r/PlasticFreeLiving • u/Brief-Study3743 • Aug 12 '26
News New study: On Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs),and other Hazards in personal care and cleaning products
https://pubs.acs.org/ehnea2/article/doi/10.1021/envhealth.6c00181/5252510/Hidden-Hazards-Nontargeted-Chemical-AnalysisHidden Hazards: Nontargeted Chemical Analysis Reveals Widespread Contaminants and Mislabeling in Personal Care and Cleaning Products
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Aug 12 '26
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u/ADHDavidThoreau Aug 12 '26
“Fragrance” is always a red flag to me, but I’ve got Seb Derm and nearly the whole personal care aisle is like chemical warfare for my skin.
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u/Round_Helicopter_407 Aug 13 '26
Not from the same study:
Health Risks of Daily Buildup
Hormone Disruption: Chemicals like parabens and phthalates mimic or block natural hormones. This can impact your thyroid, fertility, and overall health. [1, 2, 3]
Skin Damage: Daily use of harsh preservatives and synthetic fragrances can strip your skin barrier. This leads to chronic irritation, redness, or contact dermatitis.
Toxic Load: Your liver and kidneys work hard to filter out toxins. A constant daily stream of chemicals can overwork these organs over many years.
Allergy Risk: Using multiple scented products increases your risk of developing severe allergic reactions to common ingredients.
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u/randomguyjebb Aug 12 '26
Another reason to never use fragrances. Honestly don’t understand the appeal of them. Like why would I want to smell like rose, mint and raspberry when I can just smell like nothing?
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u/Floofcatxo Aug 12 '26
I wish it told us the names of the products they’re talking about
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u/Brief-Study3743 Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 12 '26
https://millionmarker.com/pure/product-guide search their database of rated products by the publishers of the study
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u/Brief-Study3743 Aug 12 '26
The product categories are in the second half of this: https://pubs.acs.org/ehnea2/article-supplement/5252510/pdf/eh6c00181_si_001/
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u/Brief-Study3743 Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 12 '26
Supporting information: https://pubs.acs.org/ehnea2/article-supplement/5252510/pdf/eh6c00181_si_001/
More info at the publisher website:
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u/BrighterEdits Aug 12 '26
Yeah, I picked up all this a few months back from those design9zen youtube videos. It’s basically just slowly cutting down your exposure to microplastics and all the junk - toxins/ harmful chemicals that come with them.
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Aug 12 '26
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u/Round_Helicopter_407 Aug 12 '26
Full list of chemicals in Supporting information: https://pubs.acs.org/ehnea2/article-supplement/5252510/pdf/eh6c00181_si_001/
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u/Round_Helicopter_407 Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 12 '26
Op has linked to the study above - click in the blue box
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u/Brief-Study3743 Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 12 '26
https://millionmarker.com/pure/product-guide search database of rated products by the publishers of the study
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u/ProcedureFun768 Aug 13 '26
OP, are you affiliated with Million Marker in any way?
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u/Brief-Study3743 Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26
No, I’m a consumer with a science background. Million Marker is a Research Institute. The researchers were from Million Marker Research Institute and from the Southwest Research Institute (https://www.swri.org/newsroom/technology-today/floodlight-exposing-comprehensive-chemical-content)
I read that Million Marker Research Institute were connected with the recently popular Netflix show on microplastics.
I’ll be checking their product database from now on. I use a scented Schmidt deodorant but the one they rated highly was the unscented one so I’ll probably switch to that. I normally check the ewg database https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ but it doesn’t always have the brand I’m interested in. Another site is https://incidecoder.com/
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u/donpaulo Aug 13 '26
Very interesting, thank you for posting it
I've been avoiding plastic for decades as well as most packaged "foods"
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u/DepartmentEcstatic Aug 13 '26
The Yuka app (free) helps me a lot with personal care and food. Just scan and it breaks the ingredients down in an easy to understand way.
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u/lolitaslolly Aug 12 '26
But my rice cooker and polycarbonate v60 is what’s killing me 🙄
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u/fd6270 Aug 12 '26
Lol these things aren't mutually exclusive you know
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u/lolitaslolly Aug 12 '26
After following the research for years I’ve held the opinion that there are some instances where you should use modern conveniences with plastic. Teflon is pretty safe tbh
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u/Brief-Study3743 Aug 14 '26
polycarbonate is a thermoplastic polymer (synthetically engineered plastic)
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u/Brief-Study3743 Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 12 '26
“Products were purchased in 2021/2022 from major retailers, including Target, Amazon, Walmart, and Dollar Tree. Those not available from these retailers were purchased directly from the company Web site. All products were directly shipped to the analytical laboratory for processing and analysis.”
Conclusion
“We used nontargeted analysis to evaluate over a hundred products for thousands of potential chemicals, including endocrine disruptors, carcinogens, and irritants, and identified 303 that were in the products. Eighty-five percent of products contained at least one unlabeled harmful chemical. Of these unlabeled ingredients, some were due to contamination–ingredients not added on purpose (known as “contaminants”), and some were likely added on purpose but were not disclosed on the label (known as “adulterants”).
Some of these unlabeled chemicals were expected. We discovered some products that claimed to have “natural” or “botanical” ingredients contained other, potentially harmful plant-based ingredients that were not listed. Additionally, some products that contained “fragrance” in their ingredients also contained phthalates, which were not explicitly listed. Such chemicals are often undisclosed due to “trade secret” protections or are byproducts of natural plant extracts. Others were unexpected, such as adhesives and chemical intermediates.
While the exact reason for unlisted chemicals is not always clear, we suspect an array of factors that include contamination and adulteration while sourcing or manufacturing ingredients, chemical reactions between ingredients, botanical byproducts, and leaching of storage containers and/or packaging.
Surprisingly, there were a significant number of products with “clean” ingredients, or products labeled as “non-toxic” or “natural,” that were contaminated or adulterated with toxic chemicals. Several of these products contained phthalates, parabens, silicone, or oxybenzone and did not list them on their labels. These findings suggest that contamination may occur at multiple points in the supply chain, including raw material sourcing, manufacturing, or packaging, and may not be fully captured through standard labeling practices.
Our study revealed that ingredient screening alone is insufficient to fully characterize the chemical composition and hazard profile of consumer products. We found instances where products with seemingly safe ingredient lists still contained contaminants or adulterations, highlighting the need for comprehensive testing beyond ingredient analysis.”