The Top Body Care Ingredients to Shelve for Good!

Tip! Bookmark this page on your smartphone to make it easy to shop for eco-friendly, non-toxic body products. Full ingredient details in Ecoholic Body.

  1. BHA and BHT:
    Preservatives with links to cancer. BHA is the worst of the two and has to come with a cancer warning in California.
  2. DEA/MEA/TEA: (diethanolamine): 
    Can create carcinogenic nitrosamines when mixed with preservatives. Cocamide DEA has to come with a cancer warning in California.
  3. Formaldehyde-releasing preservatives:
    (DMDM hydantoin, diazolidinyl urea, imidazolidinyl urea, methenamine, quaternium-15 and Bronopol, a.k.a.2-bromo-2-nitropro- pane-1,3-diol
  4. Oxybenzone (BP-3/ benzophenone) and octinoxate (octyl methoxycinnamate):
    Two sunscreen chemicals that may disrupt our hormone system and that can trigger allergic reactions.
  5. Palm oil: 
    (or anything with “palm” or “palmate” in its name, like sodium palmate): Avoid unless it’s fair trade/organic
  6. Parabens:
    Estrogenic preservatives. Butyl and propyl parabens are banned from children’s items in Denmark thanks to their endocrine disrupting p0tential.
  7. Parfum/fragrance:
    Potentially laced with phthalates and other hormone disruptors and sensitizers. Note: some natural Euro brands with “parfums” are made with natural essential oils (it should say so on the label)
  8. PEGs:
    (polyethylene glycol compounds, and anything with “-eth” in its name). These are often contaminated with carcinogenic 1,4-dioxane.
  9. Petrolatum/paraffin/mineral oil/petroleum distillates:
    Green your bodycare by avoiding these petrochemicals
  10. PPD:
    In all permanent hair dyes. Can also be called p-Aminoaniline; 1,4-benzenediamine;
    p-benzenediamine CI 76060; p-Diaminobenzene; 1,4-phenylenedia- mine; 1,4-diaminobenzene
    In all permanent hair dyes. Linked to some cancers.
  11. Phthalates: 
    Hormone-disrupting family of chemicals hidden behind the word “fragrance,” but you can look for the phrase “phthalate free.” Also used as a plastic softener, common in vinyl/PVC. Several phthalates have been banned from children’s toys and childcare items in North America, but not from children’s bodycare.
  12. Retinyl palmitate:
    Keep this one out of the sun as it seems to speed up carcinogenic effect of UV rays in mice.
  13. Siloxanes:
    Pass on cyclo- or “-methicone.” Cyclotetrasiloxane (D4) and cyclopentasiloxane (D5) are
    eco toxic siloxanes (silicone based polymers). Cyclomethicone is a mix of D4, D5 and D6 siloxanes.
  14. Sodium laureth sulphate:
    Foaming agent in soaps and shampoos often contaminated with carcinogenic 1,4-dioxane.
  15. Triclosan/triclocarban:
    Suspected thyroid disruptor. Health Canada is poised to declare this ingredient officially toxic to the environment.