This web app explores ingredients in over 11,000 products listed on www.ulta.com and allows you to filter by commonly scrutinized ingredients, such as particular dyes, preservatives, and detergents.
There are a host of ingredients in cosmetics that have come under fire for allegedly posing health or environmental hazards. This analysis explores the prevalence of a few of these ingredients. See more information on how each was identified and the alleged hazards they pose in the table below:
| Ingredient Family | Perceived Hazards | Ingredients in This Analysis |
|---|---|---|
| Coal Tar Dyes | Coal Tar Dyes are synthetic dyes produced from coal tar. They are common in cosmetics, food products, textiles, and other household products. | Ingredients starting with: CI , FD&C, and D&C, P-Phenylenediamine |
| Formaldehyde | Formaldehyde, is an organic compound that can be harmful after prolonged exposure. | Formaldehyde |
| Fragrance | In the US, flavor and fragrance ingredients may not have to be explicitly listed and may instead be represented simply as 'fragrance' to protect trade secrets. However, some people may exhibit sensitivity to some of these unlisted ingredients. | Fragrance, Parfum |
| Palm Oil | Palm oil is an oil used in food products and cosmetics which is associated with environmental issues such as deforestation. | Palm Oil |
| Parabens | Parabens are commonly used preservatives in cosmetics. There may be concerns that prolonged exposure to high concentrations of parabens could have an impact on human health. | Paraben, Alkyl Parahydroxy Benzoates |
| Siloxanes | Siloxanes are commonly used in cosmetics for conditioning and increasing softness. However, they may pose some environmental concerns. | Cyclotetrasiloxane, Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane, Cylcopentasiloxane, Polydimethylsiloxan |
| Sulfates | Sulfates such as sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) are common lathering agents in cleansers and toothpastes, which may be harsh on skin or hair. | Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sls, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sles, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, Sodium Lauroyl Isoethionate, Sodium Lauroyl Taurate, Sodium Cocoyl Isoethionate, Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isoethionate, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate |
| Sunscreen Chemicals | Some ingredients common in sunscreen, such as oxybenzone and octinoxate, may pose an environmental hazard to coral reefs. | Benzophenone, Paba, Avobenzone, Homosalate, Ethoxycinnmate, Oxybenzone |
My name is Julie Levine. I'm a data scientist, most recently at Venmo. I graduated from the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Pennsylvania. In a past life, I was a marketer and product manager for tech startups Datadog and Fatual. I was also a Data Science Fellow at NYC Data Science Academy. Learn more about me on LinkedIn.