Non-Toxic Makeup Lines
/By Laura Michelle Powers: Celebrity Psychic, Author, and host of Healing Powers Podcast.
Recently, I started to develop a stronger awareness of my sensitivity to chemicals in makeup. This led me to investigate the ingredients in makeup and learn more about ingredients and which lines were truly non-toxic. I have learned that there are a lot of makeup lines which claim to be non-toxic but really aren’t that great when you analyze the ingredients. You might find my blog post on 5 Ingredients to Avoid in Cosmetics helpful.
I also learned that there is a large variation in ingredients even within a particular skin care line – one product can be fairly non-toxic while another in the same brand will rate far higher on the toxicity scale which means we as consumers really need to do our research and not make any assumptions about the toxicity level of ingredients in products. Luckily there are some great tools to help you do that so it’s not overwhelming!
Resources to Determine Toxicity
Here are a few resources to help you determine the safety and toxicity level of body and skin care products including cosmetics. Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Database, Think Dirty App, and my favorite, the Cosmetic DNA website.
The EWG’s Skin Deep Database is very helpful in this regard. Products are given a rating with 10 being most toxic and 0 being non-toxic. It also analyzes the ingredients which can be very beneficial to learn which ingredients are safe and which are not (and why not). The downside of this website is that not all products are listed or rated. If they are not rated, you can look up each individual ingredient but since most ingredient lists are long, this can be quite tedious. For products that are rated however, this website is extremely helpful.
Think Dirty is an app that operates similarly to the Skin Deep site. It provides a rating and analysis of the ingredients and gives a rating. One nice feature of this app is the ability to scan product barcodes. If they are in the database, the barcode will rate them and pull up the product listing. As with the Skin Deep Database, not all products are listed. I find that most products are in one or the other if they are a national brand.
The Cosmetic DNA website is great for products that are not listed on the Think Dirty app or the Skin Deep Database. The Cosmetic DNA website allows you to cut and paste an ingredients list, and the website will analyze the ingredients and rate them in terms of toxicity, acne causation, and whether they are a skin irritant.
This infographic on Pinterest also shares some helpful explanation of different terms that relate to makeup ingredients and what they mean.
Now that you have some tools to do research on products and ingredients, here are some brands that I have found with low toxicity cosmetics. I want to stress again that each product has different ingredients and therefore different toxicity ratings so even though these brands have a low toxicity compared to mainstream cosmetic brands, I do recommend researching different products within the brand to determine that product’s ingredients and overall toxicity.
Lower Toxicity Makeup Line
100% Pure
Known for| Using Natural Versus Synthetic Ingredients, Organic Ingredients
Notes | Uses Natural Fragrances and No Fillers
Website| www.100percentpure.com
EWG score 1 to 6
Afterglow Cosmetics
Known for| Cruelty-Free Cosmetics, Vegan, Certified Gluten Free, and Certified Organic Ingredients
Notes | The help offset their CO2 emissions through a partnership with the Conservation Fund’s Business Partnerships Program.
Website| afterglowcosmetics.com
EWG score 1
Alima Pure
Known for| No Synthetic Dyes, Refillable Compacts, and 100 % Carbon Neutral
Notes | Certified B Corporation for corporate responsibility
Website| www.alimapure.com
EWG score unavailable
Gabriel
Known for| Cruelty-Free, Gluten Free, and Vegan
Notes | This brand has large-scale, national distribution so easy to find at many natural grocery stores.
Website| https://gabrielcosmeticsinc.com/
EWG score 1-5
Jane Iredale
Known for Vegan and Cruelty-Free Makeup
Notes | This makeup is very high quality but on the higher side price-wise
Website: www.janeiredale.com
EWG score 1-2
Juice Beauty
Known for| Organic and Clinical Validation
Notes | This makeup is very high quality but on the higher side price-wise but worth it in my opinion
Website| www.juicebeauty.com
EWG score 1 – 2
Mineral Fusion
Known for| Cruelty-Free, Gluten Free, and Vegan
Notes | This brand has large-scale, national distribution so easy to find at many natural grocery stores.
Website| www.mineralfusion.com
EWG score 1- 6
Pacifica
Known for | Vegan and Cruelty-Free
Notes | Offer a package recycling program via mail
Website| www.pacificabeauty.com
EWG score 1 to 4
Real Purity
Known for| Cruelty-Free, Paraben Free
Notes | Most Products are Vegan and Gluten Free, Family Owned and Operated
Website| www.realpurity.com
No EWG score available
RMS Beauty
Known for| Raw, Food Grade, and Organic Ingredients
Notes | Uses only non-GMO ingredients
Website| www.rmsbeauty.com
No EWG score available
Vapour Organic Beauty
Known for| Organic Ingredients, Cruelty-Free, Fragrance-Free
Notes | Products are not Water-Based to Reduce Bacteria Growth
Website| vapourbeauty.com
No EWG Score Available
Sources
100% Pure
Alima Pure
Cosmetic DNA
Environmental Working Group
Gabriel Cosmetics
Jane Iredale
Juice Beauty
Mineral Fusion
Pacifica
Pinterest: Natural and Organic Beauty Products, Your Guide to Reading the Label
Real Purity
RMS Beauty
The Good Trade: 10 Natural Makeup Brands
Think Dirty