You won’t be hard pressed to find articles detailing the use of toxic ingredients in products, but unless you carry them with you, or add their links to the home screen on your phone, it’s unlikely that you will remember all of the ingredients to avoid on your next beauty binge; unless you’re a savant, in which case, your memory obviously trumps ours and this article may not apply to you. For those of us who don’t have an exceptional memory, two companies have made it their mission to ensure that shopping for clean, toxin-free beauty is hassle-free.
As farm-to-face cosmetics and green beauty gain popularity, consumers are increasingly more concerned about what goes into their products. And, while there has been an influx in the number of vegan and organic brands surfacing on the market, a number of major brands have yet to change their formulas. Luckily, organizations like the Environmental Working Group and Canada-based independent, Think Dirty have created apps dedicated to uncovering the–sometimes toxic–truth about the ingredients in the beauty products we use, to help you shop cleaner.
Are You Keeping Your Beauty Products Too Long?
Available free-of-charge in the app store, Think Dirty rates products for allergens, potential link to cancer, as well as reproductive or immune system toxicity. Users can scan the barcodes of various products, and using a “dirty meter”, the system will rate products from zero to ten to determine the toxicity of its’ ingredients as stated by health and science agencies like the International Research on Cancer and the European Union Health Commission as well as international government warning lists.
With almost 100,000 products in its database, the Environmental Working Group’s app, Skin Deep, allows consumers to scan everything from hair, skin and nail products to baby products. The systems rates allergens, toxicity and potential link to cancer on a 0-10 scale while also highlighting and summarizing the primary “red flag” ingredients, so shoppers can be more informed and know what to look out for in future purchases.
In case you aren’t privy to the world of smartphones, you can breathe a sign of relief, as you too can shop clean and research-free. The Environmental Working Group has recently announced the release of its stamp of approval for personal care items. The green “E.W.G Verified: For our Health” seal will be visible on select products that have undergone the organization’s rigorous tests and garnered their seal of approval for not being hazardous to consumers health.
Do you pay attention to what’s in your products? Share your thoughts in the comments below.