Envie de vitalité — ingredient safety report

• Cancer concern:Classified as carcinogenic to humans (IARC Group 1).
• Allergy risk:Potent contact allergen and sensitizer.
• Irritation:Irritates skin, eyes and airways at low concentrations.

A preservative now rarely listed directly on labels but still released by several common preservatives. It is a known human carcinogen and one of the most common causes of preservative contact allergy.

• Allergy risk:Fragrance is the single most common cause of cosmetic contact allergy.
• Irritation:Frequent trigger of stinging and redness on reactive skin.

An umbrella term that can hide dozens of undisclosed scent chemicals. Fragrance is the leading cause of allergic contact dermatitis from cosmetics, and dermatologists routinely advise fragrance-free products for eczema, babies and sensitive skin.

• Irritation:The reference irritant used in dermatology research; strips barrier lipids.

A powerful foaming cleanser so reliably irritating that dermatology studies use it as the standard positive control for skin irritation. Fine for many in rinse-off use, but a poor match for dry, sensitive or eczema-prone skin.

• Irritation:Milder than SLS but still drying for compromised skin.

The gentler cousin of SLS used in most mainstream shampoos and washes. Its manufacturing can leave trace 1,4-dioxane, which reputable makers strip out — an issue of quality control rather than the ingredient itself.

• Allergy risk:American Contact Dermatitis Society Allergen of the Year 2018.
• Irritation:Can irritate compromised skin at higher concentrations.

A workhorse humectant and penetration enhancer that is fine for most, but a recurring culprit in eczema patients' patch tests.

• Cancer concern:IARC Group 2B (possibly carcinogenic); listed under California Prop 65.
• Allergy risk:Recognized contact allergen in rinse-off products.

A foam booster classified as possibly carcinogenic by IARC and largely phased out of reputable formulas since its 2012 Prop 65 listing.

• Allergy risk:Named Allergen of the Year 2004; impurities (amidoamine) drive most reactions.

A mild coconut-derived surfactant in countless 'gentle' cleansers. Most allergy is caused by manufacturing impurities, so quality varies by brand.

• Irritation:Occasional stinging and irritation, mostly around eyes and on damaged skin.

Today's most common preservative, considered safe by the SCCS up to 1%. French authorities advise avoiding it in wipes and diaper-area products for children under 3 as a precaution.

A longer-chain paraben with measurable (though weak) estrogenic activity, prompting the EU to reduce its allowed concentration and Denmark to ban it in products for children under 3.

The paraben with the strongest endocrine signal in laboratory studies; the EU restricts it and bans it in leave-on diaper-area products for young children.

A branched-chain paraben banned in EU cosmetics since 2014; still occasionally found in products from other markets.

• Environmental impact:Poorly biodegradable; can remobilize heavy metals in waterways.

A metal-binding stabilizer that is safe on skin at the tiny amounts used; its criticism is environmental persistence.

• Allergy risk:Rare hypersensitivity reactions, better documented in food than cosmetics.

Tartrazine yellow dye; approved for cosmetics with rare sensitivity reactions reported.