Top Toxic Ingredients in Cosmetics

Use our lists below to see how your products stack up. These are the most common toxic chemical ingredients in cosmetics.

For businesses, check out our Red List, our recommended “do not use” list of toxic chemicals.

Top 20 Toxic Ingredients in Cosmetics

Download this free list of top chemical ingredients to avoid.

Get the List

Top 20 Toxic Ingredients in Cosmetics

Download this free list of top chemical ingredients to avoid.

Get the List

Hidden in plain sight.

Most of us use 12 beauty and personal care products on average every day.

These products can contain hundreds of unique chemicals that we absorb, inhale and ingest – some are linked to cancer, birth defects, learning disabilities and other serious health problems.

Lax regulation means the industry can sell products made with virtually any industrial chemical, without FDA safety testing or review.

Together, we can change that. Take Action >

Top Toxic Ingredients in Cosmetics to Avoid

Moisturizer

Polyacrylamide (possible acrylamide contamination)
PTFE (possible PFOA contamination)
Petrolatum (possible PAH contamination)
UV filters (octinoxate, oxybenzone, homosalate)

Sunscreen

Benzophenone
Homosalate
Octinoxate
Oxybenzone
Padimate O
Para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA)

Shampoo

Ethanolamine compounds (cocamide DEA, MEA, TEA and others)
Parabens (e.g. butylparaben)
UV filters (octinoxate, oxybenzone)
Formaldehyde-releasing preservatives (diazolidinyl urea, imidazolidinyl urea, quaternium-15, DMDM hydantoin)
Sodium laureth sulfate and other –eth compounds (possible 1,4-dioxane or ethylene oxide contamination)

Conditioner

Ethanolamine compounds (cocamide DEA, MEA, TEA and others)
Parabens (e.g. butylparaben)
Formaldehyde-releasing preservatives (diazolidinyl urea, imidazolidinyl urea, quaternium-15, DMDM hydantoin)
Sodium laureth sulfate and other –eth compounds (possible 1,4-dioxane and ethylene oxide contamination)
Nonoxynols (possible 1,4-dioxane or ethylene oxide contamination)
Hydrogenated cottonseed oil (possible arsenic contamination)

Hair Color

Resorcinol
p-phenlyenediamine
toluene
lead acetate
Ethanolamines (cocamide DEA and others)

Fragrance

The word ‘fragrance’ on a product label can hide dozens of secret, often, toxic chemicals.

Color Cosmetics

Blush, Face Powders, Eye Shadow, etc.

Titanium dioxide (inhalable, nanosized)
Carbon black
PTFE (possible PFOA contamination)
Talc
BHA
Silica
Formaldehyde-releasing preservatives (imidazolidinyl urea, quaternium-15)

Skin Lighteners

Butylated hydroxytoluene; BHT
Ceteareth-20 (1,4-dioxane contamination)
DMDM hydantoin (formaldehyde releaser)
Padimate O (nitrosamine contamination)
Hydroquinone

Knowledge is Power.

Want more tools? Check out apps like Clearya, Think Dirty, and Skin Deep. Plus, certifiers like Made Safe and EWG Verified rate your personal care products for safety and toxicity.

Top tips

Your choices are powerful. Choose products that are safer for you and for the environment.
Decrease your exposure by using fewer products and choosing those with simpler ingredients.
Don’t be fooled by the words “natural” and “safe,” which have little meaning in the largely unregulated cosmetics industry.
Avoid anything without ‘fragrance’ or ‘parfum’ ingredient disclosure.
More tips >