It all started in 2005 with parabens, and the list has grown over the years. The ingredients deemed suspect are so for various reasons. Here is a non-exhaustive list of these main components at the heart of the controversy and to be banned in cosmetics.
First of all, let's remember that in France, cosmetics are subject to European regulations, which are very strict and constantly evolving through studies conducted by groups of scientists within the CSSC ( European Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety). In addition, manufacturers and brands, sensitized by public opinion - and anxious to sell - often get ahead of the legislation by eliminating ingredients that cause controversy. On the other hand, we must distinguish why these ingredients are put in the hot seat. Some are problematic because they are not ecological, others because they can cause irritation or allergies. And finally, there are those that are suspected of being endocrine disruptors or carcinogens.
The BHT
While BHA, classified as a "possible carcinogen" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), toxic to reproduction and an endocrine disruptor, is almost no longer present in cosmetic compositions, BHT is still widespread. Also used as an antioxidant to protect fatty substances in formulas from rancidity and perfumes from oxidation, it is suspected, like BHA, of being allergenic, sensitizing, neurotoxic and an estrogenic endocrine disruptor , responsible for male fertility problems. Finally, it is said to be persistent in the body and the environment. Anses has contacted the European authorities so that it can be reassessed.
Titanium Dioxide
In food, titanium dioxide, or additive E171, has been banned since January 1 , 2020. A study by INRA (National Institute for Agricultural Research) raised concerns that its "nano" form could be carcinogenic if ingested and inhaled. In cosmetics, titanium dioxide, of mineral origin, is used as a white pigment in makeup, as an opacifier and especially as a filter in sunscreens (it is authorized in organic, even in its nano form). On the skin, it does not pose any problems. However, it is banned in powders and sprays and poses a problem for the people who formulate it.
Chemical sunscreens
There is no question of doing without them, given the massive increase in skin cancers over the past 30 years. However, some chemical filters are in the hot seat, for various reasons. The first of the accusations is that of endocrine disruption. Even if nothing has been proven, the following are suspected of being so: avobenzone, ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate (octinoxate), benzophenone-1 and -3 (oxybenzone), octocrylene, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor (4-MBC) and homosalate.
In addition, a study on octocrylene, published in the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology in March 2021 and conducted by researchers from the Banyuls-sur-Mer Oceanographic Observatory (Sorbonne University/CNRS), shows that this filter is transformed into benzophenone – another potentially carcinogenic and endocrine disrupting filter – by a chemical reaction as soon as it is produced, and that the concentration systematically increases over time in finished products. Many brands have thus removed octocrylene from their products in 2022, as it has already been implicated in a cross-allergy with ketoprofen treatments.
However, according to the standards set by European Regulations, the quantities applied, limited to a few months per year, are not problematic. But discharged into the water, not filtered by treatment plants, they are ingested by living organisms that end up on our plates...
Because this is the other complaint, and not the least: the effect of chemical sunscreens on the environment. Indeed, if they filter UV rays on the skin, chemical filters also do so in water. Thus, the thousands of tons of non-biodegradable filters discharged annually into bathing waters prevent the sun's rays from reaching the seabed and disturb the organisms living there.
Numerous studies have shown that these filters have a negative impact on marine organisms: in December 2018, a study by French researchers revealed that octocrylene accumulates in corals in the form of fatty acid derivatives and can interfere with their metabolism. A study published in 2015 by researchers at Tel Aviv University revealed that oxybenzone – or benzophenone – distorts the morphology of coral larvae by damaging their DNA. Some chemical filters have thus been banned in tourist areas: the Palau archipelago was the first, in 2020, to ban ten components including oxybenzone (Benzophenone-3 on the INCI list) and octinoxate (ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate), two chemical filters also banned in Hawaii since January 1, 2021. Territories with coral reefs, such as the US Virgin Islands or the Republic of the Marshall Islands, have also banned octocrylene. Sometimes, the use of any sunscreen is prohibited, particularly when visiting certain cenotes (caveats/caves) in Mexico or Lifou in New Caledonia.
Mineral oils
Derived from the distillation of petroleum after separation of light combustible hydrocarbons (gas, gasoline, fuel), mineral oils, under the Inci names parafinium liquidium, cera microcristallina, synthetic wax, vaseline, etc., are inert elements. They are used both to provide slip and shine to makeup products and to form an emollient film-forming barrier in care products preventing water loss (body and hand balms, lip balms, foot creams). In addition to their petrochemical origin, they are also occlusive and induce, aggravate or prolong acne.
