Click on the red dots to view these cosmetics related web sites. The US Food and Drug Administration Cosmetics Index Page. Read the European Union Cosmetics Directive EC 76/768/EC This is now available in sections. Do a search on "Cosmetic Directive". Volume 3 (Guidance Notes For Testing Cosmetics) is available here. INCI - Home Page. Look up almost any cosmetic ingredient to find out its function and a little bit about its origin. (A bit technical!) HSUS - Programs - Animal Research Issues The American Academy of Dermatology Home Page has a wealth of information. Go to the Patient Information section, then to the Patient Education section. You can now choose a number of simple to read pages, complete with graphic images of skin conditions. Take a look at their Cosmetics and Skin Care Products page. This link takes you to WebMD via the Microsoft News network. Click on the red dot, then choose Health from the MSN Welcome Page. When you get there, type cosmetics in the search box and you should get a list of excellent articles on this subject. We have listed websites below for cosmetics companies which try to avoid using ingredients with known adverse or harmful effects in some of their products. That does not mean that we are recommending their products or that all their products are necessarily 'good' or live up to their claims. In fact, some of these companies do make what we consider to be ridiculous claims for some of their products. This list is not an exhaustive one. Many companies claim their products are "organic". They may include organic ingredients but it could be that we have not listed them here because we have found their products generally contain ingredients (such as preservatives) known to have harmful or adverse effects. Please let us know if you come across any company products which you would like us to investigate. Dermstore.com http://www.dermstore.com We found a skin cream (an ointment really) in the US which was very soothing and helped to heal irritated or broken skin. The product is called Aquaphor Healing Ointment . It can be used as a moisturizer (even though it doesn't claim to be one) because its very simple ingredients exactly match the basic formula for a simple no-nonsense, moisturizing cream. It is free from perfumes, colorants and preservatives. The Dermstore website is well worth visiting because they include a number of skin creams etc which contain few or no ingredients with known adverse or harmful effects and they provide a list the ingredients for each product. They even have an ask the dermatologists' page for your questions. Allergenics http://www.optimahealthcare.co.uk Optima Healthcare Ltd, a company in the UK, makes some simple products that contain no perfumes, colorants or preservatives and they don't cost the earth. They are called Allergenics and include a face cream, face and body shower/wash, shampoo and baby lotion. Their main ingredient is Aloe Vera which can be very soothing to the skin provided you are not allergic or sensitive to it. It also acts as an anti-bacterial which is why they don't need preservatives. Cetaphil http://www.cetaphil.com The Cetaphil range looked okay when we last looked but they do not appear to list their ingredients any more. When we did find some ingredients listed, they were fragrance and color free, were good value for money and, with the exception of the skin cleanser which is basically water, detergent and too many paraben preservatives, they appeared to contain fewer than the usual number of preservatives and other harsh ingredients. Aubrey Organics http://www.aubrey-organics.com We have looked at the ingredients for some of the products on this website and there were certainly nothing ostensibly wrong with any of them. They use PABA, a sunscreen, in their moisturising cream, which some people may want to avoid, but otherwise, they appear to contain fewer harmful ingredients. However, they list so many natural ingredients, one wonders whether this is for marketing reasons and to justify a high price rather than being necessary. Neways http://www.neways.com (with warning attachment about opening in new window) This company claims to avoid using harsh ingredients and from the selection we have seen, this generally appears to be so. They sell through distributors via multi-level marketing. Their products aren't exactly bargain-basement though and while we think some of their products are good, (e.g. the shampoo and conditioner), we found them to be lacking in the skin cream department (offering mainly expensive creams with quack anti-aging claims).

© Gina & Steve Antczak, 2001

This page was last updated, February 2002

CosmeticsUnmasked.Com