Toxic chemicals and beauty products. What should be avoided and why?

Thankfully, the UK and EU have extremely vigorous cosmetic testing so provided you are getting skincare and cosmetic products from reputable retailers where composition testing has occurred it is unlikely that a product will contain chemicals toxic to skin. However, if you have purchased skincare online or from outside UK/ EU it is worth looking through the ingredients lists. Sometimes ingredients such as potent steroids, hydroquinone and in some cases Mercury may have been used, especially in countries where Mercury is still permitted in low doses in skincare. 

Each individual is different so while one person is highly sensitive to fragrances in skincare, may not be. The other issue is that the exact fragrance chemical composition may be difficult to identify as the INCI list may only have “fragrance” or “parfum” as the ingredient. Nevertheless, the commonest fragrances that cause irritation and contact allergic dermatitis include limonene and citronella which both give a fresh citrus scent and linalool which has a floral scent. Musk based, Cinnamon based and Sandalwood based fragrances can also be problematic. It’s also important to note that plant extracts such as tea tree oil can be used as fragrance and can be highly irritant to susceptible individuals. If in doubt, I would recommend patch testing.

So the main takeaways are nearly all these named compound can potentially irritate the skin and in some, cause allergic reactions. Some are thought to disrupt the endocrine system although definitive research evidence is lacking. Some can harm aquatic ecosystems- this is important for coral reefs.

Dr Mary Sommerlad, Consultant Dermatologist