B.A.D. Ingredients

Primarily used as a foaming agent or detergent to be found in shampoos, facial cleansers, bubble bath products, household and utensil cleaning detergents. (Sodium Laurate, Lauryl Sulphate or SLS)

Due to their unique fluid properties, silicones are used to improve the feel, appearance and performance of topical skin care products. Silicones trap debris in your pores by forming a barrier on top of your skin. That barrier can lock in moisture, yes, but it can also trap dirt, sweat, bacteria, sebum, dead skin cells and other debris along with it.

Preservatives allow formulas to remain fresh during the long span between the time of manufacture and the time the customer finishes using it. There are strong and powerful preservatives (e.g. formaldehyde-releasing preservatives and parabens) that essentially permit the product to be used almost indefinitely and allow for significantly increased shelf life.

A class of plasticizing chemicals used to make products more pliable or to make fragrances stick to skin.

Petrolatum is a petroleum jelly that is used in hair products to add shine and in lip balms, lip sticks, and moisturizers as a moisture barrier. The ingredient is often contaminated with PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), a known carcinogen, and can cause skin irritation and allergies in smaller doses.

PEGs (polyethylene glycols) can alter and reduce the skin’s natural moisture factor. It adjusts the melting point and thickens products. Usually found in cleansers to dissolve oil and grease.

Common parabens include methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben and butylparaben. Parabens allow skin care products to survive for months or even years in your medicine cabinet.

A petroleum by-product that coats the skin like plastic, clogging its pores. This is incredibly harmful because it interferes with skin’s ability to eliminate toxins, therefore increasing likelihood of acne and other disorders.

These are primarily preservatives commonly found in cosmetics, baby bath soap, nail polish, eyelash adhesive and hair dyes. Look for: DMDM hydantoin, diazolidinyl urea, imidazolidinyl urea, methenamine, quaternium-15, and sodium hydroxymethylglycinate. These ingredients slowly and continuously release small amounts of formaldehyde that cause toxicity and skin irritation.

These types of drying alcohols give products a quick-drying finish, immediately degrease skin, and feel weightless on skin, so it’s easy to see their appeal, especially for those with oily skin. But those short term benefits end up with negative long term consequences. When you see these names of alcohol listed among the first six ingredients on an ingredient label (SD alcohol, ethanol, denatured, isopropyl, methanol or ethyl alcohol), without question they will aggravate and be cruel to skin. No way around that, it’s simply bad for all skin types. Consequences include dryness, erosion of the surface of skin, and a strain on how skin replenishes, renews, and rejuvenates itself.

Anything that is artificial or synthetic should always raise a red flag. Used in more than perfumes, these smell-enhancing substances are made up of hundreds to thousands of different ingredients not listed on the label, so you are never sure what you are actually being exposed to.

Artificial Colors or dyes are synthetic additives combined to make a single color. Up to 25 synthetic additives are needed to create one artificial dye. A color like purple can have up to 50 synthetic chemicals mixed together. The toxins that Artificial Colors leave on your skin greatly increase your risk of sensitivity and irritation can also block your pores, which leads to a greater risk of acne.