Product Toxicity

 Product Toxicity

Neutrogena Triple Moisture Daily Deep Conditioner is one of the products I feel as though I can't live without. This affordable Johnson & Johnson hair care product makes my hair feel smooth and offers “moisture benefits for soft, smooth, totally touchable hair all day.” The product is packaged in a light brown, ‘earthy’ color and advertised on the back this conditioner having “restorative power,” being “salon approved,” and “scientifically proven to help over-processed hair feel soft.” Neutrogena also lists three ‘naturally derived extracts,’ which are olive, meadowfoam seed, and sweet almond. Upon taking a closer look, however, I found the other 23 "ingredients," also known as "chemicals" listed below, in fine print. 

Ingredients: water, cyclopentasiloxane, behenyl alcohol, behentrimonium chloride, cetearyl alcohol, cetyl alcohol, cyclohexasiloxane, dimethicone, amodimethicone, behentrimonium, methosulfate, stearamidopropyl dimethylamine, cetrimonium chloride, panthenol, sweet almond oil, olive fruit oil, meadowfoam seed oil, glycol stearate, ceteth-2, hydroxyethylcellulose, methylparaben, propylparaben, citric acid, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, mica, fragrance. 

Methylparaben
According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), Methylparben is a biochemical that can cause cellular changes, endocrine disruption, allergies and immunotoxicity. An article titled "What are the dangers of methylparaben" by Traci Joy states that paraben "has been found in contact within breast cancer tissues."

http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/product/19436/Neutrogena_Triple_Moisture_Daily_Deep_Conditioner/

http://www.livestrong.com/article/21581-dangers-methylparaben/

Story of Cosmetics
http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-cosmetics/
In the 2010 video Story of Cosmetics, Annie Leonard explains why we live in a "system in crisis," with no federal regulations regarding the products we use. According to Annie, since 1938, the FDA has banned only 8 of over 12,000 ingredients used in cosmetics. Additionally, they don't require businesses to include every ingredient in the label.