Is your moisturizer gradually killing you? Does your mascara cause cancer?

I know these doubts may perhaps seem a little bit odd, but in truth, a lot of mainstream commercial beauty products available on store shelves these days are toxic skincare products which include chemicals which can be detrimental to your health. Most people are not even aware of this, but these substances can cause all sorts of risky side effects, from thinning hair, to rashes and other allergic reactions, to mouth or skin sores or other conditions, and in the long term a few may even be linked to cancer!

For instance, Pthalates (often listed in skincare ingredients as dibutylphthalate, DEP, DBP, or butyl esters) are widely used in makeup and skin care products from mascara to nail polish, to face cream, and they help these products spread thinly, and absorb into the skin.

You know what else phthalates do? They cause birth defects! That's right - scientific studies have shown that these toxic skincare contents trigger birth defects in rats, and also in humans. Several cosmetics companies have lately stopped the use of phthalates, however many other companies have not.

A different scary substance to avoid is Sodium Lauryl or Laureth Sulfate (SLS). This one is basically a detergent, which will cause such things as shampoo, soap, and yes, toothpaste to lather up and get sudsy. SLS is one of the primary causes of skincare product complaints like dandruff and hair loss, dry skin, and mouth sores, and it can even cause long-term damage to the eyes!

And then this one is especially scary: Remember formaldehyde - that really stinky substance that was used to preserve the frogs for dissection during your biology class? Formaldehyde has now been recognized by the EPA as a likely human carcinogen (you most likely might have guessed that by how dreadful it smelled, right?)

Well, how would you like that substance on your skin? Guess what: while you might not actually see the word "formaldehyde" on your skincare product label, you may see one of these substances instead:

quaternium-15
imidazolidinyl urea
* 3-diol diazolidinyl urea (also known as 3-dioldiazolidinyl urea)
bronopol (sometimes listed as 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1)
DMDM hydantoin

Each of these toxic skin care ingredients break down during use and release formaldehyde, which can be particularly a problem if they appear in a product you use in the shower or on your hair, as heat can speed up the conversion to formaldehyde.

And the list goes on....

But what can we do? This stuff is everywhere, right? So then, how can we avoid these toxic skincare ingredients, and locate more natural personal care products which are less dangerous to our health?

Although you may never have the ability to memorize every toxic skin care ingredient in existence, you may surely write a list of the most hazardous culprits (maybe write down the list and put it inside your purse or wallet), and then it is easy to verify the ingredients of your skin care products against the list, and if they do not measure up, simply do not buy them.

Here is a short listing of toxic skincare components you should never purchase:

* Phthalates
Mineral Oil and other petroleum products
Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate
Parabens (understand these are sometimes listed by a longer name such as methylparaben)
Formaldehyde
Selenium Sulfide
* quaternium-15
imidazolidinyl urea
* 3-diol diazolidinyl urea (often known as 3-dioldiazolidinyl urea)
bronopol (sometimes listed as 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1)
DMDM hydantoin

You will also want to avoid alcohol, fragrance, mineral oil and additional petroleum products, dioxane, toulene and triclosan.

There are certainly lots of others out there as well, but when you're unable to locate truly 100% natural skincare products in your area, avoiding the substances above should at the very least get you on the right track towards a healthier future.