Do you know how to determine if the ingredients in your natural and organic skin care products are safe?
Here are two valuable resources you can use to make sure the skin care and personal care products you buy contain only healthy ingredients.
The Environmental Working Group has developed the Skin Deep database to help you choose safe and healthy products. But you have to know how to use it properly to get accurate information.
If you search for safety information for organic and natural skin care products and their ingredients in the Skin Deep database and you’re not taking into consideration all the information on the page, you may be making assumptions of safety that just aren’t there.
For example, just looking at the number rating without understanding what the number means, you may very well be assuming certain ingredients are safe or pose a low hazard, when in fact there’s not enough information to actually determine the safety of the ingredient.
Let’s look at carrageenan as an example. Carrageenan is sometimes found in organic and natural skin care and body care products as well as mainstream personal care products. Many people assume it’s safe because it’s derived from seaweed.
Here are several of the listings for carrageenan that come up in ewg’s Skin Care database:
CHONDRUS CRISPUS (CARRAGEENAN) EXTRACT
0 - low hazard
100% data gap
concerns – data gaps
2 - low hazard
76% data gap
concerns - cancer, contamination, organ system toxicity, neurotoxicity, data gaps
DEGRADED CARRAGEENAN (impurity)
1 - low hazard
85% data gap
concerns - cancer
If you look at just the number scores indicating a low hazard, you may believe the ingredient is safe and doesn’t impose any risk. However, you’re not getting the whole picture. You must also look at the data gap. It tells you how much is actually known about the safety of the ingredient. The concerns tell you possible safety issues you should take into consideration in making your decision to use the products with these ingredients.
A low hazard of 0 with a 100% data gap means there is no information about the ingredient. So, a 0 rating for such an ingredient has no meaning because the safety is totally unknown. The concerns for this ingredient are the lack of information.
A low hazard of 1 with an 85% data gap means there is very little known about this ingredient. The concern that cancer may be a safety factor is important to take note of and factor into your decision to purchase the product.
A low hazard of 2 with a 76% data gap indicates that there is not much known about the ingredient. The concerns of cancer, contamination, organ system toxicity, neurotoxicity, data gaps are important to pay attention to when deciding to purchase a product with this ingredient.
The ewg, on the Skin Deep site explains that “…some ingredients may appear to have low hazards, but this may be due to the fact that they have not have been studied or assessed completely. Other ingredients may appear to have low hazards and have been thoroughly studied or assessed. This score helps differentiate between ingredients and products that have been studied to different degrees.”
So, when using the Skin Deep database, it’s important to pay attention to all the information for each ingredient because just looking at the hazard number can be very misleading and cause you to believe that an ingredient is safe when there are serious concerns and a great lack of information about safety.
Another excellent source of ingredient safety information for natural, organic and all your skin care products is the book, Dying To Look Good. It rates ingredients a little differently than in the Skin Deep database. The rating system, in a nutshell, is:
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S – no known toxicity, the additive appears to be safe
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A – may cause allergic reactions
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C – caution advised, may be unsafe, poorly tested or used in too many products we use on a regular basis
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X – unsafe or very poorly tested.
Carrageenan is rated C with the explanation that it is extracted from red seaweed with powerful alkali solvents; possible carcinogen; native or undegraded carrageenan is IARC Group 3; degraded carrageenan is IARC Group 2B; not adequately tested.
IARC Group 2B means it is a possible carcinogen.
IARC Group 3 means it cannot be determined to be carcinogenic to humans. This can be for various reasons. In this case, it’s because the research hasn’t been done to make the determination.
IARC is the International Agency for Research on Cancer. They review studies that have been done to determine the carcinogenic status of different chemicals. They don’t do the research themselves. The IARC classifications are explained in Dying To Look Good.
Dying To Look Good also has a website, DyingToLookGood.com, that supplements the information in the book.
Both ewg’s Skin Deep database and Dying To Look Good are valuable resources to have in determining the safety of products and ingredients in the organic and natural skin care products, or any personal care products you buy.
The skin Deep database is a computer program with a huge amount of information that is formatted to fit the program. It provides a tremendous amount of valuable information. However, you need to be certain to take into consideration all the important information presented to make sure you’re making an accurate assessment of the safety of the ingredient or the product.
Dying To Look Good is not computerized. Every ingredient is hand researched and hand entered into the book. Important points and explanations about individual ingredients are added when it is a significant aspect to be taken into consideration when you’re deciding if you want to use a product with that particular ingredient. In addition, the book is an easy-to-use quick reference that’s convenient to carry with you when you shop.
The Skin Deep database and Dying To Look Good are some of the best tools you can use to protect yourself from harmful ingredients in not only natural and organic skincare and body care products, but all cosmetics and personal care items, for all members of your family.
Yours in health,
Christine H. Farlow, D.C.
The Ingredients Investigator
Protecting You From Harmful Ingredients…
