5 INGREDIENTS TO AVOID:

You don't need a chemistry degree to discover if your favorite makeup contains these hazardous ingredients. Read the labels and pass over products that contain one or more of these toxins.

Synthetic colors - LIsted on cosmetic labels as FD&C or D&C, these colors are found in most conventional color cosmetics. All are potential carcinogens.
Talc - Loose powders, blushes, and eye shadows can contain up to 50 percent talc, a mineral that has been linked to respiratory damage.
Dibutyl phthalate - Found in nail polish and moisturizers, this hormone-disrupting chemical accumulates in the body's fatty tissue and can cause reproductive damage.
Formaldehyde-releasing preservatives - Because formaldehyde is a suspected carcinogen that can also cause irritation and allergic reactions, avoid preservatives such as DMDM hydantoin quaternium-15, and diazonlidnyl urea, which release formaldehyde as they degrade.
Parabens - Butyl-, ethyl-, methyl-, and propyl-parabens mimic estrogen and may result in reproductive damage, according to recent studies.

Sources: Mutation Research 2002, vol 514, no 1-2; American Journal of Epidemiology, 2000, vol 152, no 4; Reproductive Toxicology, 2000, vol 14, no 1; Risk Analysis, 2000, vol. 20, no. 1; Food and Chemical Toxicology, 2001, vol 30, no 12; A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients by Ruth Winter (Three Rivers Press, 1999).

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