Ingredients with a documented concern, from official datasets and our reviewed database.
Sensitive skin: Best avoidedPregnancy: Use with cautionBabies & kids: Best avoidedEczema-prone: Best avoided
- Allergy risk:Fragrance is the single most common cause of cosmetic contact allergy.
- Irritation:Frequent trigger of stinging and redness on reactive skin.
Caredermis curated dermatological review
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.
Sensitive skin: Use with cautionEczema-prone: High caution
- 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.
Babies & kids: Use with caution
- 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.
Sensitive skin: Use with cautionBabies & kids: Use with caution
- Irritation:Can irritate sensitive or compromised skin.
A synthetic preservative capped at 0.3% in the EU; generally tolerated but a known occasional irritant.
Pregnancy: Use with cautionBabies & kids: Use with caution
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.
Pregnancy: Use with cautionBabies & kids: Use with caution
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.
Pregnancy: Use with cautionBabies & kids: Use with caution
A branched-chain paraben banned in EU cosmetics since 2014; still occasionally found in products from other markets.
- Environmental impact:Not biodegradable; accumulates in the environment via wash-off.
The workhorse silicone — inert and non-sensitizing on skin (even FDA-approved as a skin protectant), with persistence in the environment as its main criticism.
