We are big believers in reading your labels and learning as much as you can.

Do you know about the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database? We are full participants (providing detailed ingredient information for every product we sell) and we think it's a great project. Keep in mind that only a small set of ingredients have been adequately studied to understand all possible types of risks so most products still have a huge data gap (the data gap is shown right beneath the score for a product) and some people complain the database makes everything scary by treating ingredients as "guilty until proven innocent".

While the jury is out on some ingredients, others are known toxins. Here are our Top 10 to Avoid. Please note they are listed in alphabetical order (not by noxiousness).

BHA - toxic to the liver, immune and reproductive systems; possible carcinogen.

BHT - toxic to the brain, nervous and respiratory systems; possible carcinogen; endocrine disruptor.

D & C Colorants (Lakes) - toxic to the nervous and reproductive systems.

Eugenol - toxic to the immune and nervous systems; endocrine disruptor.

Formaldehyde - toxic to the immune and respiratory systems; carcinogen.

Nitrosamines - endocrine disruptor; possible carcinogen.

P-Phenylenediamine - toxic to the immune, respiratory and nervous systems.

Parabens - endocrine disruptor; neurotoxin; possible carcinogen.

Phthalates - toxic to the immune, nervous and reproductive systems.

Triethanolamine - toxic to the immune and respiratory systems; possible carcinogen.

We've created a little "Pocket Toxicologist" you can download and print as a handy reference.

The excellent book: Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry, by Stacy Malkin, also contains a wealth of information about cosmetic safety.