What is Formaldehyde?

It’s a colorless gas used in building materials, walls, cabinets and personal care products. Formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives (FRPs) are added to skincare and cleansing products to stop microbes from growing in water-based products. It’s found mostly in body washes, conditioners, shampoo and cleansers.

When you look at your label’s check for formaldehyde, quaternium-15, DMDM hydantoin, imidazolidinyl urea, diazolidinyl urea, polyoxymethylene urea, sodium hydroxymethylglycinate, 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1, 3-diol (bromopol) and glyoxal.

What will it do?

This ingredient can be absorbed through the skin and is considered carcinogenic by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). This ingredient can also affect the immune system and cause allergic skin reactions.