You know the drill – you're standing at the makeup counter, buying online, considering a purchase wherever – and you find some really mysterious gibberish on the label.
"What the heck is Pentaerythrityl Tetra-di-t-butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate?" you ask yourself. "Is that something I really want to put on my skin?"
Great question. And here's a wonderful resource for finding your answer: The Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep database.
Here you'll find what it is, products that use it, and how safe it is on a scale of 1 to 10, based on published scientific studies. The database offers good details about any concerns or use restrictions, and indicated when its conclusions are based on limited data.
For example: Propylparaben is used in some acne-fighting products. It rates a full 10 on the hazard scale.
Search for a product and you'll find a list of all the ingredients, each rated individually for safety, yielding an overall safety profile for the product.
The EWG also offers a mobile app so you can have the database handy at any time!
Speaking of labels, we've already told you that the terms "noncomedogenic" and "hypoallergenic" are great ideas, but don't really promise you anything…