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Studies continue to show that personal care items have a high amount of toxins that can be extremely harmful, if not deadly, to people who use them. It is estimated that each day, women wear about 515 chemicals on their bodies from head to toe. The degenerative diseases that these chemicals are linked to include the following: cancer from eye shadow, kidney damage from synthetic perfumes, hormone disruption from body lotions and shampoos, and premature puberty from nail polish, just to name a few.  Needless to say these findings are disturbing; however, they borderline something more sinister when you consider that they are also found in personal care products that babies use each and every day.  How do these harmful toxins find their way into our personal care products?

Unfortunately, the cosmetics industry is highly unregulated and do not have to list many of the harmful ingredients found in their products. With that said, what can you do to avoid exposure to these toxic chemicals? You should know which harmful chemicals are the most prevalent so that you can avoid them. Below is a handy list of the most frequently used toxic chemicals that you should be aware of:

Chemicals Used as a Preservative

Parabens 
- methylparaben
-propylparaben
-butylparaben
-Ethylparaben
 

DMDM Hydantoin

Moisturizing Chemicals

Propylene Glycol
Butylene Glycol
Polyisobutene
 

Cleansers

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
Sodium Laureth Sulfate
Sodium Myreth Sulfate
 

Petrochemicals

Petrolatum
Mineral Oil
Paraffin
 

Chemicals Used for Sunscreens

Oxybenzone
Avobenzone
Octinoxate
 

Solubulizers

Phthalates

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