Common irritating ingredients in cosmetics

Last week I realized that I don’t have to be a victim of clever marketing of cosmetics if I don’t want to be. I can educate myself about the ingredients used in cosmetics and decide for myself what will benefit my skin. With the help of two great books, I’m beginning to do that. “Don’t Go To The Cosmetics Counter Without Me” by Paula Begoun is a compilation of makeup and skin care reviews of over 100 brands. The reviews are honest, well-written and contain helpful information about price points, ingredients and recommendations. The other book that is a great companion to Begoun’s book is, “A Consumer’s Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients” by Ruth Winter, M.S. This book is a straight up dictionary of all ingredients that are found in today’s makeup and skin care products. This book is great if you’re attempting to determine why one foundation works for your skin and why another one doesn’t. Read the ingredients, look them up and determine what the differences are. That is what I’m currently doing with all of my makeup and wow it is time consuming but SO worth it.

Begoun’s book contains a list of common irritating ingredients which is a good place to start educating yourself about ingredients to avoid. I plan to share all the knowledge I’ve gained from these books in later posts but for now, here’s a list of cosmetic ingredients to avoid:

-alcohol or SD- alcohol followed by a number (exceptions: ingredients like cetyl alcohol or steatyl alcohol are standard, benign, waxlike cosmetic thickening agents and are completely nonirritating and safe to use.)
-camphor
-citrus juices and oils
-eucalyptus
-excessive fragrance
-menthol
-menthyl lactate
-menthozypropanediol
-mint
-peppermint
-sodium lauryl sulfate
-arnica
-bergamot
-cinnamon
-clove
-eugenol
-grapefruit
-lavender
-linalool
-wintergreen
-witch hazel
-ylang-ylang