Are you concerned about what is in beauty products?

[MarvinGorilla]

In a harmful way, I mean. I ask because the news this week re the Johnson & Johnson talcum powder causing cancer case got me thinking that talc is in a lot of face powders.... Does anyone else ever worry a little about all the chemicals etc in the products we use and the long term effects?

I do! I use mainl organic skincare from places like Love Lula, but I love my Dior and Chanel make up do haven't converted to organic make up yet. I also worry about cleaning products and so use The Method.

Bloody fucking palm oil seems to be in everything.
It's more the environmental impact I worry about, so I try to avoid it as much as I can, but didn't realise it was in everything.
Also micro beads, they are real disaster area.

oh yes - micro beads, never buy anything with those in, horrific pollutant!

TBH as the only really essential liquid/paste toiletries are soap/shower gel, toothpaste and suncream, it is quite easy to cut down the pollutants.

chemicals are good. Dihydrogen monoxide is the best cleaner.

Special - I like a good science joke.
I am not especially worried about nasties - I apply creams in small amounts and just to my face..... and tend to put perfume on my clothes rather than skin as I have no idea what is in them.
Shampoos are all rinsed off anyway so not much chance of absorbing it.
I have no idea why anyone would use talc - surely it is a lung irritant if nothing's else.

I use (and sell) Neals Yard products. Not only because they are really lovely and give great results (especially the skincare range) but also because I live in the USA and of the 1400 ingredients that the EU bans from toiletries and beauty products, only 9 are banned here. The words "organic" and "natural" are used for marketing here and have no meaning whatsoever and the FDA doesn't regulate this industry but leaves it to do so itself. We have formaldehyde and lead in products that are going on our skin. Living in the US and using products made for the US market concerns me greatly.

I'd be happier if there were more products without Palm oil, because of the environmental cost, and I avoid micro-beads for the same reason. I avoid mineral oil because I'm not keen on putting a by-product of crude oil on my skin, I'd rather stick to plant oils. I avoid silicone because I think it makes me spotty. I think those are the main ones.

Yes, very much so. To be honest only when it comes to creams, shampoo and soaps though. I don't care as much about make-up (which I realise doesn't make much sense).

Only use natural stuff on my boy too. Only really started looking at ingredients once he was born.

Oh and have to get natural sun cream too. The shit they put in the mainstream ones is unreal. That shit will give you cancer, not prevent it

I honestly don't really worry too much about it. I don't put that many products on my skin anyway, and figure that you can't really avoid pesticides, mineral oil, SLS etc.

Maybe my attitude is a bit crap.

Worked for Lush for a while, their stuff is good but expensive. No doubt better than Johnson and Johnson and Co.

Yes, I don't use products.

What myfriendscallmeoh says about US products. There's a reason why your products are at least half the price in the us. Thank goodness the eu regulate the shit out of it here - although still far from perfect.

There's a great book called "not just a pretty face" which talks about the horrors, cancers, birth defects et al associated with cosmetics.

I thought everyone knew about talc? No way in hell I let that anywhere near my babies membranes.

The more you learn the more cynical you will become re; beauty companies doing "pink products".

Di hydrogen monoxide is rubbish for getting make/up off, I like coconut oil.

I do.

Allergic to lanolin anyway but since becoming veggie years ago not only testing but animal sourced ingredients are an issue. But also palm oil and microbeads for environmental reasons its a minefield!

I'm in the process if swapping to less harmful things. I try to avoid SLS, parabend, artificial fragrance (more because it irritates me), look for cruelty free and try to buy with Aussie or New Zealand (air miles). We are on a limited budget however so it's really hard.

I've now got hippy eyeliner mascara and lipstick and would love a cream blush and ohh la lift dupe.
I've tried making stuff myself but just can not be arsed. Although have started an acid tone with apple cider vinager and it's pretty I great

What natural sun cream is out there? I'd love to get some of that, God knows what shit they put in the regular ones.

I have real trouble with acne and worry a lot about whether products are irritating it. I'd love to know if anyone has improved their skin with more natural products.

I use moogoo suncream. Other brands like wotnot and ecotan are ok but not my favourite.
I recently used non hippy suns cream and my son got a really horrid rash and I couldn't stop tasting it

You might like to read this thread about talc

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/2578008-to-be-surprised-that-Johnsons-baby-powder-still-contains-talc

as it links some of the underlying evidence and tends to show how the press are once again reporting science badly.

If an ingredient is actually causing you problems, then of course you avoid it; if you have ethical objections, you avoid it; if indeed you have read something that makes you want to avoid something, then avoid it.

But no, I don't worry about safety of ingredients based on press reporting, nor on evidence which shows that teeny weeny weeny weeny weeny risk might be more accurately described as teeny weeny weeny weeny. I do however swerve many products with SLS as they make my skin flake.

Sun cream: whole purpose is to put an artificial barrier on your skin to block the effect of sunlight. All brands contain them, in effective quantities.

So if you want to avoid those substances, you'd be better off abandoning sunscreen, which means covering up (full length UV clothing, big hat with brim all round, and out of the sun as much as possible and definitely in peak hours).

Yes, on various levels.

1. There are some things that have either bad effects or unknown effects
2. There are some things I have ethical objections to
3. There are some things I know are fine for some people but don't agree with me

So I reads labels and google ingredients to check them out when buying something new.

This is about the suncream I use. I've used it for two summers (in Australia) and it works really well. We still use long sleeves, hat, sunnies and shade. moogoo.com.au/spf-15-natural-moisturiser.html

I do, and in fact I use fewer and fewer products. I have the child who is the 1 in a million, reacts to anything with petroleum, off gassing from anything plastic, sleeps on a coconut fibre mattress, can't be near balloons or rubber bands and recently woke up coughing and then threw up a few hours after someone has sprayed an air freshener in the apartment we were staying in. As a result of this, we have only the most basic things in our house and regularly my daughter will say, smell it Mummy, you know, DS2...

It is indeed worrying. I was concerned about powder foundations like Mac. I liked using them when I was out and about if I have a shiny forehead or nose. Any alternatives for powder foundations?