldehyde-releasing preservatives, siloxanes (silicons), DBP dibutyl phthalate), Cocamide DEA and Lauramide DEA, BHA and BHT, coal-tar dyes (C.I.).
Let us add a couple more such as propylene and butylene glycols, GMO's, ethanolamine, aluminum, mineral oil, and chemical sunscreen (retinyl palmitate, titanium dioxide, oxybenzone, and octyl Methoxycinnamate).
Risks linked to the aforementioned ingredients vary from causing premature aging, DNA alterations, skin allergies, inflammation, weakened immunity, hormonal problems, birth defects and cancer.
At FEY Cosmetics, we have banished all of the aforementioned ingredients and we continuously strive to bring you result-driven formulas that are safe for your skin and for the environment.
Science and natural skin care are perfectly compatible.
In fact, the use of organic ingredients allows for creating bio-active formulas that remain potent and effective. At FEY, we value raw materials and most of our ingredients are certified organic either by Ecocert or the USDA/NOP (National Organic Program). Both are internationally recognized and respected. Certified products certified undergo strict microbiological and preservation testings to that effect.
In doubt, ask away and reach out to organic skincare experts.
Still too difficult to track down the problematic ingredients? Help yourself with apps such as ThinkDirty or online resources like EWG to decipher ingredients. Also, don't hesitate to contact brands if you have any inquiries about their products. A trustworthy brand will not hesitate to answer any ingredient-related questions. Transparency and communication are amongst the best tools to educate on organic and natural skincare.