Watch out for these potentially damaging ingredients that are
                        found in commercial brand products. Please check your labels.
 

 Propylene Glycol
Called a humectant in cosmetics it is really "industrial antifreeze" and the major ingredient in brake and hydraulic fluid. Tests show it can be a strong skin irritant. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) on Propylene Glycol warn users to avoid skin contact as it is systemic and can cause liver abnormalities and kidney damage.

Mineral Oil
Comes from crude oil (petroleum) used in industry as metal cutting fluid. May
suffocate the skin by forming an oil film. Healthy skin needs oxygen, and to release carbon dioxide it should not be inhibited. Holding to large amounts of moisture in the skin can "flood" the biology and may result in immature, unhealthy, sensitive skin that dries out easily.

Petroleum
Same properties as Mineral Oil. Industrially it is uses as a grease component.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate(SLS) & Sodium Laureth Sulfate(SLES)
 Potentially, SLS is perhaps the most harmful ingredient in personal-care products. SLS is used in testing labs as the standard ingredient to irritate skin. Industrial uses of SLS include garage floor cleaners, engine degreasers, and car wash soaps just to name a few. Studies show its danger potential to be great when used in personal-care products. One study indicates that SLS is systemic, and can penetrate and be retrained in the eye, brain, heart, liver etc., with potentially harmful long-term effects. It could retard healing, cause cataracts in adults, and can keep children's eyes from developing properly.

Other research has shown that SLS and SLES may cause potentially carcinogenic nitrates and dioxins to form in shampoos and cleansers by reacting with commonly used ingredients found in many products. Large amounts of nitrates may enter the blood system from just one shampooing. SLES is the alcohol form (ethoxylated) of SLS. It is slightly less irritating but may cause more drying. Both SLS and SLES can enter the blood stream. They are used in personal-care products because they are cheap. A small amount generates a large amount of foam, and when salt is added it thicken to give the illusion of being thick and concentrated.

Bentonite or Kaolin
Clays in foundations that may clog and suffocate the skin.

Glycerin
Draws moisture from inside the skin and holds it on the surface for a better feel.
Dries skin from the inside out.

Collagen and Elastin
of high-molecular weight - Derived from animal skins and ground up chicken feet. Both of these ingredients form films that may suffocate and over moisturize the skin.

Bar Soaps
Made from animal fat and lye. May let bacteria feed and grow in it. May corrode
the skin and dry it out.

Many of the "hyped" ingredients pro collagen, collagen, elastin, cross-linked elastin, and hyaluronic acids found in most cosmetic brands cannot penetrate the skin because of high-molecular weight and are of little benefit. Other virtually useless ingredients are insoluble, oil-based vitamin A (Retinyl Palmitate), Placental Extracts, and Royal Bee Jelly.

DISCLAIMER: The information in the "Harmful Ingredients to Avoid in Cosmetics" is set forth in various publications and based upon opinion, observation, and/or research.