What's in your bathroom?

For each beauty care product, the ingredients can be found on the product label. Most products are manufactured from ingredients that are included in a published standard list (for example, the European Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances (EINECS) or the International Cosmetic Ingredient Handbook (available from the U.S. Cosmetic, Toiletries and Fragrance Association [CTFA]). In the case of EINECS, these chemicals have been approved by the government. Roughly 9,000 ingredients are available for use in cosmetics. Many of these ingredients have been used for decades and are known to be very safe.

Ingredient Safety Information

Safety information on representative ingredients in a facial skin moisturizer, a 2-in-1 shampoo & conditioner, and hair styling products can be found in the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) on www.PG.com. Please note that these lists are not exhaustive lists of ingredients in all such P&G products.

If you click on the ingredient name, you will see one or more of the following:

Brief summary of safety information
The Household Products Database of the National Library of Medicine includes information from a variety of publicly available sources. This database will list other products containing the ingredient of interest as well as provide links to sites with information on health effects. It should be noted that an ingredient may have a health effect (irritant) but under the conditions of use in a product, this effect may not be seen. The Database Providers cannot guarantee that the information in the database is 100% accurate, current or complete.
The International Cosmetic Ingredient (INCI) Dictionary is recognized as a reliable source of safety information by various governments. It is published by the CTFA (Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association) and is available in most public libraries. It lists thousands of ingredients, including the chemical structure, function and whether there exists a CIR safety review for that ingredient. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) is a panel of expert scientists publicly nominated by consumer, scientific, industry and government groups. For many ingredients, the CIR has published a scientific review and safety assessment. These are published in one of the following three journals and can be obtained from the journal, a local library or the CIR.
Journal of the American College of Toxicology (JACT)
Journal of Environmental Pathology and Toxicology (JEPT)
International Journal of Toxicology (IJT)

The European Commission's Scientific Committee on Cosmetic Products and Non-Food Product Intended for Consumers (SCCNFP) has published scientific opinions on specific ingredients in the INCI Dictionary and Handbook.

For information on other ingredients not included on this website, please use the following links to search for additional safety information.

CIR Ingredient Reports (Click on Publications List under Ingredient Reviews)
CTFA's Cosmetic Ingredient Safety website: *Coming in fall 2007*