Print this form next time you go shopping for your skin care products. Labelling on skin care products isn’t all that different from food. You don’t have to be a chemist to decode a label. 
Below are ingredients you should avoid:
dimethicone – a chemical fat; used in hair care products, face creams, foundations and primers; ecologically difficult to degrade; pore clogging.
FD & C and D & C colour pigments – often carcinogenic compounds, containing tar and lead.
imidazolidinyl urea – chemical preservative; very allergenic.
hydroquinone – found as a bleaching agent against age spots and pigment marks; allergenic and highly toxic in many bleaching creams.
laureth family (sodium lauryl sulfate, or lauryl in the name) – found in face and body washes, shampoos; a harsh chemical detergent.
mineral oil – often used in lip balms, body lotions, creams; extremely cheap petrochemical made out of petroleum (covers skin like a plastic wrap); interrupts skin oxygenation; may cause premature aging of skin.
oxybenzone – found in many sunblocks; chemical sun protector; very allergenic
perfume/ parfum (fragrance) – more than 4000 chemical variations are named ‘fragrance’; these chemicals can cause headaches and vomiting.
petrolatum – another variation from the mineral oil family; clogs pores.
parabens (methyl, propyl, etc. – paraben family) – synthetic preservatives found at the very bottom of cosmetic labels; implicated in a multitude of health problems, estrogenic, cancer causing, allergenic, found in breast tissue, replicates in DNA; stored in fat cells; extends the shelf life of products up to 4 years.
phenoxyethanol – coal-tar ingredient; a suspected carcinogen; used often as preservative in creams.
propylene glycol – a well known ‘anti-freeze’; found in many skin care products.
talc – can contain asbestos; do not use on babies.
triclosan – found in antibacterial soaps, face washes and dish wash detergents; destroys skin-protecting microorganisms and very drying.
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