Personal Care And Cosmetic Products

Given the elusive credentials, lack of government safety regulations, and vague labeling terminology, it’s tricky to find out how safe and eco-friendly personal care and cosmetic products are. For the skinny, turn to the Environmental Working Group (EWG) database, Skin Deep. It’s the ultimate safety guide for personal care products and cosmetics. With research into more than 25,000 products, which are cross-referenced against 50 toxicity and regulatory databases, Skin Deep is the largest integrated data resource anywhere. Products are rated on an overall scale of 0 to 10 (with 0 being harmless and 10 being extremely hazardous) and flagged for specific possible health hazards. Further, each ingredient of a reviewed product receives an individual 0-to-10 rating. The Skin Deep database is interactive, easy to navigate, and user friendly.

Who are the people behind this savvy database? EWG is a Washington, DC–based public interest watchdog. The EWG’s team of scientists, engineers, policy experts, lawyers, and computer programmers scour federal data, legal documents, and peer-reviewed scientific studies for threats to human health and the environment and then test products in their own labs to expose hazards. Most important, they help find solutions.

When referencing this site, look closely at the ingredients responsible for a product’s rating. Take advantage of EWG’s Skin Deep database at www.cosmeticdatabase.com.