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Cosmetic Ingredients | What’s in Your Bath and Body Products?

Posted by on May 18, 2010 · 4 Comments 

Bath and Body ProductsYou, the consumer, are a very savvy bunch of smart cookies.  Read the labels on your cosmetic products and while on a company’s website, read their ingredient listings.  If a company doesn’t list all the ingredients for a product on their website or only tout the “natural” or “organic” ingredients then I have to wonder what they have to hide.

A past discussion that started in the Cosmetics and Beauty Network group on LinkedIn was titled “Did You Know The Average Consumer Puts 515 Chemicals On Their Face/Body Everyday?”.  I had to respond because statements like this are very alarming.  Donna Maria, CEO of Indie Beauty and an expert on this site, posted a reply as well and in part said “Would you rather use a facial cream with a tiny amount of chemical preservative that has been proven safe, or would you rather use a facial cream with no preservative that will grow bacteria and mold that could blind you or a family member?”

What concerned me the most about the person who started this discussion was she represents a company that says they produce products with premium botanical ingredients and a commitment to pure, safe and beneficial products. The only problem I see with this statement is that they do not list the ingredients on their website, as far as I can see.  If they are listed then I must need to be a psychic to find them.

As a personal care products manufacturer, I proudly list the ingredients for every product on my company website. Ingredients are listed on a product label as required by the FDA Labeling Guidelines.  There are a wealth of sites that provide information without using “scare tactics” to make you believe the current lotion or soap you are using will cause cancer.

For more information on cosmetics, ingredients and regulations, check out the links below:

Cosmetics Info – “Your source for safety information about cosmetic and personal care products, their ingredients and how they are tested and regulated.”

Personal Care Products Council – “is the leading national trade association for the cosmetic and personal care products industry and represents the most innovative names in beauty today.”

Cosmetic Ingredient Review – “Mission: The Cosmetic Ingredient Review thoroughly reviews and assesses the safety of ingredients used in cosmetics in an open, unbiased, and expert manner, and publishes the results in the peer-reviewed scientific literature.

Truth In Aging – Organic vs Natural Cosmetic Standards

The Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association (CTPA) – “an association of manufacturers of cosmetic, toiletry and perfumery products, founded in 1945 to promote the interests of members, primarily with government. That remit has now extended to include the European Commission and many other regulatory bodies, national and international groups.

Confidence in Cosmetics

Kristin and I are for providing safe cosmetics and personal care products.  If you ever have a question about an ingredient, regulation or any information you read on this site, our door is wide open.  We welcome your questions, comments and feedback.

Lisa M. Rodgers

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More about the author:  Lisa is the CEO, Founder and Creator Extraordinaire of Cactus & Ivy, a manufacturer of cruelty free and vegan spa, bath and body products. Read more from this author

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  2. A Closer Look at International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients (INCI) Label Laws
  3. 8 Types of Cosmetic Ingredients in Formulas

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  • SUSAN

    “If a company doesn’t list all the ingredients for a product on their website or only tout the “natural” or “organic” ingredients then I have to wonder what they have to hide.” WELL SAID! And listing things like “natural preservative” instead of the actual INCI (or even the brand name, the common name, the botanical name…SOMETHING) is nothing short of lying. As consumers we need to demand that our right to know what we are putting on our skin, breathing into our lungs, and exposing our families to in our homes is put ahead of “protecting” trade secrets!!

  • http://www.wingsets.com Annrn @ Wingsets

    Oh Lisa – you are going to make me stay up all night tonight finishing my website! We weren't in the discussion you are talking about or at least not that comment because we do use a safe synthetic preservative in our creams for that very reason – I've seen what creams look like if you don't preserve them, not unlike the one month old container of pineapple my husband found in the back of the refrigerator yesterday. Blue mold an inch thick – in the refrigerator yet – after just one month! We've changed to a new website and I'm still populating the information. I've believed from the beginning when I started back in 2001 that complete transparency was how I wanted to do business. And then I read blogs about not using anti-wrinkle this or antibacterial that type comments (even though it is!) – so back to the drawing board. But doesn't seem to be slowing down the Revlon's of this world apparently – all of these glossy magazines are full of anti-wrinkle claims, but I'd rather do it right in the first place until they change the law, which I hope they will.

    Guess I better get started – again….

  • cactusandivy

    Thanks for your comments Susan. I'm a consumer to many and even before I started to manufacture products, I read labels and asked questions. I wish a site like this existed years ago when I purchased my first personal care product.

    I hope Personal Care Truth can be a place for everyone to go to find information and know that what they read is not an educated guess. The information found on Personal Care Truth will be backed by science.

  • cactusandivy

    Hey Ann -

    I was talking the other day to one of my best friends. She first gave me a hard time because I had not had the time to fill her in on what I was up to with Personal Care Truth. Anywho, we were talking about synthetic ingredients and how women, for many years, have been using personal care products with a variety of ingredients that are now on the hit list of the fear mongers.

    As a manufacturer, I have particular ingredients I don't use because I made the choice not to use them. Not because they have a black cloud following them around but because I simply chose not to use them. I do not formulate my products with any ingredients I wouldn't use on myself.

    The Revlon's of the world are still around because a great deal of consumers are going to buy what they want regardless of what the scare trippers are saying. Keep on with the transparency gal.