So as a helpful commenter pointed out on my last post- there are actually SEVEN ingredients commonly found in beauty products that are formaldehyde releasers. I have nicknamed them the 7 Deadly Sins.

They are:

1) DMDM hydantoin
2) Imidazolidinyl urea
3) Diazolidinyl urea
4) Quarternium-15
5) Bronopol
6) 5-Bromo-5-nitro-1,3-dioxane
7) Sodium hydroxymethylglycinate

All of the 7 Deadly Sins are used as preservatives. Companies use them to prolong the shelf-life of a product. Please DO NOT BUY products with these ingredients!

So why am I so adamant about the 7 Deadly Sins, when I am so lax about other ingredients? For instance- there’s Laureth-12 (which is used as an emulsifier) that may cause cancer? Because of the key word- MAY. It MAY react with your unique body chemistry to cause cancer. And then again- it MAY NOT. However- there is no MAY about formaldehyde releasers. They ARE going to react to water. They ARE going to break down and release formaldehyde. Your unique body chemistry is not even involved. That is the difference.

Luckily (or unluckily, depending on how you look at it)- most times these ingredients are paired TOGETHER. So if you have one- there’s usually another one somewhere else on the ingredient list.

(Also- any ingredient listed like this 5-Bromo-5-nitro-1,3-dioxane is bad. This is the molecular structure of the ingredient, and it is how some companies get around putting a bad ingredient in their product. So if it lists the molecular structure instead of a name- the company knows the ingredient is bad for you and is still using it. On purpose. That’s ultra shady.  Incidentally- 5-Bromo-5-nitro-1,3-dioxane is called Bronidox. It is corrosive to metals… and TOXIC to humans.)

Maybe eventually I will switch to all natural products, so I don’t have to worry about all the crazy chemicals that people stuff into products. But for now- this is the line that I am not crossing. I have thrown away everything in my bathroom that has any of the 7 Deadly Sins, and have already replaced them with clean(er) products.

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