Dr. Hauschka Receives High Ranking from EWG

Many of Dr. Hauschka's products have a high hazard rating on [Cosmetic Database].  I just stopped using it as I am a cancer survivor and some of the ingredients are linked to cancer. I'm upset at this info as I loved using this product. I always like to read as much as I can before believing the study results, so I'm going to keep researching to see if I can find some more info.

Answer:

While the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) Cosmetic Database can be a valuable tool in researching ingredients, it is not flawless in determining a product’s safety.

First off, let’s take a look at how the Cosmetics Database operates. Ingredients are submitted voluntarily through an online submission form, leaving the accuracy of ingredients and percentages up to the person submitting the information. This leaves room for huge discrepancies.

One huge grey area in the database is definitely “fragrance”, and here is why: Synthetic fragrance is banned in the use of products created under the Europe Union Directive. Because of this restriction they suspect consumers will automatically assume the product is free from synthetic fragrance when purchasing products with such certification.

But the database does not differentiate between fragrance comprised of synthetic ingredients (usually phthalates) or natural essential oils, so all receive a high hazard ranking.

But it is different here in the US. Since cosmetics are so under-regulated by our government it is important to be sure fragrance comes from natural sources (like essential oils) when not listed on the label. And, no, many manufacturers do not list their “trade secret” fragrance combinations on their label, and are not by law required to do so.

Another data gap is in the area of essential oils. Because they have not been researched to the extent of many chemical ingredients, there is much that is not known about them, often times resulting in a higher ranking from EWG.

And, yes, it does seem European cosmetics manufacturers are affected by this glitch more often than North American manufacturers, most often due to labeling guidelines and how they translate here in the US. This is quite concerning, especially since Europe is further along in regulating cosmetics for safety than the FDA.

Dr. Hauschka skincare line is BDIH certified and the company works very hard to maintain safe practices and produce high quality, nontoxic products. The reason for the high ranking in the Cosmetics Database for some of their products is due to the “fragrance” issue and is not a true depiction of Dr. Hauschka product safety.

Terri Bly, of Nature of Beauty, has written a terrific guide to effectively using the EWG database. For now the database is a good start, but should not be relied upon entirely to determine a product’s safety.