Ingredients to Avoid

• More than 500 products sold in the United States contain ingredients banned in cosmetics in Japan, Canada, and the European Union.

• A wide range of nano-sized ingredients with questionable safety are common in skincare products.

• 60% of sunscreens contain the potential hormone disruptor Oxybenzone that readily penetrates the skin and is found in 97% of Americans.

• Many commercial skincare products contain chemical “penetration enhancers” added to drive ingredients deeper into the skin, these are known hormone disruptors. We believe a good moisturizing product shouldn't need a penetration enhancer because it will be absorbed on its own accord. The body recognizes what is good for it.  You don't want chemical “penetration enhancers” in your water, vitamins, or juice? Why would we put them on our skin?

• Healthy, natural ingredients need NO ANIMAL TESTING — why would we ever put our animal friends at risk when there is no cause?

When you purchase products from Rosemira Organics, you support a small woman-owned company dedicated to healthy skin, you support our farmers who grow the ingredients, you support our planet by saying no to chemicals, and you are making choices that keep you on the path to better health and radiant skin.

• Diethanolamine and Triethanolamine (DEA & TEA) – They function as foaming agents and emulsifiers that are irritating to the skin. They have also been revealed as possible carcinogens. The major concern with DEA/TEA is they combine with nitrites in beauty products to form carcinogenic compounds. Companies don’t have to label nitrites, so you have no way of knowing if your mascara or body wash contains them.

• Fragrance/Parfum – Fragrance or perfume does not denote plant extracts and essential oils; a term that can refer to any one of hundreds of chemicals. Some are safe, but many are potential carcinogens, allergens, or endocrine disruptors. Most mass-market corporate beauty products contain this "ingredient." In 2007 the family of ingredients constituting the word fragrance was named "Allergen of the Year" by the American Contact Dermatitis Society. The new way companies have found around the fragrance concern is to label their products fragrance-free. Don't be fooled — all this means is that fragrance chemicals have been added to the products to mask the natural aromas of the ingredients.

• Propylene Glycol – This is one of the most common moisture-carrying ingredients other than water used in cosmetics because it moisturizes better than glycerin. Propylene glycol is used as a fragrance ingredient, wetting agent, surfactant, and penetration enhancer; it's supposed to enhance absorption and promote spreading of the product on the skin. Propylene glycol is an emollient similar to that used in anti-freeze. It's classified as a skin irritant and associated with causing dermatitis and hives. Extensive studies (done on animals!) have shown reproductive effects at moderate doses and endocrine disruption at high doses, with mutation results on mammalian cells.

• Disodium EDTA – A chelating agent, penetration enhancer, and viscosity controlling agent. Studies (again, done on animals) show broad systemic effects, brain and nervous system effects at low doses, endocrine disruption, and reproductive effects at high doses. Mammalian cell studies show mutation results. Because it is a penetration enhancer, it can increase absorption of other harmful chemicals.

• Dimethicone – A cancer suspect, it has caused tumors and mutations in lab animal studies.

• Parabens (Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Butylparaben & Heptylparaben) – A family of preservatives commonly used in mainstream skincare products to prevent the growth of bacteria, molds, and yeast. They mimic and interfere with estrogen production and, as estrogen exposure is a primary influence on the development of breast cancer, they are considered carcinogenic. Since they inhibit bacterial growth in cosmetic products, they also kill the natural flora on our skin and in our gut, allowing bad bacteria to flourish with a vengeance.

• Phthalates (DEP, DMP, DBP) – This group of chemicals is used in hundreds of products to increase flexibility and softness of plastics. They're mostly used as solubilizers in cosmetics and personal care products. Classified as "probable" carcinogens and are linked to many allergic reactions. They're also known to be endocrine disruptors and are associated with congenital reproductive disabilities in males and females, as well as increased risk of breast cancer. Banned in the European Union and Asia, they're still commonly used by many cosmetic companies in the US. Since they're often added as a fragrance ingredient, they're not listed on labels — one of the loopholes allowing companies to avoid the disclosure of toxic ingredients in their products.

• Colorants (FD&C and Other Coal Tar Dyes) – Topical skin irritants, they may contain aluminum. Even low-level exposure has been linked to acne, allergic reactions, nausea, fatigue, and formation of carcinogenic tumors in laboratory rats.

• Denatured Alcohol – A petrochemical byproduct, it can cause systemic eczematous contact dermatitis and chemical sensitivities that are added to skincare products as a preservative. Alcohols are drying to the skin, and when added to moisturizing products, negate desired results.

• Phenethyl Alcohol – A preservative and fragrance ingredient. It's never been assessed for safety, but body-care specific animal studies show skin irritation at very low doses, and brain, nervous system, and reproductive effects at moderate doses.

• Diazolidinyl and Imidazolidinyl Urea – A preservative which is a strong skin irritant. In aqueous solutions, it can release formaldehyde. It also contains ammoniums salts and may be contaminated with large amounts of toxins in the manufacturing process. A skin irritant it is also Acne producing, mutagenic and carcinogenic. By slowing down moisture loss, it extends product shelf life which is one of the reasons it is heavily used by the larger cosmetic companies. It also assists absorption of other ingredients deeper into the skin (both good, and bad ingredients). You don't want it present in a product that contains any other questionable ingredients.

• Methylisothiazolinone – An antimicrobial agent, it inhibits the development of particular neuron structures that are essential for transmitting signals between cells, thus damaging particularly to a developing nervous system in fetuses.

• Petroleum (Mineral Oils) – Acne producing it causes long-term dry skin. It is also a respiratory toxin and may be carcinogenic.

• Mineral Oil – A colorless and odorless oil that's made from petroleum, a byproduct of the petroleum distillation when producing gasoline. Mineral oils have long been used as a common ingredient in skincare products, specifically creams, lotions and lip balms in cosmetics and hair products. By coating the skin, it disrupts it's natural immune barrier, affecting its ability to breath and absorb moisture, leading to premature aging of the skin.

• PEG ingredients – Promote acne and contact dermatitis, they have also been linked to cancer.

• Polyacrylamide – A stabilizer and foaming agent often contaminated with acrylamide which is known to be neurotoxic and a possible carcinogen, it is highly toxic and irritating to the skin.

• Cyclopentasiloxane – Used to make hair and skin "shiny," is anti-frizz. Cosmetic specific animal studies show sense organ effects at moderate doses. It is found to irritate eyes and skin and was also found to change liver weight in lab rats. This ingredient is bio-accumulative and has been reported to linger in the body for five years minimum.

• BHT (Butylated Hydroxytoluene) – A fragrance ingredient, known as a human immune system and skin toxicant. Animal studies revealed skin irritation, brain, and nervous system effects and endocrine disruption at low doses. Other lab animal testing revealed mutations and reproductive effects in high doses.

• Isoparaffin/Laureth 7 – There are concerns of contamination with Ethylene Oxide and 1,4-Dioxane.

• Cyclomethicone – Antistatic, hair conditioning emollient. In animal studies, it has been associated with skin irritation at moderate doses and has also caused changes in liver weight. It is bioaccumulative.

• Dimethylaminoethanol (DMAE) – This ingredient often marketed as "a face lift in a bottle" paralyzes the small muscles of the face, which makes wrinkles appear less visible. We see this as a benefit not worth the danger of the ingredient.

• Glycerin – Look for vegetable glycerin. Glycerin without the vegetable qualifier usually means it is a petrochemical byproduct.