How Safe Is Your Mascara?

It’s time to buy new mascara so I’m passing off all of my research.

The Environmental Working Group has a website called Skin Deep. This site is an excellent resource for consumers in that it lists thousands of personal care products in an organized way and rates them on how safe their ingredients are.

“Skin Deep pairs ingredients in more than 25,000 products against 50 definitive toxicity and regulatory databases, making it the largest integrated data resource of its kind.Why did a small nonprofit take on such a big project? Because the FDA doesn’t require companies to test their own products for safety.”

At Skin Deep, you can find hundreds of specific items for hair, skin, eyes, nails, baby, oral care, fragrance, and makeup rated from 0-10, zero being the safest. Each item’s score is explained in detail and safer options are given.

In today’s post I’m listing safer mascara choices from Skin Deep’s site that can easily be found at your local drugstore. I’ve also listed some common items with high (not safe) scores as comparisons. It should be noted that although Skin Deep gives products a “moderate hazard” score, some of them contain the chemicals below with cautions from testing results of these chemicals:

PEG-10 Dimethicone and laureth-12: Also known as 1,4-Dioxane: Endocrine disruption, identified as a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Propylene Glycol: FDA says is safe for general use but can cause cancer and contains toxins that affect reproduction

Alcohol Denatured: Cancer, Developmental/reproductive toxicity, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

Benzyl Alcohol: Neurotoxicity

Parabens: May cause breast cancer due to hormone mimicking properties

Sodium laureth sulfate: Can cause skin and eye damage

Phenoxyethanol and Potassium hydroxide- Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), eye irritation

Butylene glycol – Eye irritation

Panthenol – Alcohol

Triethanolamine, Polyethylene – Cancer concerns

Midazolidinyl urea, quaternium-15 and imidazolidinyl urea – Formaldehyde

Oryza sativa (rice) starch - Pesticides

Ethylacrylate and Methyl methacrylate – Cancer, developmental/reproductive toxicity

Mascara with a score of 3 having a “moderate hazard”:

Boots No. 7 Lash and Brow Perfector (clear) – Parabens, Phenoxyethanol, Potassium hydroxide, Panthenol, Butylene glycol

Max Factor Stretch No color Mascara – Triethanolamine, Midazolidinyl urea, Parabens

Almay Bright Eyes Mascara, Waterproof Black Brown and Black – Polyethylene, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Parabens, Phenoxyethanol

Almay One Coat Mascara, Thickening Black Brown and Blackest Black – Quaternium-15, Imidazolidinyl urea, Parabens

L’Oreal Paris Voluminous Mascara Waterproof Black – Oryza sativa (rice) starch, Parabens

Maybeline Sky High Curves – Waterproof Mascara, Very Black and Brownish Black – Oryza sativa (rice) starch, Parabens

Mascara with a score of 7 having a “high hazard”:

Cover Girl CoverGirl LashExact Mascara – Triethanolamine, Benzyl Alcohol, Sodium laureth sulfate, Parabens, Phenoxyethanol, Propylene Glycol, Alcohol Denatured

Cover Girl Super Thick Lash Mascara, Black Brown and Soft Black – Triethanolamine, Benzyl Alcohol, Sodium laureth sulfate, Parabens, Phenoxyethanol, Propylene Glycol, laureth-12

Mascara with a score of 8 having a “high hazard”:

Maybelline Illegal Lengths Washable Mascara, Black Onyx; Brownish Black (old formulation) – Ethylacrylate, Methyl methacrylate, Polyethylene, Triethanolamine, Parabens, Propylene Glycol

There were many more popular mascaras listed with a score of 3 – 7. Visit Skin Deep and look up what you’re using. Then decide if you need to choose a safer option with a lower score next time you’re running low.

Take a look at earlier posts of mine on how safe is your deodorant, bar soap, baby shampoo and soap, and shampoo and conditioner.

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