How safe is your moisturizer?

For many of us, cold weather has arrived. Walking in the cold and wind really does a number on my skin. So, I felt it’s the perfect time to make sure we all have a safer moisturizer ready to go.

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

DMDM Hydantion – Formaldehyde

Triethanolamine – Cancer

Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone - Violations, restricitons & warnings, Allergies/immunotoxicity, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

Benzyl Alcohol – Neurotoxicity, Allergies/immunotoxicity, Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate – Developmental/reproductive toxicity, Neurotoxicity, Organ system       toxicity (non-reproductive), contamination concerns (arsenic, lead, heavy metals)

Fragrance - Neurotoxicity, Allergies/immunotoxicity

Oxybenzone - Developmental/reproductive toxicity, biochemical or cellular level changes

Salicylic Acid - Violations, restrictons & warnings, Neurotoxicity, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

Parabens - shown to cause an increase in prostate and breast cancer, uro-genital abnormalities in male babies, a decline in semen quality in men, early onset of puberty in girls

Moisturizer with a score of 2 having a “low hazard”:

Neutrogena Norwegian Formula 24 hour Moisturizer for Dry Sensitive Skin, Fragrance Free – Benzyl Alcohol

Jergens Ultra Healing Intense Moisture Therapy – Parabens

Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion, Fragrance Free - Benzyl Alcohol

Aveno Daily Moisturizing Lotion, with Natural Colloidal Oatmeal - Benzyl Alcohol

Curel Therapeutic Moisturizing Lotion, Fragrance Free – Parabens

Eucerin Original Moisturizing Cream – Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone

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

Palmer’s Coco Butter Formula, Dry Skin, Ashy Skin - Fragrance, Salicylic Acid

Aveeno Positively Radiant Body Lotion and Moisturizing Lotion - DMDM Hydantion, Fragrance

Moisturizer with a score of 9 having a “high hazard”:

Rite Aid Skin Care Lotion, Dry skin Formula – DMDM Hydantion, Fragrance, Triethanolamine

Vaseline Intensive Care, Lotion, Moisturizer, Dry Skin - DMDM Hydantion, Fragrance, Triethanolamine

Moisturizer with a score of 10 having a “high hazard”:

Neutrogena Skin Smoothing Body Lotion – Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Fragrance, Oxybenzone, Salicylic Acid

Trust me, visit Skin Deep and check out how your own moisturizer rates if it’s not listed above. You’d be surprised how many, expensive ones included, rate so poorly. Then decide if you need to make some changes to one with a lower score. 

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

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