GoodGuide Personal Cleansing Products Ratings

Feminine hygiene encompasses a wide range of products, from creams to powders, but there are a few common unsafe, unhealthy ingredients to beware of. Most feminine care products contain “fragrance”, a catch-all term that masks a number of chemicals (the exact blend of ingredients is considered a trade secret) linked to allergies, skin irritation, and cancer. That blend of ingredients often includes phthalates, chemicals that are tied to immune, reproductive, respiratory, and endocrine system toxicity; developmental toxicity; and some forms of cancer. (more)

Many moisturizing and cleansing products also contain some form of cetereath, a petrochemical whose manufacturing process can introduce possibly carcinogenic impurities like 1,4-dioxane.

Hormonal creams often contain BHA, an immune and organ system toxin that’s banned for healthy concerns in the European Union, and triethanolamine, an immune and respiratory system toxin and skin irritant that’s sometimes contaminated with carcinogenic nitrosamines.

Personal cleansing products, like feminine hygiene products, often contain some form of formaldehyde—frequently listed on labels as DMDM hydantoin, a strong skin irritant that’s linked to some cancer-causing chemicals, or 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol, a preservative that’s often contaminated with formaldehyde or nitrosamines.

Although it shows up infrequently in feminine hygiene products, another unsafe ingredient to watch for is triclosan, an antibacterial and wildlife toxin that accumulates and persists in the environment and may lead to the development of drug-resistant bacteria.

You can can avoid unsafe & unhealthy feminine hygiene products by checking the ingredients section of our product ratings, or by browsing through our reviews for products with high health and safety scores. You can check also the Product Certifications and Listings section on each product page to see which manufacturers have been no-animal-testing certified by PETA or Leaping Bunny.