When making a decision about what products and ingredients are safe for you and your family, it’s important to balance your sources. There are lots of people making radical (and serious) claims about ingredients that cause everything from cancer to genetic mutation. Some of these claims are well-founded (like pthalates), and some are just scare tactics, like people who take one snippet of info out of context and run with it, promoting fear and the spread of wrong information (parabens causing breast-cancer is a great example of this). So, when you read an article that claims that ingredient ‘x’ will make your hair fall out (or your bones shrink, or your DNA get scrambled…) consider checking a couple of sources before you go purging everything you own with ingredient x.

The greenies want you to be green. The government/FDA don’t want you to disrupt the status quo. The big cosmetics companies just want to make as much money as possilbe. Everyone has an agenda. Mine is simply to get to the facts so we can make intelligent, educated decisions about our products and our bodies, and live our fullest, healthiest lives. Here are some sources I find useful (and often, surprising) again and again.

fda.gov: You can look up actual studies and read the results for yourself or you can read the FDA’s conclusions on inquiries based on what information they were given. Basically, you get to see how they think, and you can go straight to the source of a claim.

CosmeticsAndToiletries.com: This is a fantastic reference for everything cosmetics related. There are great, educational articles by actual cosmetic chemists. You don’t have to agree with everything they say (I will never love petrolatum. EVER) but they really get into the chemistry of how and why ingredients and products work. You know, if you’re curious.

PubMed.gov: An expansive database of actual scientific studies where you can read specific studies, abstracts, research papers and more.

Dermnetnz.org: Useful information regarding specific skin issues and how skin functions.

MakingCosmetics.com: A comprehensive compilation of cosmetic ingredients and their purpose. Not super detailed, but great place to start.

SkinAndAging.com

Shayna Teicher

After nearly three years managing a bath and beauty boutique, Shayna decided to go out on her own and open Butterfly Effect, a holistic, eco-conscious beauty boutique located in Sarasota, Florida. Our very own “Beauty Chick”, read Shayna’s other intriguing articles and product reviews here.