What's in the bottle?

Let's do a simple exercise.

Walk into your bathroom and pick up a shampoo that you use frequently.
Turn to the back of the bottling and look for the ingredients list.
Can you find almost 85% of the ingredients are similar to the following?

- Water
- Dimethicone (silica)‏
- Carbomer 941
- PEG-50 Almond Glycerides (almond)‏
- Sodium Laureth Sulfate (coconut)‏
- Cocoamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine
- Triethanolamine (TEA)‏
- Methylchloroisothiazolinone
- Phenoxyethanol
- Methyl Paraben (organic preservative)‏
- FD&C Yellow No. 6
- Fragrance

Let me show you how to breakdown a typical ingredients list.

What does that mean to you?

Read further!
Greenwashing – don't believe the hype!

Companies mislead consumers by listing botanical extracts, or 'aqueous infusions' (which are just weak teas) at the top of the ingredient list.
Hiding the synthetic surfactant ingredients that make up the core of the product further down the list.
The substantial water component of the herbal mixture as organic is incorrectly counted as 'organic', which is prohibited under International Organic Standards. This practice artificially inflates the organic content in order to make a deceptive 70% organic claim.

Manufacturers often list the source of the chemical to lull consumers into a false sense of security about the 'naturalness', 'purity' and 'safety' of their ingredients.

Lurking dangers in the cosmetic industry

“Consumers believe that ‘if it's on the market, it can't hurt me.’ And this belief is sometimes wrong.”
– Director of FDA's Office of Cosmetics and Colors (FDA 1998)‏

Known and probable human carcinogens in cosmetics
One-third of all products contain one or more ingredients classified as possible human carcinogens.

Impurities of concern in personal care products
Nearly 70% of all products contain ingredients that can be contaminated with impurities linked to cancer and other health problems.

Unassessed ingredients
89 % of the 10,500 ingredients used in personal care products have not been evaluated for safety by the CIR, the FDA, or any other publicly accountable institution.

How do you protect yourself?

× Don't fall for 'natural' claims
× Don't fall for 'organic' claims without a logo
√ Read ingredients lists!