We get asked about the Skin Deep Cosmetics Database, which rates cosmetics according to their safety.
We support EWG, which is responsible for Skin Deep. However, we have some serious concerns about it. Its methods of evaluating products are done without discussion with the manufacturers and, therefore, lead to inaccurate information. It has, for example, assumed that our sunscreens use nanotechnology, which is false. We tried to have a conversation with them, but they have been unresponsive to our phone calls and emails. Also, they don’t pay attention to the quantities of a product. They rate the product the same, whether the formula is 50% or 005%. It is important to note that ingredients can be toxic at various levels. Homeopathy, for example, claims that there are no harmful ingredients, only poisonous quantities.
EWG rates our 24-karat gold as toxic because it’s rated as colloidal gold, which it’s not. The EWG rates the lakes as harmful because they are commonly made with petroleum – but ours aren’t. Our lakes are made from natural dyes that have been bonded with a calcium substrate. Our products are as clean as we can make them.