Top 5 cosmetic ingredient myths

So, when you read the myths and facts below, please remember to keep in context the amounts used in personal care, the required purity of cosmetic chemicals under regulatory guidance and the way personal care products should be used, which has enabled us to make these informed statements.

We’ve also provided links to reputable sites at the end of this blog should you want to do your own research and need reliable and scientifically informative sites to do so. These references also support the findings we have stated in this blog, should you want further reading to find these facts out for yourself.

With so much conflicting information on the internet, where can you go to find out? Find out the facts, with full references, by watching this video: How safe are cosmetics – watch now:

You will also enjoy our Checking cosmetic ingredients - when INCI gets it wrong video:  Watch our video here:

Read on to identify the top 5 cosmetic ingredient myths and get the truth on the ingredients that seem to be such a big concern.

COSMETIC INGREDIENT MYTH #1: Parabens have estrogenic effects and cause canceR

‘Parabens’ includes methyl, butyl, propyl and isopropyl paraben, which are commonly used as cosmetic preservatives. While there was a widely published study (incorrectly) linking paraben use to breast cancer, the faults of this study have since been published along with several rigorous Scientific studies investigating if there really is a concern using these chemicals in cosmetics. The final facts of these reviews have conclusively proven that the very small amount of these chemicals present in personal care products, even when a cumulative consideration is made to the potential for these to be present in EVERY personal care product used by a consumer in any given day, their presence would not be anywhere near sufficient to pose an estrogenic or carcinogenic effect or risk.

COSMETIC INGREDIENT MYTH #2: PEGs can cause cancer

‘PEG’ appears in multiple INCI names of cosmetic chemicals because it refers to a common processing method which enables a substance to become more water soluble – a particularly effective way to modify some normally insoluble substances to make them more water soluble and therefore compatible in water based formulations to impart mildness to formulas (such as plant oils). Various PEG-modified materials can also be used to stabilise formulas or for other beneficial formulation and/or performance purposes. However, in the process, and in the past, the processing method may have led to residual ethylene oxide and/or 1,4-dioxane remaining as a contaminant in the finished substance. These residues, if present in sufficient quantities and applied to broken skin, can pose risk to consumer safety – however, chemical manufacturers should be involving a ‘vacuum stripping’ step at the end of the processing to remove these impurities from their PEG-modified material. Both ethylene oxide and 1,4-dioxane are substances which are prohibited in cosmetics by regulatory authorities around the world – meaning that responsible cosmetic manufacturers and raw material suppliers should be preparing their PEG-modified products and materials properly; include vacuum stripping to ensure impurities are removed. When done so, these impurities would not be present in personal care products available to consumers, and PEG-modified materials responsibly sourced then pose no safety risk.

COSMETIC INGREDIENT MYTH #3: Sodium lauryl (and laureth) sulfate is hazardous

As 2 of the most effective foaming agents known to industry, sodium lauryl sulfate (and sodium laureth sulfate) have earnt a very unfair reputation as being everything ‘bad’ from cancer causing to severely irritating. The truth is, yes, at 100% concentration they are very irritating. BUT you wouldn’t find these ingredients in finished personal care products at anywhere even near 100%. You would also commonly find these materials diluted and mixed with a very large proportion of water, with added mildness additives and skin conditioning agents; and in personal care products with very short contact time on unbroken skin with directions for thorough rinsing after application. When used in suitable small input rates in suitably formulated finished personal care products and when rinsed off thoroughly after application, they represent a very cost effective, high performing foaming and cleansing agent. As for cancer causing? That again has to do with ensuring suitable manufacturing methods to remove any trace 1,4-dioxane that may occur during production – and rests with responsible manufacturers of both the raw material and finished product to ensure suitable (and safe) end product. Remember, the presence of 1,4-dioxane is prohibited in personal care products in several countries by the regulatory authorities, so must not be present in a finished product to be compliant.

COSMETIC INGREDIENT MYTH #4: Mineral oil is hazardous because it is derived from petrolatum

Let’s be very clear here: when we say ‘mineral oil’ we are talking about the INCI named substance ‘Paraffinum Liquidum’ with CAS references 8012-95-1 or 8042-47-5. We are talking about the highly refined petroleum derived mineral oil that has been through intensive treatments and purification to become a highly pure, transparent and safe cosmetic ingredient. When processed correctly (as available to the personal care industry) it does not contain questionable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or other carcinogenic residues. We are not talking about the liquid you fuel your car with; we are talking about a very highly refined and pure cosmetic substance that just happens to have a very non-descript ‘common’ name and crude oil origin.

COSMETIC INGREDIENT MYTH #5: Triethanolamine (TEA) and related materials can cause cancer

Triethanolamine is used as a neutralising agent both in processing of raw materials and finished products. While impure forms of this material may have historically (and we’re talking over 10 years ago here) had excess traces of nitrosamines present in the finished raw material, TEA and substances containing TEA are now tightly regulated with strict limits on their permissible free amine content and purity. This means that the personal care products now containing these substances have a free amine content below levels shown to be, and regulated as, ‘safe’ when used as directed. You may see similar misinformation about the dangers of DEA and MEA - now all but banned in personal care products – or where part of another substance, very tightly regulated as to purity, input amount, conditions of use and free amine content.

As with any personal care product and the ingredients it contains, the mode of use, amount used and compliance with local (and in many cases, international) regulatory authorities is crucial as part of an overall safety consideration.

If you need further convincing, then consider this: next time you take a swim, a shower or have a drink of water, remember not to get any in your lungs because it is fatal when improperly used (inhaled) and potentially hazardous to your health if not properly treated.

Use personal care products produced by quality manufacturers in the way they are intended, and you won’t be exposing yourself to unnecessary risk either.

Useful sites for further information:

• Cosmetic Ingredient Review
• Furphies
• Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS)
• US FDA Cosmetic Ingredients

Read our top five sites for CORRECT ingredient information blog to find out more.