Hazard Ratings on Beauty Products
Jun. 4th, 2007 08:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebToday I found Skin Deep, "an online safety guide for cosmetics and personal care products." For each product in their database, they determine a hazard score and a data gap rating. "The hazard score represents a synthesis of known and suspected hazards from more than 50 definitive databases. The hazard rating of a product can be higher than for its individual ingredients — it adds up the hazards of all ingredients, and is scaled higher if the product has penetration enhancers or other ingredients that increase skin absorption." The data gap rating shows how much is actually known about the ingredients. All the data gaps I noticed were high: over 50%.
I have not done any research on how good a job they're doing in developing these ratings. I just looked up the hazard ratings of things I use to see what they say. Items are rated from 0 (low concern) to 10 (higher concern).
I thought I didn't use many "beauty products," but I kept noticing more products on their list that I use:
* Softsoap Liquid Hand Soap, Aloe Vera (the only kind we can find that's not labeled "antibacterial" besides Dr. Bronner's, which clogs our soap dispenser) - rated 4 (Dr. Bronner's liquid soaps range from 0 to 2.
* Pure Essentials fragrance-free shampoo and conditioner (the only fragrance-free versions I can reliably find) - not there
* V05 hair dressing (for when you want a hair salad) - rated 2. This is greasy goo in a tube that I put on my hair after a shower, hoping it will keep my hair from getting too frizzy and pretending it will make my hair look shiny and silky. I've always wondered if petroleum jelly would have the same result. Vaseline 100% pure petroleum jelly gets a rating of 0 for use as a moisturizer or for pain relief. (Pain relief?)
* Colgate tartar control gel toothpaste - not there. Various tartar control whitening formulas come in at 4-5. Colgate does have some toothpastes that get ratings of 1 (this brand goes on sale for a dollar the most often). These less toxic varieties seem to make fewer claims in their titles such as "Colgate Toothpaste (Regular)" and "Colgate Fluoride Toothpaste Cavity Protection (Great Regular Flavor)." They seem to have a less scary fluoride (sodium monofluorophosphate, rated at 2 versus sodium fluoride, rated at 8). Who knew? I read an article on the debate about whether fluoride was good or bad for you on the whole, but they didn't mention different kinds. I looked up baking soda. As an ingredient in toothpaste, it gets a rating of 2, even though under concerns it says "none identified." However, if you click on that ingredient, you get a whole list of studies showing things.
* Personal Expressions dental floss - not there.
* Tom's of Maine natural deodorant stick (for when I'm being good) - rated 2
* Dry Idea unscented antiperspirant and deodorant roll on (for when it's summer) - rated 3! I'd heard so many bad things about antiperspirants. And the worst ingredient is "fragrance." Weird, especially since I have the unscented flavor. One of Skin Deep's tips is "Products that claim to be 'fragrance free' on the packaging may not be. They could contain masking fragrances that give off a neutral odor. Read the ingredient label — in products truly free of fragrance, the word "fragrance" will not appear there." So I managed to find one of those.
* CVS hydrating beauty lotion (face lotion with SPF 15 sunscreen) - not there
* Oil of Olay similar thing - not there.
* KineSys fragrance-free spray sunscreen - not there. The kind with fragrance is rated 5, but mostly because of the fragrance. The kids' version is rated a 2 - it has no fragrance, but doesn't have the exact same other ingredients.
* Nature's Gate herbal fragrance-free moisturizing lotion - rated 3
* Aveeno Daily Moisturizing lotion, fragrance-free - rated 3
* Oral Labs lip moisture (lip balm) with SPF 15 in French Vanilla (for use during the day) - not there
* Nature's Gate Organics LIP BALM, Neroli Orange & Chocolate Mint (for night time - no sun protection, but smells soooo yummy) - rated 1.
Of course I'm probably supposed to be wary of anything over a 0, but I don't feel like it.
So I don't quite know what to make of my findings. I am surprised that my antiperspirant is not rated much worse than my deodorant. I am surprised that my one item that officially has a fragrance has such a good rating. I'm surprised about the different kinds of fluoride. Maybe I'll do more research on that, or maybe I'll just switch. Maybe I'll try smearing petroleum jelly in my hair and seeing what happens.