Methylisothiazolinone (MIT) and methylchloroisothiazolinone (MCIT)
The questioning of parabens ended up leading to that of Methylisothiazolinone (MIT) and Methylchloroisothiazolinone (MCIT). Until then used in low doses, they suddenly became an alternative widely used by manufacturers, causing irritations and allergies. The health authorities therefore banned the MCIT-MIT combination in leave-on products from April 2016. Then MIT alone was banned in these same products by the European Union from February 12, 2017.
Parabens
Since 2005 and the "great paraben crisis", these preservatives, which prevent the development of bacteria and mold in creams and all water-based products, are no longer in the odor of sanctity. Used in cosmetics since 1920, they are also found in food products under the names E214 to E219 and in a considerable number of medicines, at much higher doses than in cosmetics. The most dangerous (isobutyl, isopropyl, benzyl, pentyl, phenylparaben) have been banned since 2014. Conversely, the short-chain ones, ethylparaben and methylparaben, have been cleared by French and European experts. Propylparaben and butylparaben remain, suspected of being endocrine disruptors, and banned in leave-on products intended for children under 3 years old. In fact, they are almost no longer used, their negative reputation in the public opinion having led to their elimination by almost all cosmetic brands. And yet, toxicologists recognize it: authorized parabens (methyl, ethyl, propyl and butyl parabens) are excellent preservatives, broad spectrum, with very few side effects, and on which we have very good hindsight, unlike those used more recently.
The PEGs
Polyethylene glycols, used as emollients and emulsifiers or as thickeners in formulas, are made from ethylene oxide, a highly reactive and toxic gas, carcinogenic and mutagenic. It is therefore for environmental reasons that they are criticized: their manufacturing method, and the fact that they are found in wastewater.
Phenoxyethanol
An antibacterial and antimicrobial preservative, phenoxyethanol is widely used and much criticized. First of all, its transformation includes ethoxylation, a polluting and toxic process for handlers. It is also potentially irritating, and can cause contact eczema. Studies with high doses have shown it to be hepatotoxic on mice. Finally, it is suspected of being carcinogenic and an endocrine disruptor. But on these last points, no study has demonstrated it and the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety, under the aegis of the European Commission, has judged it safe for all users.
Aluminum Salts
What we call aluminum salts is found in the INCI formula under the name aluminum chlorohydrate. These mini particles have the property of almost closing the pores through which sweat flows and therefore stopping the production of perspiration. However, they have been accused in several ways. First of all, because it is never good to stop a natural process. On the other hand, the chlorine function of these aluminum salts allows them to penetrate, which has led some scientists to accuse them of causing breast cancer. After ten years of controversy, the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS), an independent expert committee of the European Commission, issued an opinion at the end of 2019 exonerating the use of aluminum salts in cosmetics. After conducting a battery of additional tests and analyzing the latest scientific studies, it concluded that aluminum compounds are risk-free as long as the dose limits for use are respected, namely 10.60% aluminum for antiperspirant sprays and 6.25% for those formulated in other forms. This document, which supplements the 2014 opinion, specifies that "these latest results show, among other things, that the aluminum contained in antiperspirant products is not absorbed by the skin, including freshly shaved skin, nor is it stored in the skin, but on the contrary is eliminated on clothing, by natural desquamation of the superficial horny layer and during washing." And therefore does not cause breast cancer.
Silicones
These silica derivatives – dimethicone, dimethiconol or name ending in "siloxane" – are widely used for the silky or powdery touch they give in care and makeup. This slipperiness, which facilitates application, to detangle, sheath and bring shine to the hair in shampoos, masks and serums.
The problem? They are not very biodegradable, even if their toxicological effects are minimal. On the one hand, they are criticized for their bioaccumulation: they accumulate on the hair (it would take more than a month to completely eliminate them) without treating them, and ultimately prevent coloring or perms from penetrating properly. They would also clog the pores of the skin. As for their biodegradability problem, we are seeing the emergence of new generations of silicones, light and water-soluble, which require a lower dosage to avoid the weighting and comedogenic effects and which degrade much better in nature.
Furthermore, two volatile silicones – cyclotetrasiloxane (D4) and cyclopentasiloxane (D5) – suspected of being endocrine disruptors, particularly for aquatic organisms and recognized as persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic, have been limited to 0.1% in rinsed products since January 2020.
Sulfates
These are foaming agents – anionic surfactants – which form an abundant foam and wash very effectively. Very inexpensive, they are found in shampoos, shower gels, liquid soaps but also in all laundry detergents under the names sodium laureth sulfate (the most common) and ammonium lauryl sulfate (authorized in organic). They are mainly accused of being very stripping, potentially irritating, of “washing out” colorings and of disrupting the microbiota of the scalp. In addition, “laureth” requires ethoxylation, a polluting transformation which explains why it is prohibited in organic products.
