Did you know there are no laws regulating what ingredients can be used in personal care products? There are over 80,000 questionable ingredients on the beauty market today. That’s why it is so important to understand ingredient labels and know exactly what you’re putting onto your skin. Today I’m going to give you a few tricks to help you screen ingredient lists and do your research properly when picking out products.

Take Note of Order

The order in which products appear on an ingredients label isn’t just by chance. All ingredients are listed in descending order by the amount used. The ingredient with the highest concentration will be listed first and the ingredients with the lowest concentration will be listed toward the bottom or last. This is why you’ll most likely see water or oil as the first ingredient because these typically make up the base of any product.

Know What To Look For

Before you look for a product you should have a couple of things in mind. First, what results do you want to see? This is when we look for the active ingredients. These are the ingredients that will deliver the desired effect. For example, clay masks that are used for oily skin, could include activated charcoal as an active ingredient. Active Ingredients will most often be located closer to the top of the list because they will have a higher concentration than other ingredients. Sometimes manufacturers will also list the active ingredients separately to hype up the product. Just be sure you aren’t only looking at the active ingredients. In addition to active ingredients you should also be aware of any ingredients that you may be allergic or have sensitivities to. Are you allergic to lavender? Make sure you stay away from any products that have “Lavandula” or “Lavendula officinalis” on them. This is the chemical name for lavender or lavender oil. Manufacturers won’t always list the basic name for an ingredient but instead use its’ chemical name. It is important to know which basic ingredients to avoid and be aware of their pseudonyms.

Don’t Shy Away From Scientific Names

When reading the label, not only should you be aware of what you’re looking for but also what you’re looking at. Most of us look at an ingredient label and immediately become skeptical or even just skip over the words that seem foreign to us, but not all scientific words should be seen as harmful. Every ingredient has a proper scientific name, including natural ingredients. An extreme example of this would be the chemical compound, Dihydrogen Monoxide. Sounds terrifying, right? It’s actually the scientific name for water. Obviously, no one is going to list that on an ingredient list but you get my point. A more practical example would be humectants. Humectants are the ingredients that allow the products to enter the skin. Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, and Sorbitol are all common examples of non toxic humectants. If see these products on your list, don’t be alarmed, they’re not harmful and actually aid in the functionality. Surfactants are another type of ingredient that you will often see in cleansing products. Surfactants are what give products the foaming quality. Studies have shown that when absorbed through the skin, surfactants can cause damage to liver and cause other physiological disruptions. Common examples of toxic surfactants are; Sodium Lauryl Sulfates (SLS) or Ammonium Laureth Sulfate. There are both good and bad chemicals that can be found in all skin care products. Just because you don’t understand the name doesn’t necessarily mean it’s harmful.

Read Everything

Reading the fine print isn’t just good advice for contracts and legal documents. It’s important to read everything listed on the label. Although the ingredients listed on the bottom have a smaller concentration, this doesn’t make them obsolete. Once ingredients reach a concentration of 1% or lower, the manufacturer can order them in any order they wish which often leads to saving the most harmful and unappealing ingredients for last. For example, most of the time Fragrance is one of the last ingredients listed but a lot of the time fragrance can be irritating to those with sensitive skin or just irritating in general.

Technology is Your Friend

Today, we are extremely fortunate to have the ability to research literally anything in minutes. If you see an ingredient that you’re not quite sure about, simply plug it into Google and you’ll instantly be able to learn more about it. There are also websites and apps to help you decipher whether or not an ingredient is safe for long-term use. Most of these databases use a rating scale from 1-10, 1 being extremely safe to use and 10 being very toxic. Think Dirty has become a popular app for rating products but be aware, some companies pay to show a “higher rating” and are not actually safe. Environmental Working Group or EWG has created a website and app called EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Database. I prefer this website because you can not only type in product names but also just type in ingredients and it will give you an explanation of it’s rating.

When you’re looking into a new product, it’s important to do your research first. Look up the ingredients ahead of time, take the time to read through the ingredients while you’re in the store, and ask for samples. Never start a new product without knowing what you’re using on your skin. There are thousands of questionable ingredients on the market today. Some of those can be extremely harmful to your system with long-term use. Read the labels.

Use your new super power of reading ingredients to Pick Your Products

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