As a consumer, you are probably becoming more aware of the harmful chemicals in your food and household cleaners, but have you thought about your skin care products? You may be surprised to find out just how many dangerous synthetic chemicals are present in the products you use on your skin. Some of these chemicals accumulate in the body’s tissue and can remain there for years, doing damage to cells. The Journal of Applied Toxicology reported that parabens, preservatives often used in skin care products and cosmetics, were found in eighteen out of twenty breast cancer tumors, suggesting a possible link between these chemicals and the disease. Fortunately, there are many choices today offering the opportunity to buy organic in the health and beauty arena. However, this can prove to be a confusing task to undertake. Some products boast that they use organic ingredients, and they do, but they also might use harmful chemicals to preserve those ingredients. When reading the labels, it is hard to know what each ingredient actually is and if it is safe. Luckily, some excellent iPhone apps have been developed to assist you while shopping.

1. Good Guide –  Good Guide is an excellent resource to help you make quick and responsible decisions while shopping. You can simply scan a product’s bar code to receive ratings that are scientifically based on health, environment, and social responsibility. After scanning, you will see whether a product is safe and organic. The Good Guide is also customizable. Users can choose what issues are important to them, such as animal testing, human rights, safety, and healthy ingredients, and then the app will let them know if a product passes their personal testing criteria.
2. Chemical Maze – Chemical Maze was created to inform people about what is in their food and cosmetics. It contains a full listing of cosmetic ingredients (along with food additives) based on over eight years of research. You can browse through chemicals or search them out by name to see the risk factor for each. You can even search by symptoms, body systems affected, what an ingredient is derived from, and dietary restrictions.
3. Cosmetic Ingredient Maze – A smaller, lighter version of Chemical Maze, Cosmetic Ingredient Maze focuses solely on skin care, lip care, and cosmetic products. The same search functions apply as in its parent app, Chemical Maze, making it easy to navigate and make decisions based on where an ingredient has been derived from and what the potential risks are of using it.
4. EWG’s Sunscreen Buyer’s Guide – The Environmental Working Group is the nation’s leading environmental health research and advocacy organization. This app includes safety and effectiveness ratings for almost two thousand SPF products, including sunscreens and SPF-labeled lip balm, makeup, and moisturizer. The ratings are based on a compilation of industry, government, and academic data compiled over the past seven years. The products are rated on possible health hazards of ingredients, UVB protection, and UVA protection.
5. Organic Spa Magazine – Organic Spa Magazine’s Skin Care Guide is a comprehensive list of over five hundred of the leading companies in the natural and organic beauty field. While shopping, check to see if your product is listed.
6. Cosmetifique – Use Cosmetifique when you go shopping and input the product you are considering. The app will tell you the quality of the product based on INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients) and will let you know if the product is dangerous to you or to the environment. It rates ingredients by color: green for good, yellow for acceptable, orange for not good, and red for awful. It’s very user friendly, allowing you to save your favorite products even down to the color and sharing them via social media.
7. Ingredient Watch – Ingredient Watch can be run while you are shopping. If you see an ingredient listed on a product you are considering, do a quick search on this app to find out if it is safe for use. It has an extensive list of ingredients, over one hundred and fifty thousand, and the data has been compiled from scientific papers, government research, and links to PubGet, a service that links to and searches scientific  journals and databases.
8. Chemeleon – This is a cute and useful app with a colorful chameleon appearing on the screen to rate each chemical you look up. This app was created with food in mind however, ingredients found in skincare products and household cleaners can also be looked up.
9. My Skin – This app begins with an individualized skin assessment that has you input your personal lifestyle, diet, and skin concerns. It then recommends products for you based on this assessment.  You can track the products you’ve used and share them with friends.
10. CARD – Originally intended for those suffering with contact dermatitis, eczema, and allergies, CARD is the most complete database of contact allergens. Additionally, it allows you to keep a diary of any reactions you have had to specific products so that you can pinpoint ingredients that do not agree with you and avoid them in the future.

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