I never doubted that manufacturers would try their best to give us good safe products at a reasonable price. They spend so much time and energy to make the products and to make their brands stand out, so I didn’t think twice about using the products.

Several years ago, I was a voracious enthusiast of alternative therapy, which just means that I wanted to understand what I needed to do to keep my body healthy without resorting to pills and medicines. Knowing this, my sister-in-law gave me a little book called Cancer-Causing Chemicals in Cosmetics & Daily Use Products (1). It showed a list of cancer causing ingredients that manufacturers put into our daily used products like soaps, shampoos, toothpastes, lotions, deodorants, etc. I checked the list against some of products that I used each day and sure enough, they are full of cancer-causing and possibly cancer-causing ingredients. My delusion was broken. Most manufacturers wants to give us reasonably priced and effective products, but could care less about the ingredients being slowly absorbed through our skin into our bodies and eventually causing painful diseases. Thanks a lot!

I have reformatted the list from the book so it’s easier to read and find the ingredients. I print the table and keep it in my wallet to check against the products I plan to buy. It’s amazing to see how many products contain these ingredients. It’s best to avoid products that have too many of these ingredients; it’s a potentially high risk disease-causing problem that can be prevented if we choose wisely. Print it out and compare for yourself the next time you go shopping.

Reference:
1. Consumer’s Association of Penang, Cancer-Causing Chemicals in Cosmetics & Daily Use Products, Penang: Consumers’ Association of Penang, 2000