natural beauty product

"Green" Beauty, Decoded

Trying to pick natural products? This smart guide has the lowdown on questionable ingredients, plus $20 and under mascaras, face creams, and lip balms that topped our tests

By Eleni Gage

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Just because it looks natural doesn't mean it is.

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Maybe you're curious to know whether natural feels better and is better for you. Maybe you'd like to reduce your exposure to chemicals. Or maybe you've read some scary news about the potential health risks of an ingredient, only to learn that it's in your daily face cream. Whatever your reason, finding a truly "natural" product can be tricky.
"The FDA doesn't provide guidance on natural personal-care products, be they toothpaste or mascara, and there is no legal or medical definition of 'natural,' either," says New York City dermatologist Anne Chapas, M.D. Consumers will have more help if the Cosmetics Safety Act, currently under congressional review, becomes law; it will "mandate that the FDA regulate chemicals in cosmetic products, as it does in drugs and food," says Dr. Chapas. In the meantime — and it may be a long meantime — it's up to you to figure out which synthetic ingredients you want to avoid.
To help you decide, Good Housekeeping surveyed 900-plus readers to find out which synthetic ingredients topped their list of concerns. Then we asked experts to weigh in on which are simply annoying (for example, merely skin-irritating) and which may lead to more serious trouble (endocrine problems, or even cancer). Unfortunately, because research in humans tends to be scant, the risks in many cases are not well-known. But here is what we do know, and what you can do about five of the ingredients that worry you most.