Although I didn't think I used anything particularly nasty--possibly the antiperspirant, but nothing super painful or smelly like hair dye, I am still surprised to not have any super high numbers. Don't you always have to find out that one of the things you love is totally evil?
I have not done any research on how good a job they're doing in developing these ratings. I just looked up the hazard ratings of things I use to see what they say. Items are rated from 0 (low concern) to 10 (higher concern).
I thought I didn't use many "beauty products," but I kept noticing more products on their list that I use:
* Softsoap Liquid Hand Soap, Aloe Vera (the only kind we can find that's not labeled "antibacterial" besides Dr. Bronner's, which clogs our soap dispenser) - rated 4 (Dr. Bronner's liquid soaps range from 0 to 2.
* Pure Essentials fragrance-free shampoo and conditioner (the only fragrance-free versions I can reliably find) - not there
* V05 hair dressing (for when you want a hair salad) - rated 2. This is greasy goo in a tube that I put on my hair after a shower, hoping it will keep my hair from getting too frizzy and pretending it will make my hair look shiny and silky. I've always wondered if petroleum jelly would have the same result. Vaseline 100% pure petroleum jelly gets a rating of 0 for use as a moisturizer or for pain relief. (Pain relief?)
* Colgate tartar control gel toothpaste - not there. Various tartar control whitening formulas come in at 4-5. Colgate does have some toothpastes that get ratings of 1 (this brand goes on sale for a dollar the most often). These less toxic varieties seem to make fewer claims in their titles such as "Colgate Toothpaste (Regular)" and "Colgate Fluoride Toothpaste Cavity Protection (Great Regular Flavor)." They seem to have a less scary fluoride (sodium monofluorophosphate, rated at 2 versus sodium fluoride, rated at 8). Who knew? I read an article on the debate about whether fluoride was good or bad for you on the whole, but they didn't mention different kinds. I looked up baking soda. As an ingredient in toothpaste, it gets a rating of 2, even though under concerns it says "none identified." However, if you click on that ingredient, you get a whole list of studies showing things.
* Personal Expressions dental floss - not there.
* Tom's of Maine natural deodorant stick (for when I'm being good) - rated 2
* Dry Idea unscented antiperspirant and deodorant roll on (for when it's summer) - rated 3! I'd heard so many bad things about antiperspirants. And the worst ingredient is "fragrance." Weird, especially since I have the unscented flavor. One of Skin Deep's tips is "Products that claim to be 'fragrance free' on the packaging may not be. They could contain masking fragrances that give off a neutral odor. Read the ingredient label — in products truly free of fragrance, the word "fragrance" will not appear there." So I managed to find one of those.
* CVS hydrating beauty lotion (face lotion with SPF 15 sunscreen) - not there
* Oil of Olay similar thing - not there.
* KineSys fragrance-free spray sunscreen - not there. The kind with fragrance is rated 5, but mostly because of the fragrance. The kids' version is rated a 2 - it has no fragrance, but doesn't have the exact same other ingredients.
* Nature's Gate herbal fragrance-free moisturizing lotion - rated 3
* Aveeno Daily Moisturizing lotion, fragrance-free - rated 3
* Oral Labs lip moisture (lip balm) with SPF 15 in French Vanilla (for use during the day) - not there
* Nature's Gate Organics LIP BALM, Neroli Orange & Chocolate Mint (for night time - no sun protection, but smells soooo yummy) - rated 1.
Of course I'm probably supposed to be wary of anything over a 0, but I don't feel like it.
So I don't quite know what to make of my findings. I am surprised that my antiperspirant is not rated much worse than my deodorant. I am surprised that my one item that officially has a fragrance has such a good rating. I'm surprised about the different kinds of fluoride. Maybe I'll do more research on that, or maybe I'll just switch. Maybe I'll try smearing petroleum jelly in my hair and seeing what happens.
Although I didn't think I used anything particularly nasty--possibly the antiperspirant, but nothing super painful or smelly like hair dye, I am still surprised to not have any super high numbers. Don't you always have to find out that one of the things you love is totally evil?