Posted on June 5, 2010 - by Leslie Billera

Take the Ingredient Test!

There’s a lot to get testy about when it comes to chemical cocktails in our personal care products. And teens and babies are even more vulnerable.

Here’s just 5 ingredients found in ‘conventional’ bath and beauty products…

1. Parabens
2. Sodium lauryl or laureth sulfate
3. Triclosan and triclocarban
4. Fragrances and dyes
5. Methylchloroisothiazolinone and Methylisothiazaolinone

In fact, hundreds of the chemicals found as a matter of course in the U.S. are illegal in other countries.

So with all the juicy details we’ve been sharing about what to do – and what not to do – the big question, in the words of ex-Mayor Koch, might be: “How’m I doing?”

The Two-Fold Toxicity Test

Here’s one way: see if you can match up the ingredients above with the most common toxic health associations, below, (note – the answers are at the end of this post, so don’t scroll down prematurely!)

a. allergies, nervous system

b. hormone effects

c. allergies, cancer, nervous system

d. skin damage, toxic contaminants

e. thyroid and environmental concerns

Another way is to take Planet Green’s “Are You A Green Beauty?” quiz. Ten questions, ten answers, and a quick way to gauge how green your personal care knowledge really is! Not only will you test your savvy, you’ll learn lots on the way – we loved the tip about olive oil as integral manicure ingredient – it’s a great lubricant for both hands and nails.

Let us know what are your most burning questions about bath and beauty ingredients. We’ll try to answer them right here, asap!

Answers:   1. b; 2. d; 3 e; 4 c; 5 a