Reading skin care labels can be much harder than you think because manufacturers can get pretty crafty at making a product containing dodgy chemicals sound okay. Moreover, many of us are in a rush or can’t be bothered to whip out eyeglasses to squint at the small print, so how can we make sure we’re not wasting our money on useless products that contain potentially harmful chemicals? As far as I’m concerned, if we’re going to spend our hard-earned money on beauty products – they better work!
Federal law requires that ingredients are listed in descending order of concentration, beginning with the largest. The first ingredient is typically water or and oil and fragrances & colors are last. Trade secrecy laws enable manufacturers to protect their formulas by grouping specific ingredientsunder generic terms like “Parfum”, “Fragrance” or “natural colorings”. I’m always skeptical when I see these terms on an ingredients list and have to inquire further.
I’m also skeptical when it comes to claims such as:
“Hypoallergenic”
“Allergy-tested”
“Safe For Sensitive Skin”
Manufacturers aren’t required to validate these claims to the FDA, so they are pretty meaningless.
Other red flags:
“Natural” – meaningless without certification
“Natural Ingredients” – meaningless without certification
“All-natural” – meaningless without certification
“Ultra-fine” or “micro-fine” – there’s not labeling requirements in the U.S for
nanoparticle ingredients – his term usually means that nanoparticles have been used and we just don’t know how safe they are, so you’re best off avoiding them.
“Inactive”- this term is often used to mask the identity of harmful chemicals.
I typically look for either small companies who have a lot of transparency as far as their ingredients and practices are concerned. I recommend many of these companies, only after I have thoroughly checked them out. Skin care products that are hand-poured, and made in small batches will tend to be fresher and thus contain more active ingredients. Two companies that spring to mind are Arcona and Tilvee Ethical Skincare – both producing fantastically effective and safe anti-aging products – of course I have lists as long as my arms and legs of other companies that I love – so do trawl through the “Gorgeous Finds” archives to find them.
I also look for products with one of the following third-party certifications:
USDA
Soil Association (UK)
ECOCERT (Europe)
BDIH (Germany)
AIAB (Italy)
Do keep in mind that certifying organizations certify according to wide variety of standards.
Always look for the following terminology on labels:
paraben-free (hair care and skin care)
free of petrochemicals (skin care and hair care)
SLS-free (shampoo, toothpaste and anything that foams.)
fragrance-free (everything)
talc-free (cosmetics)