8 Toxic Skincare Ingredients to Avoid

There are thousands of toxic skincare ingredients in your products, which are being absorbed into your body. They affect our health and overall well being without our knowledge.      

Our daily traditional skincare products like face washes, sunscreen, perfumes, etc have now been linked to health issues such as allergies, breast cancer, hormonal disruption, and reproductive system problems.

Few Toxic Skincare Ingredients to Avoid

1. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate/Sodium Laureth Sulfate are foaming agent skincare products, shampoo, and cosmetics. Usually, 90% of personal-care products contain SLS. These can cause allergies and trigger skin irritation.

2. Fragrance

Almost every skincare product we use contains artificial fragrances. They contain tons of chemicals that are hazardous to our health. Fragrance mixes can cause allergies, respiratory distress, and affects the reproductive system. It is found in many products such as shampoo, conditioner, perfume, and body lotions.    

3. Synthetic Colors

Anything synthetic should raise a red flag. These are made up of many ingredients that are not labeled, so you are never sure what you put on your skin. Synthetic colors are derived from coal tar and petroleum sources- they are suspected to be human carcinogens and are banned by the European Union.

4. Parabens

Parabens are preservatives. You can find them in makeup to soap to all body lotions. Propylparaben, methylparaben, isopropyl paraben and isobutyl paraben are the chemicals included. If you see any of these parabens in the products avoid using that product. They may contribute to hormonal imbalance, even breast cancer.  

5. Formaldehyde

Formaldehyde is known to cause allergic skin reactions and it may also be harmful to the immune system. This is one of the main toxic ingredients present in nail polish, conditioners, shampoos, etc.

6. Phthalates

They are used in plastics to improve strength, softness, and flexibility in plastics, and not often labeled among the ingredients in products. Dibutyl phthalate in nail polish, diethyl phthalate in perfumes and much more are added to your personal care products. These are linked to an increased risk of breast cancer.    

7. Oxybenzone

Few Sunscreens are filled with this high-risk chemical. Studies on cells and animals indicate that Oxybenzone and its metabolites may disrupt the hormone system and also has high rates of skin allergy. Go for sunscreens containing titanium oxide and zinc oxide, they are chemical-free ingredients.