Toxic Skin Care Ingredients to Avoid

Skin care and personal care product ingredients aren't as regulated as most people think. Did you know that companies don't have to tell you the full ingredient list because of proprietary protections! Wild, right?!

It's a great time to do a bathroom audit and decide what products are safe, what needs to go asap, and what can stick around until it's finished up (and then never come back).

Here are the worst 5 offender ingredients that you should steer clear of in your products:

☠ Pthalates: commonly used to hold fragrance and color in cosmetics, and to make plastics like PVC and food containers flexible. They're linked to damaging sperm DNA, organs like the kidneys, liver, and thyroid, the immune system, and reproductive system. Oh, and they can cause cancer. Watch out for terms like phthalate, DEP, DEHP, DBP, and fragrance on labels.

☠ Ethanolamine compounds (MEA, DEA, TEA): common emulsifying ingredients used to help remove dirt and grime. They are linked to causing cancer, even coconut-derived ones like cocamide DEA.

☠ Parabens: you've probably heard of them. That they're still considered dangerous enough as to make this list should tell you a) how bad they are and b) how much they're still widely used. Parabens are used as preservatives in skin care and personal products. They mimic estrogen in our bodies and can severely f*ck up our endocrine systems, aka our hormones! They're also linked to breast cancer and increased skin sensitivities to products.

☠ Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and sodium laureth sulfate (SLES): another ingredient that has been publicly known for a long time and is still commonly used in products. They create foamy lathers and help remove dirt and grime. They're toxic to the environment and their production is particularly problematic. They also cause skin and eye irritations.

☠ Synthetic colors: these often contain legally-permissible heavy metals, which can accumulate in our bodies over time (bioaccumulate) and lead to cancer, organ damage, hormone system damage, allergies, and neuropsychiatric disorders. Just to name a few! These can be sneaky on labels and hard to pinpoint. Steer clear of FD&C and D&C colors.

What goes into our products matters for both our health and our environment! Em & El Organics NEVER uses chemicals in our products and we ALWAYS disclose everything that's in them. Transparency and honesty are two values we hold dear and that isn't going to change.

Got questions about our ingredients? Let us know! We love answering questions ♥💪

Stay tuned for part 2...the dangers lurking in personal care product fragrances! Wow, that's a tongue twister...